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car insurance - accident, advice needed
martin1981
Posts: 28 Forumite
Hello,
Sorry if this or similar has been discussed before but I couldn't find any topics on this exactly. Btw sorry this will be quite a long post but it has become a pretty complicated situation...
Parked my car in London recently (bad mistake!!), just after having a lot of work done including new clutch, front and back breaks, suspension springs, wishbone etc. It was on the borderline whether the repairs were worth doing, but it only became evident that more fixes were needed after the clutch had been put in and the MOT attempted. In fact I would've considered the repairs worthwhile because the car was running very smoothly after that, good as new. I was considering getting a new car in the next few months anyway, and would've been able to sell it at a decent price.
However the day after I got it back from the garage an idiot in a van crashed into the side of the car while parked (I was not in the car), completely scratching/denting along one side of the car. The van driver was insured, but drove off from the scene so it was a "hit and run". Luckily a helpful passer by saw the accident and left a note under my windscreen wiper, and is willing to act as a witness. I did all the usual report to the police, crime reference, reported to insurance company etc.
The car was still driveable, but was deemed to be too expensive to repair the bodywork due to the extent of the damage (and cost of new panels etc.) Also, after the accident there was an intermittent rattling sound coming from the bottom of the car which was not there before (perhaps the exhaust coming loose, but they did not even get to the stage of investigating the cause because it was written off on the basis of the bodywork damage). They let me have the car back, but charged me £340 "salvage charge". I did not want to drive it with the awful bodywork damage, and the potential ongoing repair costs related to whatever the new rattling sound was (plus potentially further unknown damage caused by the accident). So I have sold it to a friend for the same amount as the salvage charge, after making him aware of the all the issues with the car and accident.
Now it is a month and a half later, I am about to receive a cheque for the car, which is reasonable-ish, but considering all the repairs I had done I'm still losing out by hundreds of £'s due to something which is not my fault whatsoever. I know "that's life" when it comes to car repairs, but this was the very same day I got it back from the garage, and I only had the chance to drive it for about 10 miles or so!! I have been driving a courtesy car provided by my insurance company for the last six weeks, but as soon as I receive the cheque in the post I will have to give the courtesy car back and will need a new car.
So what's the problem? Well, my insurance company claim to have notified the van driver's insurance a month ago, but after I spent several hours on the phone to them it emerged that they'd sent the letter to the wrong department of that company! So I'm bascially back to square one. My insurance co. will not admit for a second that it is their fault because "we didn't send it to the wrong address, just the wrong department"!!! And the other insurance company claim they had no knowledge of the incident at all until the other day (why the department that received the original letter could not have forwarded it to the correct dept. is anybody's guess?!).
So I'm in the situation where I have to give the courtesy car back pretty much immediately, but this issue is possibly months from being resolved if the insurance co. and/or other driver decide not to reply to the letters straight away. At the time of the incident I was told I would definitely NOT lose my no claims bonus. However they neglected to tell me that (as far as I can gather) until it is resolved the accident is showing on the records as "my fault" even though I was not in the car!! What's more I'm effectively losing my no claims bonus (also until it is resolved and the other insurance co. has paid out). I have only been driving for just over 3 years, but have done loads of miles in that time, including a lot of motorway driving and some across Europe, and I have never had any other accident at all (my fault or otherwise). I only have 2 years no claims bonus because there was a period of a few months in 2008 when I was having financial difficulties, so could not afford to repair my car for several months and canceled the car insurance policy due to the car not being used.
So I'm looking for new cars now, but don't know what the best thing to say to a new insurance company as I look for the car. As far as I can tell my premium is going to shoot up massively because even though I can explain the situation to them, technically I look like I've had a recent accident which was my fault and zero no claims bonus! I believe this would apply to my premium even if I carried on with the current insurance co., which I'm not planning to do because I'm unhappy with the way they've handled this situation, also they say they will not insure me for the car I want because the insurance group is higher than my previous car...
I got quotes for the car I want last week, and many other insurance company's were willing to insure me for the same car at a reasonable price. However those quotes were on the basis that I thought I still had a 2 years no claims, and that I had not had any accidents which were my fault (I mentioned the accident but put it down as "not drivers fault and all costs recovered from 3rd party", which is what I thought the situation was!!).
I'm going to call around insurance companies now, but want to know any advice of what I should say and if there's anything else I can do to help me in this situation. I've got a feeling a lot of the insurers will now not even insure me now because of my current status!! Ok I could go for a car in a lower insurance group, but I've spent about a month researching cars before I knew I'd have this problem, and it's the one I really want. It's also the car which is most suitable for me with a family (plus I need a larger than average boot space for work reasons which restricts my options a lot). In any case whatever car I went for I'd still be losing out so it's the same situation really.
