Renewing motorbike insurance

[Briggsy]

My motorbike (500 cc) is one year old. I went to renew the first class insurance. I had bought the first year's insurance from the dealer when I bought the bike. I had no reason to claim or even contact the insurance company during the first year of the policy.

I went to the insurance company. I stated in perfectly intelligible Thai that I wished to renew the policy for another year. They looked at me as if I had asked for a Big Mac with cheese and then exposed myself!

I gave them the policy and they handed me back a scowl. They took my phone number and said they would have to refer this to to Head Office in Bangkok. I never knew that renewing an insurance policy was such a clandestine activity.

2 days later, I received a phone call from a person saying he was an insurance broker (not the insuring company). He stated that he had already sent out a renewal notice. I said I had not received such a notice. He said he would send out another one. He checked the address which was correct. He did the normal "Where you form?" stuff on the phone and then claimed to have studied in the UK. This is a common sales technique to find common ground. He then said I should make the payment by bank transfer and then went on to say if anybody else contacted me, I should not pay them.

Am I being paranoid or is this an odd way to go about business? Is this just someone trying to ensure he gets the commission and nobody else? If something is fraudulent, how can I avoid falling victim to a con?

(The price he quoted is similar to the first year and seems acceptable).

[AAInsuranceBrokers]

This is typical practice after the first year for both vehicles and bikes - your name & details are passed on to a third party who can 'share' the commission.

The first thing is to make sure they are indeed brokers - ask for a copy of their license/check on the OIC web site - and make sure you only transfer the premium to the account whose name is on the license.

Second, do not be pushed into taking the first quote, ask other Brokers and check the reliability of the insurance companies being offered - not all insurance companies are equal !

[Briggsy]

Thanks, I still haven't received any written communication. I will proceed with caution and get some other quotes.