unresolved motor claim affecting renewal value - advice please

SJPBristol

Any advice gratefully received.

I was involved in a motor accident on Christmas Eve last year. Due to icy conditions I slid off the road whilst driving to work and ended up with all 4 wheels on the pavement. As I was getting out my car to check all was ok another car came skidding towards me and smashed into the side of my car. Thankfully the car took the full force of impact and I was uninjured. I was advised at the time by my insurers, Lloyds TSB, that I was not liable for the accident as I was stationary and the engine was switched off. My car was declared a write off a week later. I received a pay out less my excess which is taken as a matter of course and returned when the other insurers, in this case Zurich, pay Lloyds for the damage etc. When I chased this up I was told by Lloyds that Zurich were making no comment on liability but had advised 19th April that they were issuing a cheque. This has still not been received by Lloyds so still unresolved.

Yesterday I received my renewal and was distressed to find it has increased from £350 to £1600 (I drive a 54 plate fiesta zetec 1.4 - nothing spectacular or speedy). I understand now that as this is unresolved my no claims is put to zero in and my premium increased should they not recover costs from the other insurer. I''m just not able to afford to pay this kind of amount out and wait to see if it gets refunded at some point, especially as it has taken 7 months to get this far.

My question is will it affect this unresolved claim if I change insurers? Should it be resolved would I still receive my excess amount back? Can I check what my no claims would be if they hadn't zeroed it and use that to get a new quote?

Thanks in advance.

Quentin

SJPBristol wrote: »

My question is will it affect this unresolved claim if I change insurers? Should it be resolved would I still receive my excess amount back? Can I check what my no claims would be if they hadn't zeroed it and use that to get a new quote?

1) You can change insurer without affecting your claim

2) Explain to any new insurer that your claim is ongoing and ask them whether they will alter your premium and refund the difference should your NCD be reinstated (and get the reply in writing).

3) You can do on line virtual quotes to see what difference it makes to your premium with and without the NCD. (But any future refund might be different to the quoted premiums as it could well be reduced by admin fees etc)

PNPSUKNET

your insurance will still go up for the next 3-5 years as you have to declare the none fault accident. But normaly if you have an unresolved claim once your claim is sorted your current issurer will change the policy and refund

gemmalouanna

I had this problem last year as the guy who bumped me has admitted drifting into my lane but the company who he works for are insisting on 50/50 settlement which is just stupid! Anyway it goes on and on and is still unresolved!

I found Swiftcover to be very reasonable when I entered that the claim was unresolved so this may give you a reasonable price whilst you wait for it to get sorted!

warez22

The other thing is do you have legal expenses cover? If so, they could take up this claim for you and, if need be, take it to Court at no extra cost to you.

Bit extreme, granted, but can be useful to get your Legal Insurers appointed.

They would deal with the liability issues, try to recover your excess and also any other uninsured losses that you might have incurred such as hire car charges, telephone calls etc.

If you dont have Legal Expenses it might be worth looking into purchase as they can (Complete Claims Ltd being one) deal with a claim retrospectively. The approximate cost of a stand along policy is £15.

Hope that helps

McKneff

PNPSUKNET wrote: »

your insurance will still go up for the next 3-5 years as you have to declare the none fault accident. But normaly if you have an unresolved claim once your claim is sorted your current issurer will change the policy and refund

Not necessarily, it depends on the company. I am with the Cooperative insurnace and had a no fault no claim accident in April of this year, I am assured by the coop that my premium will not be affected because the Coop had no payout to do. This is not the first time this has happended, i just wish people would stop picking on my car to have a go at..:rotfl::rotfl:

tavvy_2

Phone your insurer and tell them that you are going to the insurance ombudsman