Cancelling Swiftcover car insurance but they want money, how, why?

lisyloo

I'd rather not lose my no claims.

If he claims off you then you don't have a choice.
If there is no evidence either way then I'm afraid 50/50 liability is very liekly.

So question is do I make a claim against him? Or wait?

Personally I'd wait.
It only happened a week ago and he might be really busy and waiting for quotes from garages.
He might even be on holiday, away on business or ill, so a week is nothing,
Unfortunately he has 6 years to make a claim (although it gets a lot less credible as time goes on).

Again I just don't want a loss of NCB or premium rising.

Does you car need fixing immediately, or is it driveable?
If you put in a claim you might provoke him?
If he puts in a claim you are likely to lose your NCB and face increased premiums, so you have nothing to lose by claiming.

Is it possible he's in the same position as you i.e. mexican stand off?

If you think he's a decent person you could call him with a view to agreeing to not go through insurance, however anything you agree on the phone won't be legally binding, so there is nothign to stop him going back on that.

What was his attitude?
He can't admit liability, but did his demeanor indicate he thought you were at fault or was he eating humble pie?
What type of car did he have - expensive? or old banger?
What was the extent of the damage?

If I have an old banger I would be less likely to claim and would put up with cosmetic damage.
If I had a new or valuable car then I'd want it properly repaired by a dealer to a gleaming state.

crazy_gooner

lisyloo wrote: »

If he claims off you then you don't have a choice.
If there is no evidence either way then I'm afraid 50/50 liability is very liekly.



Personally I'd wait.
It only happened a week ago and he might be really busy and waiting for quotes from garages.
Unfortunately he has 6 years to make a claim (although it gets a lot less credible as time goes on).



Does you car need fixing immediately, or is it driveable?
If you put in a claim you might provoke him?
If he puts in a claim you are likely to lose your NCB and face increased premiums, so you have nothing to lose by claiming.

Is it possible he's in the same position as you i.e. mexican stand off?

If you think he's a decent person you could call him with a view to agreeing to not go through insurance, however anything you agree on the phone won't be legally binding, so there is nothign to stop him going back on that.

I was thinking the same, to be honest he didn't seem polite or anything when it happened.

My car is driveable, I am just going to replace the smashed headlight myself, his was only bumper damage.

I was also thinking if I put a claim against him obviously he will chase his up, same was I would if he did with me.

If I do wait untill he makes a claim (f he does) I'l still be in a good position right in terms of his insurance repairing my car (the body work damage). For example wouldn't want them saying why did I wait so long.

My insurance said if the don't hear anything or they do, the case will be closed in 3 months.

Thanks!

crazy_gooner

aaronon wrote: »

When I initially called up my insurer they said that I may lose my no claims bonus if they couldn't prove I wasn't at fault or it wasn't 50/50. I had the proof though and therefore the claim was all done through the other drivers insurance.

Nothing happened to my no claims bonus or my premiums.

You could call the council and enquire about cameras in that area and then tell the insurance company that there is (if there are CCTV) CCTV available that proves you were the innocent party.

Good point, which I may take up later today when I'm home. Thanks.

lisyloo

If I do wait untill he makes a claim (f he does) I'l still be in a good position right in terms of his insurance repairing my car (the body work damage). For example wouldn't want them saying why did I wait so long.

If you both put in a claim in 2 years time, then the insurers will ask you both "why did you wait so long?". But you are both in the same situation as regards this.
Over the course of time the story/evidence becomes less compelling.

My insurance said if the don't hear anything or they do, the case will be closed in 3 months.

The insurers can do whatever they want.
Legally he has a right to claim for damage for 6 years (and personal injury for 3).
Your insurer cannot change his legal rights by coming up with some administrative timescale.
Similarly his insurer cannot change your legal rights.

Obviously as time goes on it becomes less likely.
As it's only been a week there could be umpteen reasons nothing has happened including letters lost in the post.
My FIL got a personal injury claim sent to him 18 months after an accident.

