Car hit from behind

dodgy_damo

Hi all, I had an accident back in May. Was driving a coutesy car and as i was going around a roundabout I was hit from behind by an artic lorry.
Lets just say whiplash was order of the day.

Anyhow, after seeing a doctor to assess my injury, and much correspondance from my appointed solicitors (under legal cover) I was offered a settlement, but would only recieve half as the accident had been settled on a 50/50 basis (before Xmas). I still have cracking in my neck and asked for physio.

This was news to me, as my insurer had not contacted me at all, but i had constsnt correspondance with the solicitor. When the solicitor realised there had been an error they decided not to comment any further.

I rang insurers after Xmas and asked how this came about. It transpires that the girl who was dealing with my claim no longer works for them, and had made the decision to settle on this basis without consulting me (no letters or phonecalls). I asked for the case to be reopened, and made it clear i did not have any say in this decision. They have yet to get back to me....

Where do i stand? Can i get the ombudsman involved (Finaincial services authority?) Advice appreciated

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Sorry for the hastle you have had.

It is quite common for an insurance company to settle a claim on what they believe will be the most cost-effective means. Having said that, they are required to keep you reasonably informed of the progress of the claim.

Getting the Ombudsman involved at this stage is a bit overkill - they will only ask the insurer to follow their internal complaints procedure and you can do this yourself.

Write a letter to your insurers with the title "complaint about my claim". Keep it concise (unlike this post I'm doing now) and try to keep emotion out of it. Tell them you want an explanation for what they have done and that you would like a "Final Decision Letter" setting out their position.

Once you have that letter, you can then decide whether the Ombudsman needs to be involved.

dodgy_damo

Thanks OTG.
I dont think they kept me informed at all to be honest...obviously in the beginning. But as they didnt ring or write (and now it transpires the claim handler has left the company). And I've renewed with them (probably at a higher rate as I believed the accident to be non fault- not 50/50)
I'll draft a letter and send it in ASAP.
I asked about the ombudsman only as I'm unsure about the procedures i shold go through now.
Should i mention that I want the investigation/claim to be reopened or reinvestigated?

LadyIndecisive

One thing to check is - did your solicitor ensure your insurer was made aware of your uninsured loss claim? They should have done so in writing and requested that your insurer does not agree anything which might prejudice your claim. Check with your solicitor and ask for a copy of the letter perhaps.

Clearly, the insurer has prejudiced your claim to a great degree, it isn't now going to be possible to agree the liability split on different terms, ie. get it re-opened. Perhaps you will be able to get an ex gratia payment by way of an apology and/or persaude the insurer to settle the matter as 'non fault' on the system.

Roundabout accidents are often settled 50/50 where there is no independent evidence. Sometimes this is lazy claims handling.

The insurer cannot solely lay blame on the handler who left. Particularly if she issued any cheques to the third party or the third party insurers for 50% of their claim, because the person authorising the cheque(s) should have ensured any offers were in order before settlement.

HTH