Car Insurance - What claims must you declare?

Quentin

To return to the OP, mikey72's advice is your only chance (ie do some serious grovelling), accept you made a mistake in ignorance, and beg them to accept you back, saying you of course agree to pay any difference in premium your error has caused plus any extra administration fee they have to levy.

Definitely don't go submitting any "official complaints" based on the incorrect advice posted that has caused the argument. All that will do is harden their hearts!

solveweb

Thank you all for your help and advice - but please I dont want to start an argument so don't fall out with each other over this!

mikey72 wrote: »

"Have you made any claims or suffered in any losses in the past 5 years? This includes any non-fault claims and/or any incidents you have been involved in, even if you did not claim."

The question and wording seem very much geared to seeking to determine whether you have had an incident (accident) regardless of whether you were found to be at fault and regardless of whether or not that incident resulted in a claim.

It doesnt ask me whether claims were made on my policy, it asks me whether I made any claim. I didnt make a claim - my daughter did.

The insurer was Sun Alliance apparently. At the time when all this kicked off, I asked Kwik Fit to allow me to speak to the underwriter directly as I was not convinced an unbiased version of events had been relayed by the Kwik Fit woman but she refused. What to do?

solveweb

huckster wrote: »

The claim is registered against the policyholder and it will be shown on CUE in the policyholders name.

What is CUE?

Duncombe

I have just renewed my car insurance, and had a claim to declare. When you tick the "yes" box, you then have to fill in a new batch of information. It asks for (amongst other things):

The date of the incident
Who was at fault - It varies, but the general options are "Their driver" or "Our driver". In this situation, you would have had to select "Our driver" as it was your daughter who caused the accident and she is insured on your policy.
Were there any injuries
If it occured on your most recent policy
How much the accident cost

In this respect, it was totally necessary for the OP to declare the accident. If she had, she would have had to answer the above questions thus revealing her daughters accident.

And if she wasn't sure...she really should have checked with the insurance company first!

solveweb

Duncombe wrote: »

And if she wasn't sure...she really should have checked with the insurance company first!

Thanks Duncombe, but you missed the point I think. I was sure. I was sure that the claim wasn't relevent to me, but to my daughter. I may or may not have been wrong - But I was sure at the time.

It's clear from the replies to the original post that opinion varies - so anyone who makes a blanket statement that its black and white either way is not being helpful. Apparently (according to this thread) with underwriters falling on both sides of the fence it's just not that clear cut.

I cant remember the exact wording on the questions I completed at the time - I just dont want to be branded as an insurance cheat for the rest of my life when I dont think I should have been.

Quentin

solveweb wrote: »

What is CUE?

It is shorthand for the insurers database (most insurers contribute to it giving details of all incidents reported to them).

(The Claims and Underwriting Exchange)

This database holds details of incidents and so "dishonest" individuals who attempt to get cheaper premiums by not declaring their previous history correctly get found out!

Quentin

solveweb wrote: »

It's clear from the replies to the original post that opinion varies.......

Not really "clear".

There have been 7 different responders to your OP so far in this thread. All but one share the same opinion over this!

Duncombe

solveweb wrote: »

Thanks Duncombe, but you missed the point I think. I was sure. I was sure that the claim wasn't relevent to me, but to my daughter. I may or may not have been wrong - But I was sure at the time.

It's clear from the replies to the original post that opinion varies - so anyone who makes a blanket statement that its black and white either way is not being helpful. Apparently (according to this thread) with underwriters falling on both sides of the fence it's just not that clear cut.

I cant remember the exact wording on the questions I completed at the time - I just dont want to be branded as an insurance cheat for the rest of my life when I dont think I should have been.

It is unfortunate that you have been punished so badly for what appears to be an innocent mistake - but if you genuinly thought that a claim on YOUR insurance policy wouldn't have to be declared to a furture insurer...then it is your own naivety that is to blame and nothing else.

As it happens, the claim I had to declare recently was an accident caused by my partner who was driving my car. He was only a named driver on my policy as he has his own car. I had to phone the insurance company and inform them of the accident. Yes, they wanted the details from him but it was MY car they paid to be repaired and it still cost ME my no-claims discount.

The comments from KwikFit regarding your decision to put your inexperienced daughter on your policy were out of order, but that is to be expected from insurance companies. When I renewed my policy recently, the chap I was speaking to commented "Oh..so you can predict the future can you?" after I declined life cover on my policy at a premium of £60 or something. I had to gently remind him it was not his job to question my choices regarding the level of cover I required!

So to summarise. I did not 'miss the point'. I simply pointed out that you really should have known to declare an accident that occured on your policy.

vaio

Duncombe wrote: »

It is unfortunate that you have been punished so badly for what appears to be an innocent mistake - but if you genuinly thought that a claim on YOUR insurance policy wouldn't have to be declared to a furture insurer...then it is your own naivety that is to blame and nothing else.....

My thoughts.....I'd try the grovelling first and see if you can get them to reinstate

Without seeing the exact wording on the proposal nobody can give a real answer, there are two options, either it didn't need to be disclosed, or it did need to be and you innocently didn't disclose.

The FOS rules on innocent non-disclosure basically says that it can't be used to avoid a claim and all claims should be paid with the possibility of the policy being re-assessed to what it would have been had the disclosure been made in the first place.

So, as they would have paid a claim, I'd argue that implies that the insurance is perfectly valid and cancelling it is unfair treatment, which of course is against FOS rules.

Obviously if after rereading the proposal you still think it didn't need to be declared then you should argue for just plain continuation of cover.

If you accept that it did need to be disclosed then I think what you should be arguing for is continuation of cover with you paying the additional premium the would have been charged had you declared the claim initially. The big danger is if the disclosure would have prevented the insurnce company offering cover in the first place.

Evilm

As far as every insurer has explained it to me previously when doing a quote with them its as follows:

- Has the policy holder had to make a claim on a policy in his name within the last X years.
- Has the policy holder , or their named drivers on this policy had any accidents or claims in the last X years.

Unfortunately unless OP can convince Kwik Fit to reinstate the policy if he pays the extra premium he would have paid anyway if he'd declared the claim then I can't see a way out.