No defaqto rating on Monzo+ AXA Insurance product

[RAGS (Rory Stephen)]

@danmullen

I would always base a decision on whether to buy an insurance policy on what is in the Key Facts document but I don’t bother looking at policies that haven’t been rated 5 stars by Defaqto.

I completely agree with this.
This is actually why I was puzzled by the travel insurance offered on Monzo+ Not having a Defaqto rating.
I still think if it had one it would be more transparent than not having one.

[danmullen]

It would be good if they had a rating. Perhaps it’s because it’s a new policy, so hopefully Defaqto will respond to your message and get to work on including it in their comparisons.

[o99]

@danmullen

MSE articles on insurance always mention the rating

I actually looked at some MSE insurance guides earlier because MSE was mentioned earlier in the thread. But I didn’t see any mention of Defaqto in the guides I looked at

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/home-insurance/

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/insurance/cheap-travel-insurance/

[Hook85 (Dan W)]

The key facts documents for both of our polices are 2 pages long.

[RAGS (Rory Stephen)]

It should be really easy for you to compare it to the other key facts of 14000 travel insurance policies online.
Only 28,000 pages to read.
or Monzo could add a helpful and transparent defaqto financial product rating

[Ordog]

@danmullen

If you use services like Compare The Market, they always display the rating.

Yup I’ve seen and used the rating to choose my travel insurance many times through Compare the Market. They’re a great summary to understand why some policies might be a little more expensive than others.

I must admit that this wasn’t the best approach to asking why Monzo aren’t listed but it seems like you’re on track to get your answer

[Feathers (MikeF)]

Ok, I have to ask. What do you mean by transparent in this context? It clearly doesn’t mean what I generally understand by the term.

As a subsidiary issue, I still need to work out how a number tells me anything about an insurance policy other than someone else’s opinion on how good it is.

[danmullen]

@Feathers

As a subsidiary issue, I still need to work out how a number tells me anything about an insurance policy other than someone else’s opinion on how good it is.

It’s not a finger in the air, a panel of experts compares policies and rates them based on cover, features, benefits, etc.

Also note, it’s the policy that is rated, not the provider. So, AXA could have two different policies that score 1-star and 5-star ratings.

[anon99402360]

I assume it’s a paid for service?

[danmullen]

Quite possibly, I have no idea. But they are an industry standard and, most importantly, it’s done objectively with no preference given for one provider over another.

[simonb]

I don’t know much about Defaqto, but for these kind of businesses in general, whilst a good rating may well be indicative of a good product, the lack of a rating absolutely isn’t indicative of anything other than that…there isn’t a rating.

It tells you precisely zero about the quality of a product or service.

It is in the interest of the service (see also Which? and TrustPilot) to have as many companies, products and services on their databases as possible, because it legitimises their business model, which is to serve as an authority in that area, and then license out their brand name and logo for adverts. When you see an advert with a TrustPilot or Defaqto rating it’s because that business has paid them to license their name and logo for advertising usage.

What the business in question must decide is if it’s worth it to drive trust or signups to their service. It may or may not be, and that may change at any given time.

Obviously the “authority” business want that answer to be yes, because it’s their business model.

For customers, it literally goes across the entire scale of from “Having that stamp of approval doesn’t factor into my decision at all”, all the way over to “I wouldn’t consider a product that didn’t have it!” and every stop in between. And all feelings are perfectly valid

[JIMMWX (Village Idiot)]

@simonb

I don’t know much about Defaqto, but for these kind of businesses in general, whilst a good rating may well be indicative of a good product, the lack of a rating absolutely isn’t indicative of anything other than that…there isn’t a rating.

It tells you precisely zero about the quality of a product or service.

Hmmm…not sure I would agree with that one. Sure, you could have the best service possible and not have a rating.

But, in most cases, to have the rating you don’t just “pay” to have it. You have to prove through audit and questions that you have the right to have that mark. In short, you have to prove that you meet a set standard of service & offering based on industry benchmarks.

Therefore it does tell you about the quality of a product or service.

Different opinions, yours is perfectly valid of course

[RAGS (Rory Stephen)]

@simonb

there isn’t a rating.

Or an easy way to make an educated decision on this financial product.
How long does it take to read 28 pages of small print and then compare it to other financial product to work out what’s what.
Defaqto, Which? Money are useful tools to help the end user get a general feel for the level of cover they are looking at.
I don’t have hours and hours to study the travel insurance market. Could be a huge gamble to pay £4 a month to Monzo/AXA. Not much peace of mind to be gained by not being easily able to compare this product.
Out of interest does AXA normally use the defaqto rating system?

[akm]

I wonder why providers even bother with the 228 pages of small print when clearly all they need is a 5 star defaqto rating.

[danmullen]

When investing, why have analyst ratings and broker forecasts when you can just read through all public limited companies’ annual accounts?

[gmclean]

I’ve seen these ratings but don’t pay them much notice. Maybe I have without realising it, ‘hey it’s got 4 stars so must be ok’ but after that… doesn’t really register.

So if you are using a badge to compare financial products then great, but I tend not to do that. Do I read 28 pages of small print? No, I look at reviews and recommendations from other people.

So, badge is a nice to have for a glance, but not sure it’s that big an issue that Monzo don’t have it.

And any rating that requires buying into a service to get a ‘certificate’ is flawed IMO (ISO being a good example of this as well).

[RAGS (Rory Stephen)]

[akm]

analyst ratings like these?

[gmclean]

@simonb

For customers, it literally goes across the entire scale of from “Having that stamp of approval doesn’t factor into my decision at all”, all the way over to “I wouldn’t consider a product that didn’t have it!” and every stop in between.

And so it follows that if Monzo thought it was a benefit for their business model, they’d pay to get that shiny badge. Or if they didn’t think it was worth it, they wouldn’t.

[RAGS (Rory Stephen)]

Is Monzo claiming anything about their insurance cover?
Is any independent entity saying it’s any good?
As a Monzo fan I have personally sold Monzo to many people for no financial gain.
I think the most important question to ask is …
Is would I recommend this policy to anyone else?
Is it great?
Is it average?
Is it basic?
Is it comprehensive?
I think in the future Monzo should let us the customers know what market level its products are. What is it - value, average or finest. Certainly save time on making an educated decision.