MCE Insurance into administration
Discussion
It seems as of the 19th of this month MCE went into administration.
I'm posting this as they have for a long time offered incredible prices and many have gone with them on that basis but also have a notorious reputation for dealing with claims and any other issues.
FCA announcement: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/mce-insur...
And any claims are being directed too: https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firm...
I'm posting this as they have for a long time offered incredible prices and many have gone with them on that basis but also have a notorious reputation for dealing with claims and any other issues.
FCA announcement: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/mce-insur...
And any claims are being directed too: https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firm...
It’s a shame for the people who work there, especially this time of year. But their reputation precedes them, and for some time now I have refused to consider them on that basis. They tended to be low premium with high excess, which I guess works best for higher risk customers facing monster premiums elsewhere.
They were certainly a bit awkward to deal with when it came to renewing a policy, the one time I did use them. Phone call only - odd decision in this day and age, considering they will sell a new policy online.
They were certainly a bit awkward to deal with when it came to renewing a policy, the one time I did use them. Phone call only - odd decision in this day and age, considering they will sell a new policy online.
mikey_b said:
They tended to be low premium with high excess, which I guess works best for higher risk customers facing monster premiums elsewhere.
If you are in London, their premium might be a few hundred pounds with a large excess. The handful of other insurers who will quote can be £1000 more expensive. I just checked and they are still quoting on price comparison sites.
was insured with them...changed my bike about 6 mths in. Ok that was my choice, but...
- refund policy was very opaque
- not a straight line X months unused = refund
- refund was on the "premium" which on further inspection was only 60% of what I originally paid (basically they minimise the premium but add all sorts of fees into the quote). I had simply looked at the renewal quote and found it competitive....
net net with half a year to go I ended up with about 25% refund on an expensive policy
bandits...
- refund policy was very opaque
- not a straight line X months unused = refund
- refund was on the "premium" which on further inspection was only 60% of what I originally paid (basically they minimise the premium but add all sorts of fees into the quote). I had simply looked at the renewal quote and found it competitive....
net net with half a year to go I ended up with about 25% refund on an expensive policy
bandits...
squirdan said:
was insured with them...changed my bike about 6 mths in. Ok that was my choice, but...
- refund policy was very opaque
- not a straight line X months unused = refund
- refund was on the "premium" which on further inspection was only 60% of what I originally paid (basically they minimise the premium but add all sorts of fees into the quote). I had simply looked at the renewal quote and found it competitive....
net net with half a year to go I ended up with about 25% refund on an expensive policy
bandits...
Thats standard across the industry, rebates on insurance polices are never linear and they are always in your policy documentation, your policy will also have a breakdown of whats Premium vs whats add ons / fees etc, not sure you have a complaint really !!!- refund policy was very opaque
- not a straight line X months unused = refund
- refund was on the "premium" which on further inspection was only 60% of what I originally paid (basically they minimise the premium but add all sorts of fees into the quote). I had simply looked at the renewal quote and found it competitive....
net net with half a year to go I ended up with about 25% refund on an expensive policy
bandits...
It’s the previous underwriter / re-insurer who have gone into admin. I can’t imagine it would be a great time to raise a claim and expect a strong settlement … mind you, MCE didn’t have a great rep for this anyway. You’re still covered via the administrator and the FSCS.
But the MCE broker is still trading and will process claims (through the FSCS) and offer renewals…. Bet they're a bit pricier though.
But the MCE broker is still trading and will process claims (through the FSCS) and offer renewals…. Bet they're a bit pricier though.
Yes I’m with them and they’re still operating according to the emails they’ve been sending.
I’d read the various horror stories about them online before I went with them but as touched on above they offer great rates.
I banked on being sensible and hoping not to claim (I know, risky strategy). They came in at £230 TPFT on my old R1 after an 8 year break, hence no NCB.
They stuck £100 on when I mentioned my garage was timber rather than brick. They had to class the bike as “on private property”. So they class the risk as being the same whether the bike is ground anchored in a solid timber garage round the back of my house, or if it’s parked at the end of my driveway just off the main road through our village. Bit of a rip off.
