changing car insurance after accident

compound

Ok guys i would really appreciate your help on this one. I was involved in a minor car accident a couple of weeks ago. I was going into the right hand lane (did all the necessary things- made sure there was enough room, indicated, etc.) however as i went to move into the lane i was hit by another car on the side of my car. The other vehicle glanced the side of my car. I pulled over and exchanged insurance details (my car was dented, his car only had a 1 inch scratch) and rang up my insurers on that day.

Now tbh i wasnt entirely sure who was at fault. Anyway i got a letter today explaining i was at fault (i think because i was changing the lane) so i am held responsible.

Now i accept my insurance is going to go up next year. However if i change insurer (at renewal) will it still go up? do i need to inform the new insurers of the incident myself? or do they automatically know?
Sorry, i dont know much about these things.

Wig

By shopping around you may be able to find a better quote than your renewal. But in asking for new quotes you will always be asked if you have had any claims in the last 3 years or so and you wil have to declare that you had an "at fault" claim, i.e. a claim where you were unable to recover your uninsured losses, or where your insurer had to pay out to a third party.

Check the online comparisons sites but also all the independents who are not on comparison sites.

twinmumagain

We shopped around after our car was stolen(at renewal) and we managed to save a lot by going to Direct Line(who are not on comparison sites) but you do need to inform them of the at fault claim.
Defnitely shop around but also check DL too.

hethmar

Yes you have to tell them. I was a bit choked that a no fault incident knocked OH's insurance up by £36 this year. He was hit whilst parked. Bit sickening when you arent at fault and still get penalised on your insurance.

bigjl

compound wrote: »

Now i accept my insurance is going to go up next year. However if i change insurer (at renewal) will it still go up? do i need to inform the new insurers of the incident myself? or do they automatically know?
Sorry, i dont know much about these things.

All accidents are held on a database, if you change insurers but don't admit the accident, they may not check the database, but if you have an other accident then they will, and cancel your insurance, and possibly report you to the Police for fraudulently obtaining insurance.

You will also need the letter from your current insurer referring to your NCD.

As far as responsibility for the accident, it was always going to be your fault as you where changing lanes, the fact you didn't see the other car is irrelevant, if witnessed by the Police it may have come under careless driving or driving without due care.

From the info' given in your post I assume you may be a fairly new driver, accidents happen, regardless of who is to blame, probably why a lot of statutory bodies now refer to them as RTC's, or road traffic collisions, so as to infer somebody was to blame but not to apportion blame directly.

Some insurance companies might even think you are a lower risk as you will be a little more careful in future.

There was an opinion in the American insurance industry years ago that the longer a driver was without an accident then the more likely they where to have an accident, so they started to increase premiums for accident free drivers.

Learn a lesson from this experience, you will be a better and safer driver for it, and above all take responsibility for it and tell your insurance company, it might not make as much difference to your premium as you think, unless you had two years NCD as then you will be back to square one.

vaio

bigjl wrote: »

.......There was an opinion in the American insurance industry years ago that the longer a driver was without an accident then the more likely they where to have an accident, so they started to increase premiums for accident free drivers.....

Sounds just like the UK insurance companies, premiums go up if you have an accident and premiums go up if you don't