UK, 14/09/2010
UK, 14/09/2010
It works in the same way that financial providers credit check consumers before issuing loans and credit cards. Steve Gaywood, swiftcover.com’s Counter Fraud and Compliance Manager, says that motorists who cover up their claims history will find that the final premium they are offered is likely to be higher than their initial quote. But he explains: “It is not fair that safe, law-abiding drivers should pay higher premiums to subsidise people who lie about their previous claims to get cheaper insurance. swiftcover.com’s new check will help us identify people that have not fully disclosed their claims history and ensure that they are charged the appropriate price for their insurance. “Some drivers who have tried to cover up their claims history and got a lower quote as a result may decide not to use swiftcover.com when the correct premium is calculated.
However, swiftcover.com is determined to crack-down on people who try and buck the system. This will help us keep insurance costs lower for drivers who are open about their claims history and circumstances.” swiftcover.com the first UK insurer to use this kind of claims history check on individual applications during the quote and sales transaction. The insurer says that by incorporating the check during the sales transaction, it makes the process more transparent, so that drivers with a claims issue will be alerted before they have actually bought the policy, in addition to helping to cut down the numbers of attempted fraud. The claims check is carried out instantly when a driver decides to purchase a swiftcover.com insurance policy. If the applicant’s claims history is accurate, the sale will be processed; if there is a discrepancy between the application and the CUE database, the sale may be halted and the applicant will be advised to check the claims history of all drivers named on the application.
About swiftcover.com
Based in Cobham, Surrey and employing over 800 people, www.swiftcover.com started trading in June 2005 and was born out of a desire to revolutionise the general insurance market. swiftcover.com offers car, travel and pet insurance online, and is Britain's only insurance company without call centres, which means that the cost savings can be passed directly onto the customer and premiums are kept low. In 2008 swiftcover.com featured as the cheapest insurance quote on the comparison website moneysupermarket.com more often than any other insurer. This powerful operating model combined with successful marketing and competitive pricing has proven to be a tremendous success.
In 2008 swiftcover.com achieved over half a million live policies and in May 2009 sold their one millionth policy. They are considered to be the fastest-growing insurer in the UK. In 2007, AXA UK acquired swiftcover.com. It is now a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Insurance UK PLC which forms part of AXA Group.
About AXA
AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA is a world leader in financial protection. AXA’s operations are diverse with major operations in Western Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. AXA employs 120,000 staff and tied agents and, as of June 30 2006, had €1,091 billion in assets under management. AXA reported total IFRS revenues of €72 billion and IFRS underlying earnings of €3,258 million for the full year 2005. Our previous company performance is not a guide to how we may perform in the future.
