Help, car insurance won't cover claim!

almo81

My partner was driving on an A road last night when the bonnet flew up onto the windscreen and roof of the car. Thankfully no-one was hurt and no other vehicles were involved.
I called my insurance company this morning as they don't have a 24hr claims line to be told that the car would not be covered because he didn't hit anything/anyone else???
I have comprehensive cover and am now left with a severly damaged vehicle.
Any help would be grateley appriciated.:(

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

The "emergency helpline" for insurance companies are usually useless. If you think about it, who wants to work nights answering telephones? They employ students for as little as possible and make a question and answer set that will pick up 90% of cases. Essentially, the person you spoke to doesn't care, isn't paid enough to care and if they lost that job, they'd probably go and work in McDonalds (other fast food restaurants are available).

Give your insurers a call and report the claim properly.

almo81

Thanks for your comment Oscar, but as my post says I did call my insurers this morning and it is them who told me I would not be covered??:(

Quentin

You aren't insured against defects in your car! (Or defective bonnet closing by the last person to open it!!)

Oscar_The_Grouch

Get your car booked in to a local garage. If you can show that there was a problem with the bonnet catch then any resultant damage may be covered (the catch itself won't be). If I were you, I'd phone my insurers and say "if this claim was covered, where would you have told me to take the car?" and book it in there. That way, if your insurers agree the claim, you are at the right garage straight away and may get a courtesy car whilst yours is being repaired.

And I'm sorry I missread your original post!!

Quentin

Oscar_The_Grouch wrote: »

If you can show that there was a problem with the bonnet catch then any resultant damage may be covered

Under which section of the policy?

You are raising false hopes!

BenL

Was it a Clio? They were on watchdog every week for years about the bonnet issue. I can't remember the outcome in the end if they decided it was a fault or user error.

Even if it wasn't a Clio I would have a search around on the internet for what those owners did about claiming.

huckster

Quentin wrote: »

Under which section of the policy?

You are raising false hopes!

I believe Insurers have paid out following these type of situation on comprehensive policies. I am sure when Watchdog covered the 'Clio issue' several of the people featured had made successful claims.

The poster should ask to speak to someone senior at the Insurers and ask them to investigate this further.

SandC

It's down to issues with the car and not an accident. Could be simple wear and tear if it's an older car or if you consider the bonnet catch to be faulty then you should contact the manufacturer and try to claim the cost back from them.

Quentin

huckster wrote: »

I believe Insurers have paid out following these type of situation on comprehensive policies. I am sure when Watchdog covered the 'Clio issue' several of the people featured had made successful claims.

The poster should ask to speak to someone senior at the Insurers and ask them to investigate this further.

Under which section of a policy would a policyholder be covered?

The Watchdog Clio boot catch campaign got Renault to deal with the issue.

paulfoel

How can this be covered on an insurance policy? You didnt have an accident. It was caused by a fault or wear and tear...

For instance, if my wheel falls off my car for whatever reason, the insurance arent going to cough up are they?