Vehicle insurance broker charged over unfair treatment

Hastings Insurance Services, which trades as Hastings Direct, has received a fine of £735,000 over claims that it treated many of its customers unfairly. Reports claim that the fine, which was imposed by the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, would have been over £1 million but was reduced because the firm agreed to settle early.

The fine was imposed because it was found that the insurance firm had cancelled the policies of around 4500 customers after realising that a computer error had resulted in these customers being sold insurance cover too cheaply, with some getting cover for £500 less than it should have been.

The FSA said that the firm left customers in the lurch by cancelling the cover and did not look at other suitable alternatives, instead leaving customers to try and find cover again at short notice. An FSA official said: “It is clear from our investigation that Hastings put its own interests ahead of those of its customers.”

It was also found that some of the customers had not earned any no claims bonus whilst they had been covered by one of these policies, and that some had experienced difficulties getting alternative cover because their cover had been cancelled.