They get you all ways though. That’s insurance.
Hopefully, I’ll have more choice in March when I have 1 years NCB.
I wish I’d kept an old bike tucked away to keep my full NCB going from years ago. I used to pay £96 per year on an R1 and I paid an extra £15 to have a brand new GSXR750 on the policy.
Those were the days, this place was all fields, blah, blah.
I’d read the various horror stories about them online before I went with them but as touched on above they offer great rates.
I banked on being sensible and hoping not to claim (I know, risky strategy). They came in at £230 TPFT on my old R1 after an 8 year break, hence no NCB.
They stuck £100 on when I mentioned my garage was timber rather than brick. They had to class the bike as “on private property”. So they class the risk as being the same whether the bike is ground anchored in a solid timber garage round the back of my house, or if it’s parked at the end of my driveway just off the main road through our village. Bit of a rip off.
They get you all ways though. That’s insurance.
Hopefully, I’ll have more choice in March when I have 1 years NCB.
I wish I’d kept an old bike tucked away to keep my full NCB going from years ago. I used to pay £96 per year on an R1 and I paid an extra £15 to have a brand new GSXR750 on the policy.
Those were the days, this place was all fields, blah, blah.
No great surprise, i used to have a bike insured by them, when i phoned to change the bike details which was 2 weeks before the renewal was due anyway they wanted £90 to change over to the new bike, i only paid £100 for the year to insure the bike..so just let the premium lapse and took out a new policy with a new insurance company, so with the policy excesses and poor customer service they would never have had any custom from me again, not good for the people that lost their jobs though.
If you're claiming against an MCE policy someone else holds, not so bad.
If you're claiming on your own policy, not bad news, but not decent.
For compulsory insurance claims (i.e. third-party motor claims), the level of our protection is 100%.
For other types of claims, our protection is 90%.You can find more information on FSCS protection rules and limits on our website.
If you're claiming on your own policy, not bad news, but not decent.
For compulsory insurance claims (i.e. third-party motor claims), the level of our protection is 100%.
For other types of claims, our protection is 90%.You can find more information on FSCS protection rules and limits on our website.
Edited by talksthetorque on Thursday 25th November 07:15
I just got an email from them with a link to official administrators letter.
Unfortunately I've been drinking this evening, but I think it basically says they'll honour ongoing claims, but won't accept new claims unless third party until at least January, subject to their online creditor's meeting sometime in January, & assessment of assets. I may be misreading things, but it looks like if I have a crash which is my fault, or if my bike gets stolen, I'll need to claim via the financial conduct authority, who will doubtless f
k up any claim, take years to resolve, & I won't get anywhere near the financial settlement I would normally expect.
I may be wrong, but any of us MCE policy holders could be potentially fked...
Anybody else looked into this???
Unfortunately I've been drinking this evening, but I think it basically says they'll honour ongoing claims, but won't accept new claims unless third party until at least January, subject to their online creditor's meeting sometime in January, & assessment of assets. I may be misreading things, but it looks like if I have a crash which is my fault, or if my bike gets stolen, I'll need to claim via the financial conduct authority, who will doubtless f
k up any claim, take years to resolve, & I won't get anywhere near the financial settlement I would normally expect.I may be wrong, but any of us MCE policy holders could be potentially f
ked...Anybody else looked into this???
It does sound bad.
Frankly it worries me from a general company values / approach perspective that they just put the old policies company into administration and then just keep selling via a different underwriter.
I am not sure many of the bigger players would have done this.
When they could have made a bigger effort to help existing policy holders with whatever value exists in the business.
Frankly it worries me from a general company values / approach perspective that they just put the old policies company into administration and then just keep selling via a different underwriter.
I am not sure many of the bigger players would have done this.
When they could have made a bigger effort to help existing policy holders with whatever value exists in the business.
Biker 1 said:
I just got an email from them with a link to official administrators letter.
Unfortunately I've been drinking this evening, but I think it basically says they'll honour ongoing claims, but won't accept new claims unless third party until at least January, subject to their online creditor's meeting sometime in January, & assessment of assets. I may be misreading things, but it looks like if I have a crash which is my fault, or if my bike gets stolen, I'll need to claim via the financial conduct authority, who will doubtless fk up any claim, take years to resolve, & I won't get anywhere near the financial settlement I would normally expect.
