What you can do if your Social, Domestic & Pleasure insurance provider isn't happy for you to use a top up insurance policy.
Zego’s pay-as-you-go delivery insurance is designed to give you the same flexibility you get from your work by only charging you for the cover you use.
But recently, a few of our customers have said that their Social, Domestic & Pleasure (SD&P) insurance provider isn’t happy for them to use Zego’s Hire & Reward (H&R) cover. Some insurers have even told their policyholders that they will invalidate their SD&P policy if they use Zego’s H&R cover.
At Zego, we place the utmost importance on treating all our customers fairly. In this post, we’ll explain some of the reasons why your SD&P insurance provider may say that you cannot use a top up insurance policy and we’ll take a look at the options you have available if this happens to you.
They may think there is a risk of dual insurance
If your underlying SD&P insurance provider says that you cannot use Zego’s H&R insurance, there is a chance that they might not fully understand how Zego’s cover works.
Lots of insurers are worried about opening themselves up to fraud as a result of dual insurance. This is when a policyholder has multiple policies covering the same risk, which means that they could claim more than once from the same incident.
Top up insurance protects you against risks that are not covered by another insurance policy. Zego’s pay-as-you-go H&R insurance does not cover the same risks as your underlying SD&P policy, so there is no risk of dual insurance.
They may think top up insurance is illegal
Your SD&P insurance provider may say that you cannot use Zego’s cover because top up insurance is illegal, but this is not true. Top up insurance is recognised by the motor insurance authority and is 100% legal.
In March 2018, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), the official authority for motor insurance in the UK, acknowledged top up or short term cover as a valid form of insurance.This means that all motor insurance companies should be aware that top up cover, such as Zego’s flexible H&R cover, is legal.
They may think the risk is too high
Some insurance providers think that there are a lot of associated risks with insuring drivers who also carry out courier of food delivery work. So even if those drivers only want to purchase SD&P insurance, they won’t insure them.
Other companies offer cover for courier workers, but as part of a more costly combined SD&P + H&R insurance package. Since Zego’s top up cover came to market, they have been losing money on the H&R portion of these policies, so they have made a commercial decision not to allow the use of top up insurance cover.
In this situation, it is unlikely that you will be able to change your SD&P insurer’s mind. Although this may seem unfair, how much risk they are willing to take on is ultimately their decision. Some insurers truly believe that it’s better for themselves and their customers if they protect a vehicle for personal use and delivery work.
So what can I do?
If your SD&P insurer won’t let you use Zego’s cover because they think that there is a risk of dual insurance or that it is illegal, it’s worth clarifying how Zego’s top up H&R insurance works.
If your SD&P insurer has made a commercial decision not to allow the use of top up cover, it may prove very difficult to change their mind. They may have included a specific clause that says your SD&P cover will be invalidated if you use top up insurance.
You may wish to consider speaking to different SD&P insurance providers to see if they are happy for you to use Zego’s top up insurance cover. If you use a scooter for your delivery or courier work, you may also wish to consider Zego’s own SD&P insurance. For car drivers, we don’t have this option available just yet, but if our customers let us know that they want to see a particular product, we’ll do our best to make it available.
If you’re still unsure what to do if your SD&P insurer won’t let you use Zego, please get in touch with our team. We’re available 7 days a week and we’ll be happy to help.