Name: insurethebox
Rating: 1.82

“They cancel my policy but charge me the cancelation fee ... They record the tracks, and may abuse these data”

Posted 2 days ago

“Shocking customer service. I was given a 1 year ncb certificate off them which resulted in my new insurance going up more. I tried chat but he hung up on me!. Company wanted proof of everything or they'd cancel my insurance. I've never had to do this before. Wouldn't recommend and I'd rather go with someone BUT these in future.”

insurethebox 1 star review on 13th November 2024

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Posted 4 weeks ago

“TL:DR You might make a saving in the form of the reduced premium of the policy, however you very well might end spending nearly the same as a better policy due to the cost of excess miles. The saving is also not worth the extra headache associated with a black box policy but also more specifically with an Insurethebox policy. I strongly recommend you don’t buy a policy from this company and more widely don’t purchase a black box policy and just grit your teeth and pay the additional cost of a non-blackbox policy. Where to start? Policy was the cheapest one available for my vehicle, one of the only, if not the only, positive(s) of an Insurethebox policy. So I decided to go ahead and buy it, this was the beginning of my many issues and problems. On trying to purchase the policy through the payment system on the website the money was taken, however the transaction did not finalise, meaning I had been charged the full annual premium without recieving any insurance cover. The live chat feature was no help in resolving this issue, meaning I had to wait over the month for the transaction to be cancelled/bounce back. This then meant I had to borrow money from my family to the tune of £1700 (for a 1.4L hatchback, might I add!) in order to then pay for the policy again over the phone. I then had someone come and install the black box, which had to be hardwire installed into/behind the interior fuse box, we’ll come back to why this will present itself as an issue later. However at this point I had had no other issues. In relation to the supposed bonus miles you can earn. They aren’t worth the ink of the T+Cs written for them. I got given a handful of them during the first month of my policy and then nothing since, that’s another 6 months worth of policy where I got no bonus miles. Even though there had been no change in the standard of my driving, it is simply because I was given a negative score for driving at night and the black box not being intelligent enough to realise half an hour stationary with the engine running also qualifies as a ‘break’ for the ‘taking breaks’ score, as it only qualifies a break as stopped with the engine off, with me also receiving a negative score for that as well. This therefore meant that during the just under 8 months I had the policy I only gained 41 bonus miles, out of a possible 700 miles. I also had a number of issues with the policy portal. This ranged from the mileage indicator being incorrect and sporadically resetting to show that I had done no miles and had the full policy allowment remaining. To the portal simply not working, as it is currently, with me both unable to view my policy documents (important since I have just cancelled my policy and need the cancellation documents) and also buy extra miles. This is especially important since I have run out of my allocation and need more but am ironically unable to pay the insurethebox even more money (£50 for an extra 250 miles). This also brings me to the negative point of how exorbitantly expensive additional miles are. This means that any saving you will have made by going for a cheaper black box policy, you will end having to spend on extra miles once you exceed your allocation. This is the main reason I have terminated my policy early as it worked out cheaper to start a new (non-black box) policy, then continually buy more miles, with it currently costing me £100+ a month in additional miles. There was also a good 2 months where the portal didn’t work at all, meaning I had no idea how many miles I was using or had left, making the whole situation of a black box that much more annoying. That brings me to my final point, the one that most took the pis*. When I went to cancel my policy, I was told that I would have to take my car to a garage to have the black box removed. This is a direct contradiction to what I was previously told by another representative that it could be arranged so that the company that installed the box would remove the black box. So there you have blantant lying and/or omission of information so they could avoid extra work. So in short: Positives - Relatively competitive/low price Negatives - Exorbitant cost of excess miles - Glitchy/broken portal - Inability to know how many miles you have used or have left the majority of the time - Inability to purchase needed extra miles - Non-existent bonus miles - Blantant lying on the part of customer service in regards to what they are and aren’t able to do”

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Posted 2 months ago

“Sure, they give you cheap insurance, so they get a star for that. But trying to resolve any sort of issue is infuriating, it takes multiple attempts of getting past their AI chatbot redirecting you to actions you don't want just for the real support staff to direct you back to the chatbot. I've spent hours trying to ask what the price of changing to a specific car is IF I WAS TO CHANGE, and keep getting automatically sent to ACTUALLY change my car by both the chatbot and staff. IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO JUST GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER!? Black box was also fitted terribly but hey, if you don't care about either of those, the insurance is cheap.”

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Posted 3 months ago

“Never in 100000 million years recommend this awful company will take these stealing bastards to court”

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Posted 3 months ago

“We still cannot access our "Portal" after two weeks. Apparently they are "working diligently" to rectifiy this.”