If I was in your shoes and he didn't seem like a complete weirdo, I'd probably call him and say "look I would rather fix my car myself, how about you", just bear in mind he can change his mind.

crazy_gooner

lisyloo wrote: »

If you both put in a claim in 2 years time, then the insurers will ask you both "why did you wait so long?". But you are both in the same situation as regards this.
Over the course of time the story/evidence becomes less compelling.

The insurers can do whatever they want.
Legally he has a right to claim for damage for 6 years (and personal injury for 3).
Your insurer cannot change his legal rights by coming up with some administrative timescale.
Similarly his insurer cannot change your legal rights.

Obviously as time goes on it becomes less likely.
As it's only been a week there could be umpteen reasons nothing has happened including letters lost in the post.
My FIL got a personal injury claim sent to him 18 months after an accident.

If I was in your shoes and he didn't seem like a complete weirdo, I'd probably call him and say "look I would rather fix my car myself, how about you", just bear in mind he can change his mind.

I see, well I'm in two minds now whether to call and claim from him or wait, I really don't know.

I'm also thinking shall I call him, but the way he was just tells me not to, or again do I wait. Hmmmmm decisions...

lisyloo

You don't have to do anything NOW (unless of course your car requires unrgent repairs for safety or to make it driveable).
Waiting a couple of years is probably a bad plan, but could you wait a couple of weeks and review. Mull it over, sleep on it.

It's really easy to explain away a few weeks (ill in bed with man flu, didn't you get my first letter?, away on business, on holiday).

If your gut tells you not to call him, then go with your instinct.

crazy_gooner

lisyloo wrote: »

You don't have to do anything NOW (unless of course your car requires unrgent repairs for safety or to make it driveable).
Waiting a couple of years is probably a bad plan, but could you wait a couple of weeks and review. Mull it over, sleep on it.

It's really easy to explain away a few weeks (ill in bed with man flu, didn't you get my first letter?, away on business, on holiday).

If your gut tells you not to call him, then go with your instinct.

Haha thanks, funny enough I did have flu in the past week after I had the incident, going to wait a few more weeks then assess it again. Will keep everyone updated.

Thanks again.

crazy_gooner

Hi guys, it's been a while but today I received this:

Dear Sir

We write with reference to the above dated claim and advise that the third party insurer continue to dispute liability. In view of the differing circumstances and due to the lack of independent witness evidence we feel this would be best settled on a 50/50 basis.

If this case were to proceed to court the independent adjudicator would advise the same as there is no evidence to prove either version of events.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,


Ms H.Laurent


..

My question is, will my insurance go up as of now? If so , i may not be able to afford it, being on low income/student etc.

Or would it increase when I go to renew?

Secondly if it does go up as of now, would I be in my right to cancel if I don't wish to pay out more now or cannot afford it.

Thanks

Quentin

This won't affect your current premium.

When renewal comes, then your premium could well go up - if you currently hold any NCD, then this will go down by 2 years and none will be added for the current year. Apart from the NCD issue, having this claim on your history may well result in a loading to your premium.

(And although it won't affect your premium, forget about being able to cancel this year's policy - now that it has been claimed against, you will have to pay for the full years premium)

Note that if 50/50 is agreed, then the third party should pay 50% of your costs associated with the incident. So as you have some costs, get a claim into them.

crazy_gooner

Quentin wrote: »

This won't affect your current premium.

When renewal comes, then your premium could well go up - if you currently hold any NCD, then this will go down by 2 years and none will be added for the current year. Apart from the NCD issue, having this claim on your history may well result in a loading to your premium.

(And although it won't affect your premium, forget about being able to cancel this year's policy - now that it has been claimed against, you will have to pay for the full years premium)

Note that if 50/50 is agreed, then the third party should pay 50% of your costs associated with the incident. So as you have some costs, get a claim into them.

Thanks very much Quentin. Appreciate your response and has made me feel a lot better.

I guess I should get an invoice/quote from the mechanics who fixed my car and send it off to the insurer in order to get some money back (as I paid for my costs)

Thanks again.