Linea directa insurance - beware

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wisden
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Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby wisden » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:01 pm

If you are planning to leave Spain or plan to change your insurance company from Linea Directa beware.
If you decide to cancel your policy for any reason, Linear Directa will NOT refund any corresponding premium. I have had to return to the UK for health reasons and when my insurance was due for renewal I was back in the UK and linea directa made no effort to warn me of the consequences of canceling the policy.
I have now sold my Spanish vehicle, in the UK, and despite being with linea directa for more than 10 years they are not prepared to provide me with a refund.
Also, if you decide that you want to insure a UK vehicle with Direct Line, they do not recognize no claims from Spain.
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El Cid
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby El Cid » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:25 pm

It’s quite clear in the policy that you do not get a refund. Most UK companies will not recognise foreign NCB - no doubt there are some exceptions if you shop around.

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ajtg1952
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby ajtg1952 » Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:54 pm

That's not bad service, as Cid says, it's made perfectly clear in the T&C. I had two cars and my Scooter with Linea Directa. All renewed about the same time. I sold one car and informed Linea Directa. As expected, I did not get a refund on the 6 months outstanding but they credited the balance to my new renewal, which they didn't have to do. I to am returning to the UK and they have offered me a No Claims certificate, so I'm not sure why they didn't off you this.
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elusive
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby elusive » Fri Mar 02, 2018 5:59 pm

Direct line arent connected to linea directa. They are the same but not! Like santander bank. Only a handful of uk companies do except no claims.why i dont know.

baroness
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby baroness » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:07 pm

Aviva in the UK accept the letter from Linda directa for NCB

Miro
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby Miro » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:33 pm

Duplicate thread - I have posted on the other one about my own experiences with LD and returning to the UK
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wisden
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby wisden » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:15 am

For those who have mentioned it, I never said that there was any relation betweeen linear directa and Direct Line.

1bassleft
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby 1bassleft » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:26 am

To the OP, I don't want to post a "you had it bad, I had it good" but can I suggest you try ringing again and see if explaining your sitch to someone else gets you a bit further? Like any company, things can be different depending on who you get on the 'phone. Of course, my exp was the opposite; I was buying in rather than getting out but it's worth a try.

Briefly, my NCD was all built up in the UK and I still need UK insurance. I 'phoned Direct Line UK to see if switching to them would help and got told there what you've read here; separate companies, no guarantee that LD would take it into consideration, so I stayed with my present policy. I did a couple of searches on Spanish comparison sites and, both times, LD followed me up by 'phone. The first caller was terribly pushy, inflexible and seemed to demand I sign up anyway. The 2nd time, I got someone who listened to all of my circumstances, "we've dealt with this before, just wait a moment, tap-click-tap" and came up with just what I needed.

As I said, different circs to yours but it shows that one operator doesn't necessarily equate to the whole co. HST, thanks for flagging up the "no partial refunds" clause [and Miro's getaround in the other thread]; I've filed that in my things to remember.

1bassleft
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby 1bassleft » Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:32 am

ps, the Aviva tip is handy, esp if you haven't ruled out returning for extended stays. I'm toying with having a "trans-Europe" car based in the UK for a while and Aviva came up as having the best policy for less-hassle EU coverage.

Paddy Pumpkin
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby Paddy Pumpkin » Tue Mar 06, 2018 2:46 am

I am looking at same situation. How many days in a row will Aviva let you be out of the UK?

katy
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby katy » Sat Mar 10, 2018 2:26 pm

wisden wrote:If you are planning to leave Spain or plan to change your insurance company from Linea Directa beware.
Also, if you decide that you want to insure a UK vehicle with Direct Line, they do not recognize no claims from Spain.
TERRIBLE SERVICE
Not insured with Direct Line now but we insured both cars with them on returning. They gave us 6 weeks to produce them and if not we would have increased premium. Perhaps it helped that we had been insured with a broker in Gibraltar, albeit with a Spanish company

1bassleft
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Re: Linea directa insurance - beware

Postby 1bassleft » Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:56 pm

Paddy Pumpkin wrote:I am looking at same situation. How many days in a row will Aviva let you be out of the UK?
Sorry to take so long, Paddy (back in UK, been busy). I guess you've found out by now but, for anyone looking in...

A UK car insured in the UK with Aviva can be driven in EU countries (continuously or otherwise) for up to 180 days in that year's policy, which is pretty much the max that you should have a UK plated car abroad without re-matriculating it anyway. My current UK insurer, esure, limits to 90 days (still better than a lot of insurers). Saga, who specialize in the toothless Ovaltine swiggers (that includes me as I'm over 50) has unlimited EU coverage.

Worth making clear that ALL insurance companies are obliged to cover you for third party claims irrespective of how long you're abroad (they don't shout that out and many people wrongly think "My 60 days are up - I'll be arrested for no insurance.") Not true, but pranging your own vehicle won't be covered (and your medical expenses as driver? I'm not sure about that...) So, if you're in a cheap euromobile and don't mind 3rd party only, it's OK, AFAIK.


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