If I can get the same insurance policy I've been quoted for it will now be very expensive (even with the original quotes I was going to pay up front to save a bit). Once the incident is finally resolved and my insurance co. have recovered the costs from the other side, I will (apparently) regain my no clams bonus and accident status. However this doesn't help me much now as I need a car. So would there be any way I can recover these extra costs further down the line? If so how would I go about doing this?
I'd just like to hear from anybody who's been in a similar situation to this and might be able to offer advice, because it seems quite unfair to me. Thanks in advance.
Sorry if this or similar has been discussed before but I couldn't find any topics on this exactly. Btw sorry this will be quite a long post but it has become a pretty complicated situation...
Parked my car in London recently (bad mistake!!), just after having a lot of work done including new clutch, front and back breaks, suspension springs, wishbone etc. It was on the borderline whether the repairs were worth doing, but it only became evident that more fixes were needed after the clutch had been put in and the MOT attempted. In fact I would've considered the repairs worthwhile because the car was running very smoothly after that, good as new. I was considering getting a new car in the next few months anyway, and would've been able to sell it at a decent price.
However the day after I got it back from the garage an idiot in a van crashed into the side of the car while parked (I was not in the car), completely scratching/denting along one side of the car. The van driver was insured, but drove off from the scene so it was a "hit and run". Luckily a helpful passer by saw the accident and left a note under my windscreen wiper, and is willing to act as a witness. I did all the usual report to the police, crime reference, reported to insurance company etc.
The car was still driveable, but was deemed to be too expensive to repair the bodywork due to the extent of the damage (and cost of new panels etc.) Also, after the accident there was an intermittent rattling sound coming from the bottom of the car which was not there before (perhaps the exhaust coming loose, but they did not even get to the stage of investigating the cause because it was written off on the basis of the bodywork damage). They let me have the car back, but charged me £340 "salvage charge". I did not want to drive it with the awful bodywork damage, and the potential ongoing repair costs related to whatever the new rattling sound was (plus potentially further unknown damage caused by the accident). So I have sold it to a friend for the same amount as the salvage charge, after making him aware of the all the issues with the car and accident.
Now it is a month and a half later, I am about to receive a cheque for the car, which is reasonable-ish, but considering all the repairs I had done I'm still losing out by hundreds of £'s due to something which is not my fault whatsoever. I know "that's life" when it comes to car repairs, but this was the very same day I got it back from the garage, and I only had the chance to drive it for about 10 miles or so!! I have been driving a courtesy car provided by my insurance company for the last six weeks, but as soon as I receive the cheque in the post I will have to give the courtesy car back and will need a new car.
So what's the problem? Well, my insurance company claim to have notified the van driver's insurance a month ago, but after I spent several hours on the phone to them it emerged that they'd sent the letter to the wrong department of that company! So I'm bascially back to square one. My insurance co. will not admit for a second that it is their fault because "we didn't send it to the wrong address, just the wrong department"!!! And the other insurance company claim they had no knowledge of the incident at all until the other day (why the department that received the original letter could not have forwarded it to the correct dept. is anybody's guess?!).
So I'm in the situation where I have to give the courtesy car back pretty much immediately, but this issue is possibly months from being resolved if the insurance co. and/or other driver decide not to reply to the letters straight away. At the time of the incident I was told I would definitely NOT lose my no claims bonus. However they neglected to tell me that (as far as I can gather) until it is resolved the accident is showing on the records as "my fault" even though I was not in the car!! What's more I'm effectively losing my no claims bonus (also until it is resolved and the other insurance co. has paid out). I have only been driving for just over 3 years, but have done loads of miles in that time, including a lot of motorway driving and some across Europe, and I have never had any other accident at all (my fault or otherwise). I only have 2 years no claims bonus because there was a period of a few months in 2008 when I was having financial difficulties, so could not afford to repair my car for several months and canceled the car insurance policy due to the car not being used.
So I'm looking for new cars now, but don't know what the best thing to say to a new insurance company as I look for the car. As far as I can tell my premium is going to shoot up massively because even though I can explain the situation to them, technically I look like I've had a recent accident which was my fault and zero no claims bonus! I believe this would apply to my premium even if I carried on with the current insurance co., which I'm not planning to do because I'm unhappy with the way they've handled this situation, also they say they will not insure me for the car I want because the insurance group is higher than my previous car...
