My experience with Churchill after a non-fault claim has been truly awful, and I will never use them again as a result. From the outset, the process was plagued by delays and confusion, with multiple claim handlers and missed appointments.
Their handling of my car valuation was particularly frustrating. Both Churchill and CoPart offered the same incredibly low offer, having first outsourced the initial write-off valuation to CoPart, a salvage auctioneer who profits from lower valuations due to a clear conflict of interest: the lower they set the value, the more money they make.
They relied solely on outdated guides, completely ignoring my evidence of advertisements for dozens of similar vehicles (and one or two identical models) for way above what they were offering.
Only after an official complaint did it come to light that one of the guides they usually use, AutoTrader, gave them a valuation that was much closer to reality than the other 3 guides. However, they discounted it completely and didn't use it as part of their calculation.
Churchill didn't understand my frustration at them ignoring one of their own guides and literally dozens of comparable examples from the market simply because they were higher than what they wanted to give me. Notably, of the guides they use, only AutoTrader allows you to actually purchase a vehicle, and unsurprisingly, it was the only one that matched the reality of prices I see. Furthermore, they conveniently ignored the fact that they didn't discount the lowest valuation as an "outlier," only the highest.
Churchill cancelled my policy (that included cover to drive family members' cars) without my consent when it had 6 months remaining. To add insult to injury, even though I had paid annually for 12 months and they had cancelled it against my wishes, they also advised me they would not refund the remaining 6 months' premium! I do not care what they slip into the small print of policy documents; this is just plain unacceptable.
After a time-consuming and emotionally draining official complaint, their final offer of a mere £200 did nothing to compensate for the inconvenience or the loss of my beloved car. It barely covered the remaining premium which they refused to refund.
Overall, Churchill's unfair practices, lack of communication, and complete disregard for my situation have left me feeling frustrated and unsupported.
Reviewed on: 29th February 2024