I may be wrong, but any of us MCE policy holders could be potentially fked...
Anybody else looked into this???
I read it similar with the added note that MCE uk will still help manage your claim… but ultimately I can’t imagine the FSCS would be very responsive or easy to negotiate with. I’ve used them as they have been very cheap, but I might just cut my losses now and start a new policy.Unfortunately I've been drinking this evening, but I think it basically says they'll honour ongoing claims, but won't accept new claims unless third party until at least January, subject to their online creditor's meeting sometime in January, & assessment of assets. I may be misreading things, but it looks like if I have a crash which is my fault, or if my bike gets stolen, I'll need to claim via the financial conduct authority, who will doubtless f
k up any claim, take years to resolve, & I won't get anywhere near the financial settlement I would normally expect.I may be wrong, but any of us MCE policy holders could be potentially f
ked...Anybody else looked into this???
I had a little previous with MCE where they wrote a relative’s bike off (he was in hospital so I was dealing with them). Their approach seemed to be to write off and auction out in most cases and they were very difficult to work with. They valued a 999S as a standard Bip even though it was insured correctly, they just wouldn’t listen. Ended up going to the ombudsman who drove the valuation up about 3k but it took about 6 months.
For some reason and against my better judgement - for signing up to a Gib based companies (which I never knew at the time and until I just checked my policy - I thought it was UK), I recently took out a policy (mid Sept) for my new to me 2018 Speed triple.
I'm seriously thinking for the sake of £140 to take out a new policy with a better known UK based company in the event something does happen. Anyone else with them thinking the same thing?
I'm seriously thinking for the sake of £140 to take out a new policy with a better known UK based company in the event something does happen. Anyone else with them thinking the same thing?
Nath911t said:
For some reason and against my better judgement - for signing up to a Gib based companies (which I never knew at the time and until I just checked my policy - I thought it was UK), I recently took out a policy (mid Sept) for my new to me 2018 Speed triple.
I'm seriously thinking for the sake of £140 to take out a new policy with a better known UK based company in the event something does happen. Anyone else with them thinking the same thing?
Yeah,if I was riding through winter I would. I have one bike insured with MCE just because it was significantly cheaper than other quotes last year. Its up for renewal in Feb and I dont intend on using the bike so may just let it run and renew in Feb with a new insurerI'm seriously thinking for the sake of £140 to take out a new policy with a better known UK based company in the event something does happen. Anyone else with them thinking the same thing?
I had a text chat with them yesterday on their website. I was told that the FSCS thing was because the authorities wanted to ensure that all claims were paid in full. I asked if I was insured if I went for a ride on my bike (only really concerned about third parties) and was told yes.
My policy renews in June, currently happy to leave it running and not going to worry about getting cover with anyone else until then. Obviously things may change.
My policy renews in June, currently happy to leave it running and not going to worry about getting cover with anyone else until then. Obviously things may change.
weebaws said:
They emailed today advising you can't amend policies any more, only cancel them.
Bit of a ball ache as was about to change the plate. Would be worse if you were moving house I suppose.
Lesson learned re cheap insurance!
I’ve been with them before because of the low cost but damn, they are possibly the worst company I’ve dealt with not just for a vehicle but for any policy. The agents are ill informed and don’t seem to know much about insurance/processes.Bit of a ball ache as was about to change the plate. Would be worse if you were moving house I suppose.
Lesson learned re cheap insurance!
I had a quote that had an additional years ncb on top of what I’d earned and as I was with them the year before I kept asking why I’d gained two years ncb instead of one and the agent kept saying words to the effect of it being better so not to worry… I was thinking sure that’s great until I have to claim on my policy for them to tell me it was invalid because of the error,
Then I attempted to make payment once the policy was corrected only for my bank to decline on the basis they didn’t take payment correctly triggering an anti fraud process!
At this point I gave up after all of the red flags and went with a trustworthy insurer for an extra £125 per year.
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