I got quotes for the car I want last week, and many other insurance company's were willing to insure me for the same car at a reasonable price. However those quotes were on the basis that I thought I still had a 2 years no claims, and that I had not had any accidents which were my fault (I mentioned the accident but put it down as "not drivers fault and all costs recovered from 3rd party", which is what I thought the situation was!!).
I'm going to call around insurance companies now, but want to know any advice of what I should say and if there's anything else I can do to help me in this situation. I've got a feeling a lot of the insurers will now not even insure me now because of my current status!! Ok I could go for a car in a lower insurance group, but I've spent about a month researching cars before I knew I'd have this problem, and it's the one I really want. It's also the car which is most suitable for me with a family (plus I need a larger than average boot space for work reasons which restricts my options a lot). In any case whatever car I went for I'd still be losing out so it's the same situation really.
If I can get the same insurance policy I've been quoted for it will now be very expensive (even with the original quotes I was going to pay up front to save a bit). Once the incident is finally resolved and my insurance co. have recovered the costs from the other side, I will (apparently) regain my no clams bonus and accident status. However this doesn't help me much now as I need a car. So would there be any way I can recover these extra costs further down the line? If so how would I go about doing this?
I'd just like to hear from anybody who's been in a similar situation to this and might be able to offer advice, because it seems quite unfair to me. Thanks in advance.
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Comments
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you need to put it as 3rd party hit, recovery o/s or your policy will be void.0
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Thanks for the reply, however I don't fully understand, sorry. I don't think I can "put it" as anything, until resolved it's currently showing that I've had an accident which is my fault, and that I have zero no claims discount (until the money is recovered from the other side). AFAIK I don't have any choice as to how my status is shown on the insurance company's computer, which is shared information?
Obviously when looking for quotes with new insurance companies I am explaining in full what the accident was and that it could not possibly be my fault (because I was not in the car), and that the costs will be recovered one way or another. However the 2 or 3 I have spoken to so far have all been in agreement that technically my current status is "recently had an accident which IS my fault, and zero no claims bonus", and there's nothing I can do about that. I will try and speak to them again, or get different quotes and mention what you said though.
I don't understand what you mean about the policy being void, I assume you mean the new policy when I get it? Unless several companies are trying to sell me policies which they know to be void then I don't see how that can be the case (as I've explained the situation fully on the phone while gathering quotes).you need to put it as 3rd party hit, recovery o/s or your policy will be void.0 -
I've done more research based on what you said, and tried Direct Line who DO have the option which you mentioned, sorry you were right it's just nobody else mentioned that to be before while I was getting the other quotes.
However it was not good news, I did two quotes with Direct Line, one putting it as "no claims made" and saying I had a 2 year no claims bonus. I.e. the situation I will be in again once this issue has been resolved and the money recovered. This one was fine, and they actually quoted me a really good price.
However, when I did another quote tweaking the parameters to the situation I'm actually in, i.e. zero no claims and "3rd party hit recovery o/s" they refuse to insurance me at all!
So because of somebody at MoreThan (my current insurer) sending a letter to the wrong address I'm totally screwed now and cannot get insurance at all until they finally recover the costs.you need to put it as 3rd party hit, recovery o/s or your policy will be void.0 -
One thing the guy from Direct Line told me over the phone was if I had my insurance with them they would've guaranteed to sort it out within 2 weeks of the accident...
Is anybody with Direct Line and can confirm that they would actually do this, or is it just marketing talk to try and get me to go over to them?? If it is true I think I'll be going with them next time once this is finally sorted out and the costs recovered.0 -
Just wanted to do an update in case anybody else in same situation, or in case anybody at all is considering More Than as an option for car insurance. Sorry if this post is a bit of rant, but the "service" I've received has just been insanely bad and I want to make other people aware of it...
The situation has got even more ridiculous now, and the main thing I have to say is that More Than car insurance should absolutely be avoided at all costs. This is by no means a comprehensive list but here are some further complaints since my last post:
-I became increasingly frustrated with More Than doing absolutely nothing, and insisted on getting the 3rd party insurance company's details so I could speak to them myself. I phoned the 3rd party company and they were actually very helpful. The guy there called their client on his mobile phone, who did not deny responsibility for the accident (said he "couldn't remember"), so they IMMEDIATELY said on the spot they'd be happy to pay off my insurance company without getting into any further complications or legal action, as they guy effectively did not deny responsibility! This was ONE 10 MINUTE PHONECALL when I'd been getting absolutely nowhere with More Than for almost 2 months! So I basically did their job for them when they repeatedly and spectacularly failed to do it properly. If I had not made this phone call it would've taken a FURTHER SIX WEEKS MINIMUM to resolve the claim while they waited for letters not to be responded to and legal action to be sent out. From speaking to the 3rd party's company I also ascertained that More Than had not even told them that the "accident" was a hit and run had been reported to the police as a crime (this is another example of them lying to me, as I was assured by several people at More Than that the 3rd party company had been made fully aware of this)
-Sent me not one but TWO incorrect cheques based on the previous incorrect valuation of the car (I wonder how many people they manage to rip off all the time who don't check or just don't realise the value is wrong!!). Unsurprisingly the incorrect amount was significantly lower than the actual settlement amount, which they'd already agreed upon before issuing the incorrect cheques!