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Posted 4 months ago

“Can't see anything on my miles driven bonus miles have all now disappeared, this system has been down for weeks complete nightmare..”

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Posted 5 months ago

“Absolutely awful experience don’t go with this company unless you like handing thousands of pounds over!! Their system doesn’t work they make the miles up that you are supposedly driving as they go along and even admit their system is faulty yet still charge you for miles that you havnt driven!! Day light robbery which has caused us a lot of stress!”

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Posted 5 months ago

“They target me! Be careful because they might have a "blacklist" that if you or your car is in there, they will continue asking you to send proof of insurance even if you previously sent it. Seems like they wanted to make sure you stop doing it or make a mistake to screw you”

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Posted 5 months ago

“Amateur Scammers! They also seem to make the rules up as they go along. Cancelled my policy and went with a proper mainstream company.”

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Posted 6 months ago

“Their website doesn't work properly. You can't renew your insurance online. Pathetic support and technical team. I think the CTO of the company should be held responsible.”

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Posted 7 months ago

“Never buy insurebox insurance again. They give you a cheap price first but then when you go over the miles , it will cost you an arm and a leg. Never again”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Cowboy company - Avoid at all costs. Had an accident which was not my fault insure the box Decided that I was at fault and as I was close to the mileage cap they cancelled my insurance…. I can’t understand how this company is still operating they are now chasing me for £80 for the privilege of them cancelling my insurance!!! 😂 save your money and time and use a proper insurance company rather than this budget low cost cowboy company!”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Do not go with insure the box. I’ve had my policy cancelled for missing a payment I rang up and paid it before the given date and I was told if I paid it on time which I then did my insurance would no longer be cancelled and I’ve just found out the other day it was cancelled 3 months ago and I was not informed at all. Also had a car crash with a deer - left me without a vehicle for a whole month and they nearly listed my car for sale as a cat c. Absolute joke of a company. Been with 3-4 different policy’s and this has by far been the worst out of the lot. AVOID AT ALL COST”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I would not recommend this company even if its the end of the world. I would never come near it even if it says its free. They have canceled my policy and I got informed the day after which means I have driven uninsured all day without knowing. They claim that I have been requested an evidence via post letter which i never received due to that i never send them a copy of my driving license. Now I have a black point when i apply for other insurance because I have to state that my policy have been previously canceled by the insurer which increases the future premiums. Additionally i need to do and urgent insurance which costs double their price. The agent was very robotic and unauthorised to do anything kept putting me on hold to talk to the senior, which was not one bit helpful. It's obvious they are here to make so easy money. They didn't provide with another quote just got my money and stained my record. The person on the phone told me that i will receive £70 refund and I should be happy because they have been very generous to refund me this.... NEVER USE THIS SCAM!”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Do not trust this company at all! I had put a claim in 5 weeks ago and they told me they will come pick the car up in 2 days yet still after 1 month there’s been no contact or any communication. They have still not provided me with a courtesy car. When i call the office they get angry and shout at me saying it’s not their fault and this has made me feel like a customer not valued at all. It’s been more than 1 month of the accident and they do not care all. I have been paying insurance for and not used the car once. I have been travelling to work via bus but since West Midlands been having bus strikes I have to commute by taxi and it’s costing me an extraordinary amount just to get to work and back. This is completely horrendous and atrocious service and I’ve been left with no help and I’m so worried how I’m going to go another month paying for taxis. Don’t trust this company pay a little more go somewhere else”

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Posted 1 year ago

“My car was vandalised the 17th of February the police had been called provided me with a crime number which I provided to insure the box. As this was not my fault I excepted not to loose my no claims that was refused. They took a few days to pick the car up while it rained each day. I called the company a week later for an update my car was still with the recovery firm in a yard uncovered in my town so the damage just got worse. I asked if they would supply me with a curtesy car as my disabled son was due mri and ct scans I was refused. Asked when I could expect some answers all I was told it was out of there hands I was with this company for two years with a black box and two years no claims which they took from me I was willing to renew as my policy which was due 24th April I have now cancelled my auto renewal and will never use them again my car would of been able to have been repaired I was told initially. Three weeks later with no form of transport I called again which they told me the engineer has still not looked at it. I finally received a total loss which they under valued it I had to pay the excess also which will be taken from my settlement I asked as a token of good will would they wave the excess which they refused. I have never been so let down by a company. One good thing is the call center who was polite knolageable but the policy's dictated which tide there hands. The call centre is to good for this company who discriminate against disabled people. You would expect them to move mountains for a disabled child but making money is to important. I hope your proud of your self's. Further to your reply it’s no point your insurance company is a joke the best thing about your company is your Newcastle call centre if you loose these your company would fold like a check book. Just please hurry with the settlement that I excepted on first offer as I can’t go with out a car any longer the car was insured for £5500 you given me £5250 ish minus £300 excess I’m left with £4900 odd I have seen cars going with more mileage same spec as mine going for £6500 I don’t want to fight no more as I need a car now. For anyone reading this review avoid this hatchet job of a company I will also be putting up reviews on Google and all other platforms as you can see I’m fuming asking me to stay in contact with via complaints all I did for weeks was complain and that got me nothing so thanks but no thanks. Date of experience: 18th February 2023Reference: 300049417”

