Monday, December 21, 2009

Wanted: Insurance Know-It-All!?

Good news is I'm slowly climbing out of the puddle of woe I was in after receiving my first real revisions. Hopefully all the stress and lack of sleep is good training for if I ever actually get published.

The lovely editor I'm working with has given me the go ahead on my thoughts for revision, but there's just one itty bitty problem.

INSURANCE!

That's right... my heroine prangs into the hero's swish, red convertible and in the original incarnation she's 'between insurance companies' and therefore stressed because he's annoyed about his car and she's about to tell him she can't afford to fix it.

Problem is the heroine needs to be BEYOND REPROACH and let's face it, anyone who doesn't have insurance is a bit of a ninny! So I need her to have insurance just not want to claim it for some reason.

The heroine is saving for/pursuing IVF as a single woman and so she needs all the dosh she can get. However from my understanding excess, no matter what kind of car she prangs, will be maximum $500 or something. There was the option that she doesn't want to claim because she wants to look irresponsible for the IVF treatment but in Australia single women are legally allowed to do IVF, so I don't think this would be an issue either.

Still ... without the insurance issue, she has no reason to feel indebted to the hero and therefore the next bit of the plot doesn't work. If the next bit doesn't work, neither does the next and so on and so on. Besides... the editor liked the car prang and what the editor likes we give her!!!

So... am desperately hoping that someone out there knows a bit about insurance. Is there any way around my little problem!? Will pay oodles of cyber chocolates to anyone with a solution :)

8 comments:

Lorraine said...

Hey I can do the boring stuff! What about losing her no claims bonus? That's a huge financial incentive here in the UK, the bills go up massively if you lose it and people often opt to pay for damage rather than do that. Combine it with the excess and maybe that's enough?

Maisey said...

I imagine we have such different laws I cannot be of help. No insurance = fine. Oh, and no driving. So, not an option!

It's a shame that women are so hard on other women. It makes our heroines have to be such paragons. *sigh*

My friend had an ex cancel her insurance without her knowing it...does your heroine have a nasty ex?

Caroline said...

How about the heroine asked someone to do it for her - say posting the letter with the cheque in it etc by her sister/mother/friend. Sister/mother/friend forgot - heroine in the poop? Dunno if you can do that or not - but it may work. Take care. Caroline x

Suzanne Brandyn Author said...

Hi Rach,
She's had her car insured for a year, the statement was sent out but she didn't receive it.

I know they do an automatic transfers for account payments, but perhaps she likes everything to be sent to her on paper and pays by phone, in person, cheque account or whatever. Pyments are easily overlooked these days without a prompt.

So her insurance has expired three weeks after the due date. This would be far too long for the insurance company to be able to help her out. Her policy has expired and that's that.

This does happen as I have had three important letters go missing in the mail over the last two months. That's all I can offer sorry. :)

Jackie Ashenden said...

I'm going with the no-claims bonus, myself. Apart from that, I know nothing...:-)

Janette Radevski said...

The no claims bonus sounds like a winner. I think the insurance company we are with gives you a range of excess options - ie cheaper insurance rate, but massively expensive excess fee? Will that fit with her wanting to save for other things BUT still have insurance??

Cathryn Hein said...

I'm a bit of a fan of the direct debit mix up type scenario. Those sorts of things can happen very easily.

Very cool your ed has given you the go-ahead with your revision ideas.

I'm so excited for you!

Rachael Johns said...

Thank you thank you thank again to all your wonderful people!

I find that whatever I decide I have to believe it myself or I won't be able to transfer belief to the page. Have decided her insurance company went bust that morning!!! LOL