Failure to disclose

Datcher

I am a named driver on my wifes car insurance. In Nov 2007 I had an accident in my own car, on my own policy, 4 days prior to renewal on my wifes insurance (my insurance company have the accident down as 'not my fault') and due to one thing and another, my wife forgot to disclose to her company I had been involved in an accident.

We have now just realised this honest mistake and have informed her company. They have had to refer it to the underwriter for a decision.

Does anybody have an idea of what the outcome might be?

tinkerbell84

additional premium, i expect.

slightly odd that your accident was forgotten by your wife when it happened so close to renewal. how come she's suddenly remembered?

Quentin

They will decide whether or not they would have agreed to issue the policy at the price they did (or would have refused to offer cover at all).

If they decide they don't want you, they will cancel.

Otherwise the premium will be amended to what it should have been if the proposal had contained the info you have now disclosed. If there is an increase they will ask for the difference.

dunstonh

If you have no claim going on at present then they will probably note the accident and ask for the difference in premium that would have been required (if one). If you have been involved in an accident (which you say is the case), the insurer needs to decide if its inadvertent non-disclosure or intentional non-disclosure.

The FOS have published rules on this so it is fairly defined as to what happens next. However, the bit that is open to interpretation is whether it was intentional or not and this is where you are going to have a hard time. The FOS generally accept that people can forget things. However, an accident in November 2007 is going to be pushing it.

Here are some examples from the FOS:
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/1/non-disclosure-case-studies.htm

Case 01/124 doesnt look good for you as that is about non-disclosure by a wife:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]01/024 [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]motor – non-disclosure – “accident or loss” – named driver – whether policyholder obliged to disclose named driver’s loss. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The policyholder applied for motor insurance, answering ‘no’ to the following two questions on the proposal form: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“Has the car been altered/modified from the maker’s specification (including the addition of optional fit accessories such as spoilers, skirts, alloy wheels etc.?) [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“Have YOU or ANY PERSON who will drive ... during the past five years been involved in any accident or loss (irrespective of blame and of whether a claim resulted)?”[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]When the insurer investigated a new claim, it came to light that the car had been fitted with oversized alloy wheels, spoilers, and chrome wheel arches, and that the policyholder’s husband, a named driver on the policy, had made two significant claims in the previous five years. The insurer refused to meet the claim and cancelled the policy from its start date. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The policyholder stated that she had bought the car with the all the modifications already fitted, and she assumed they were all part of the car’s original specification. She further explained that she did not realise her husband had made one of the two earlier claims, and that his other claim had been rejected because he had only third party cover at the time. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]complaint rejected [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]On the evidence presented, we accepted the policyholder genuinely believed the car was not modified when she bought it. The fact remained, however, that she failed to disclose her husband’s previous claims. The question in issue was clear and unambiguous, and asked for details of any ‘loss’ irrespective of whether a claim was made. The policyholder ought, therefore, to have appreciated the need to disclose those previous incidents. By not doing so, she misled the insurer into accepting a risk it would only otherwise have agreed to cover, if at all, in return for a substantially higher premium.[/FONT]

tinkerbell84

dunstonh wrote: »

If you have no claim going on at present then they will probably note the accident and ask for the difference in premium that would have been required (if one). If you have been involved in an accident (which you say is the case), the insurer needs to decide if its inadvertent non-disclosure or intentional non-disclosure.
.[/FONT][/SIZE]

Where does it say that?

dunstonh

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

Where does it say that?

It doesnt... having just re-read it. After starting my post I looked back to see if there was a claim or not and misread "I had been involved in an accident".

I wont edit my post as its still a useful reference for both no accident and if accident occurs.

Datcher

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

additional premium, i expect.

slightly odd that your accident was forgotten by your wife when it happened so close to renewal. how come she's suddenly remembered?

Thanks for you replies.
tinkerbell84 - Are you judging the morals of my wife and I? Slightly cheap! All I can say is that if I hadgone out to deceive the insurance company - why would I/we have disclosed it now? I just need advice.

It has all come to light due to the fact we are changing both our cars and there is a disparity between how many accidents the two insurance companies recorded.

If the insurance don't want me any more - does that mean I should be indicating on new quotations, that 'I have been refused insurance in the past'?

dunstonh

If the insurance don't want me any more - does that mean I should be indicating on new quotations, that 'I have been refused insurance in the past'?

If they void the policy and refuse cover then yes you would have to declare that they voided the policy due to non-disclosure. Unlikely to be required though as you brought the error to their attention. With no claim, the premium increase is likely to be the only outcome.

tinkerbell84

Datcher wrote: »

Thanks for you replies.
tinkerbell84 - Are you judging the morals of my wife and I? Slightly cheap! All I can say is that if I hadgone out to deceive the insurance company - why would I/we have disclosed it now? I just need advice.

It has all come to light due to the fact we are changing both our cars and there is a disparity between how many accidents the two insurance companies recorded.

Not at all. Like dunstonh i thought you may be needing to claim on your wife's insurance and had suddenly remembered about yours. It happens all the time.