-Lied to me (yet again) by leading me to believe they were giving me a special favour by "allowing" me to keep the courtesy car for 7 days after receiving the settlement cheque, when in fact this is just the standard policy whatever the circumstances of the claim
-The other day they finally did one thing right (at the 3rd attempt) and sent me the correct cheque. HOWEVER THE CLAIM IS STILL UNRESOLVED!! This is because this week (at least 2 weeks after they agreed on the correct amount), they asked for the wrong amount of money from the 3rd party company!! They've just told me it could now take them minimum SIX WEEKS OR EVEN LONGER to resolve the claim, because apparently that is how long it takes for them to collect the required documents from another department and send them to the 3rd party's company?!?!??!?! This is done by fax so they're effectively telling me it could take them months just to send a fax asking for the correct amount of money, and while they do that I still have zero no claims bonus!!
I honestly find all this completely unbelievable, and have made several complaints to various departments/managers today which will hopefully mean they do it a little quicker, but I'm not holding my breath. Completely insane because the guy at the 3rd party company said they are happy to pay the correct amount immediately as soon as they have received the fax asking for it. In the meantime I still have zero no claims bonus and an "at fault" "accident" on my record so unable to get anything other than ridiculously expensive insurance for a new car. And I will have no car in 3 days time as they're taking the courtesy car back.0 -
Sorry to hear about your situation.
Personally I would fine out the official complaints procedure for your insurance company and follow it, making sure you are accurate with all your details, and including all dates and names of people you have spoken to. Make sure to keep to the facts and remain objective.
I would also advise your insurance company that you will now expect them to either extend the term of your replacement car as you claim is not yet settled (until you have received your correct settlement amount) or that you will be claiming any costs incurred due to their inefficiency from them.0 -
martin1981 wrote: »............And I will have no car in 3 days time as they're taking the courtesy car back.
I'd be tempted to ring the third party insurers and ask them would they like to provide you with a car or would they rather you hired one and then claimed the cost back from them.0 -
Can you claim costs from another insurer because of your own insurer's incompetence?
I nearly took out insurance with them last year but their web site screwed up when taking card details so I had to ring their call centre to find out if the money had been taken or not. It hadn't, but the hassle of dealing with them made me go elsewhere.
Their call centre is as bad as Aviva's and that's saying something!0 -
Sorry I've only just seen these replies...
As you have suggested I very much doubt that I will be able to claim, because the 3rd party company will (rightly) say that they were perfectly willing to pay the full costs several weeks ago as long as MoreThan provided them with the correct invoice amount! In fact it could easily have been sorted out within a week of the incident.
It's taken up way too much of my time, and I've also been online more recently and found reviews showing with remarkable consitency that this level of incompetence is extremely common with MoreThan car insurance claims (in fact I failed to find a good review). I now wish I'd done that before taking out the policy, because it's the only "accident" I've ever had so only now have found out how bad they really are. I've complained several times already, and if they have a separate official complaints department I think the only way for me to get anything else back would be to try to file a small claim against them. This would be very difficult and I'm at the point where I don't have the time/energy or the confidence that I'll actually be able to get anything else back from them for it to be worth it, I'm just completely drained by all of this and just need to move on from it now...
Regarding Serverdog's suggestion, I already tried for hours to extend the car hire (speaking to several "supervisors"). Like you say it is perfectly logical and reasonable to assume they would allow this. However I promise you there is no way in a million years I'd get them to agree for me to have the car for longer!! As I mentioned above they tried to pull the wool over my eyes by sneakily leading me to believe they were doing me a favour by offering the car for 7 days after the cheque cleared, when I found out later this is just the standard policy whenever a courtesy car is provided. Thanks for the advice everybody.Can you claim costs from another insurer because of your own insurer's incompetence?
I nearly took out insurance with them last year but their web site screwed up when taking card details so I had to ring their call centre to find out if the money had been taken or not. It hadn't, but the hassle of dealing with them made me go elsewhere.
Their call centre is as bad as Aviva's and that's saying something!0
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