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Posted 1 year ago

“I have never before bothered to write a negative review on a company, however I feel that this one is absolutely worth my time if it means saving others from the disgusting service I have faced. With Insure the Box, I have experienced the lowest standard of customer service of my entire life. Getting through to them via phone or live chat was nearly impossible with wait times of over 2 hours - I tried for days to reach a customer service agent. When someone finally answered, I passed through the security questions only to be told by the man on the phone that he wouldn't help me as I sounded "significantly older than 22". This is not only an unprofessional, disrespectful and offensive comment, but also discriminatory. The customer service agent's personal opinion on how old I sound should not affect my ability to access my car insurance, especially after having already passed security questions. Following around 20 minutes of disagreement, my sister in law joined the conversation after hearing the obscurity of it and demanded to speak to a manager, it was at this point we were hung up on. On the live chat, you can access your account without the customer service agent ever hearing your voice, so it makes no sense that I wasn't allowed to change my policy because of the agent's personal opinion on how I sound. What if I was sick, or had had surgery meaning my voice had been affected making me sound a bit older? Or I could be going through a gender change and on hormones that alter my vocal cords? When you consider that there are numerous reasons someone's voice may not appear to match their date of birth, the comment on my age becomes completely irrelevant. I myself, most certainly do sound my age and was incredibly confused as I have never before in person or on the phone been told I sound older than my age - anyone I have told this story to has also been shocked by the agent's comment. I was initially astonished, I thought the man on the call must be joking - he was not. It felt like he didn't want to do his actual job and instead was enjoying aggravating customers. He kept saying he needed to "speak with the policyholder" when I replied that I am in fact the policyholder and can provide any information needed to prove it, he uncaringly told me to phone back and speak to someone else. This is ridiculous and again makes no sense as my voice isn't going to change when I phone back. Yes, the next person I speak with may feel differently about my voice and let me change my policy, but doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the security questions if accessing your account comes down to a stranger's personal opinion on how you sound? I responded to his suggestion of phoning back by explaining that I had already been waiting over an hour and a half to get through and I was not willing to wait again. He did not care and also provided zero solutions when I suggested I was able to prove my identity in another way. I was originally phoning to simply remove my brother from the insurance, however after this awful experience, I had decided to cancel the insurance entirely. I then was once again unable to get through to someone on the phone with extremely long waits of numerous hours. With my insurance payment due to come out of my bank account in a few days, I was left with no choice but to cancel the direct debit. At this moment in time I still have not managed to reach them to cancel the policy. If I ever do get through, how can I be sure I'll even be allowed to cancel the policy as I supposedly sound "significantly older" than my age. Am I going to essentially be forced into keeping my policy despite my desperate efforts and tremendous amount of time spent attempting to cancel. I am still in disbelief over my experience with Insure the Box and urge anyone reading this review to stay clear of this company, it will save you a lot of stress and frustration in the long run.”

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Posted 1 year ago

“Lack of communication and threatening letters ..... Keep well clear of this company, communication is nil ,live chat was over 2 hours long and I had to end it as there was just no response at all ..this company needs to be boycotted as they take your money but never reply to chat or emails so your left unknown....they need to take responsibility of their actions..14 days cooling off period absolute joke they don't send you a letter till after the 14 days absolute con ....”

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Posted 2 years ago

“I have been a customer for 5 years. A recent incident has highlighted how the company operates. Insure the box are a front for a number of subsidiaries who do not communicate with one another. As the customer I have repeatedly been asked to relay communications between teams and professional bodies. Contradicting information is frequently given. Insure the box do not take responsibility for co-ordinating the responses for their subsidiaries, nor ownership over the entire process. After a dangerous incident when my car's airbag inappropriately deployed, I did not receive updates for one month. There has been no resolution (and numerous requests to pay out of pocket) despite repeated phone calls, emails and complaints. The onus is entirely on the customer. There is insufficient and late response from their claims, complaints, repairs and recovery services with dismissal that "another team or company runs this". I am escalating my concerns to the Financial Ombudsman and legal teams.”

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Posted 2 years ago

Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Live Chat, Email
Queries Resolved In	Over A Week

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