Car Insurance Claim Declined “without prejudice” ???

aj3001

But at some point it gets very stupid, my neighbour for example has a D reg Sierra Cosworth, this car, Ford do not stock parts for, so when he needs a part that he cannot get, he is forced to go for something aftermarket, in theory this needs to be declared.

My car has a performance air filter in it, the power upgrade is proballly about 0.25bhp, so I should declare that, also I have blue neons in the passanger footwells, window spoilers as well are also on the car, so where is the line of what you declare and what you don't? My girlfriends mums car was crashed and insurance company almost refused to payout because of a Rhino sticker on the back (it was a Suzuki Vitara) and my dad may have the same problem with a red pin stripe down the side of his car.

That is what I think is stupid, I think you should have to declare everything that improves performance by a certain amount, and in my neighbours case, he has no other option

uberzoldat

It seems like you need to declare every piece of dust on cars these days, insurance companies will always look for an excuse, however weak, not to pay.

Tahiti

You technically have to disclose all material facts under any insurance policy.

A car insurance example. A friend of mine had a new Mini Cooper specced with a Chili Pack. That added £45 to the cost of insurance. Now in three years time the owner isn't necessarily going to know what's standard and what isn't. Therefore they're likely to get away with not declaring it. However, if there are big blatantly aftermarket wheels on a car that wouldn't feasibly have had them from the factory, you technically haven't got a leg to stand on.

Vinny - if your insurers are claiming that the car is modified, whether or not you repair it yourself, they may well ask for an additional premium for the additional perceived risk, or cancel the policy. Just be warned.

I love modded cars (done properly), but insurance can be a pain in the ar*e! I added an induction kit to my first car, and the insurers wanted £80 more for it. The irony is that it lost power because of its position in the engine bay (it sucked in hot air).

Anyway, I hope you get things sorted.

V1NNY

I’ve just had a letter from my insurance company requesting further information from me (copy of driving license, completed claim form, copy of vehicle purchase receipt, MOT & registration documents, receipt for modifications, dates modifications took place etc).

In the letter they say that they found my car to have a spoiler (correct), alloy wheels (correct), suspension lowered (incorrect) & a big boar exhaust????? (incorrect). I don’t even know what a big boar exhaust is. I know that over the years certain parts of the exhaust have had to be replaced & this has been done at places such as Kwik Fit & National. At no point did I ask for a boar exhaust, just the standard part for the car.

I have a feeling they are going to try & cancel my policy once I supply them with all the information they have requested (or maybe add a substantial premium to my policy). However neither of them will be possible as they have to give me 7 days written notice to cancel my policy & my insurance will have expired by then.

Seeing as my insurance with them is due to expire in a week’s time & I can get the car repaired for the same price as my excess with them, what would be my best course of action? Maybe ignore their letter & then get the car repaired myself?

mattymoo

Possibly time to go on the offensive methinks.

Admit it does have the alloys and spoiler - present when you brought the car. Explain that you were not aware what is and what isn't standard kit but will be guided by them if they feel an additional premium is needed.

Starting off nicely you see.

Then suggest that you have no forms of wild boar, big boar or any member of the pig family attached to your car and are not quite sure what planet their engineer is on.

The same also applies to the lowering of the car. Ask if their engineer has lost a couple of inches off his tape measure because the suspension is straight and to original specs.

Bit of humour to get their attention.

Now suggest options to them
A) You ask their engineer to inspect the car at your house and discuss how he arrived at his conclusions.
b) You arrange for an independent engieneer to look at it (you will find them in yellow pages) but the insurers will be responsible for the cost of the report if it backs up your assertions.


Finish off explaining how disappointed you are in their level of customer service and would like the full details of their complaints procedure in case you need to take matters further.

Good luck.

cas26

scheming_gypsy wrote:

This is one that gets me when i do my insurance renewals. I've got a '96 Golf VR6 Highline which i bought in September '04 and it came with VW alloys on it. The Highline was / is the top spec VR6 and had modifications as standard but no idea if the alloys are part of that modification.
I don't fancy declaring them and paying for them if i don't have to.

You could always phone up annonymously to find out if it would change the premium, have you tried any of the car websites,such as http://www.glass.co.uk/uk/en/ to see if they were standard?