Increased car insurance premiums after a no fault claim

I have a more extreme example of being ripped off by an insurance company:

I took out a policy with Sabre Insurance via online broker, bewiser.com. I was contacted a few days later and asked about a incident I had registered in March 2010 and not declared during the inception interview. I explained that it was purely a 'notificiation' to report that my unoccupied parked vehicle had been damaged (dented door) in a car park and that I had decided not to make a claim because CCTV had not identified the offender and the repair costs would have equated to the excess I would have paid. I argued that I had answered the questions asked during the inception honestly and accurately i.e. that I had not made any claims, had any accidents or been convicted in the last five years. Sabre decided that, despite being 30 miles away from my carefully parked car when it was damaged, my accident risk level had increased to such an extent that a 20% increase in my premium was warrranted!

I entered into a lengthy and relatively bitter dispute with the insurance broker and put up such a forceful argument that they waived their administration fee and covered some of the increased premium.

My advice would be to never notify your insurer of any 'incident' similar to mine unless you are sure there will be a related claim made. Also, please steer clear of Sabre Insurance - they don't deserve your custom.

the voice