Loss of No Claims Bonus

hcabs99

Hi All

Some advise please. Back in March this year, the windscreen and bonnet of my car was damaged by some rubble dropped by crane which was clearing my next door neighbours drive. The repair work was carried out by my insurance company which to be fair to them , was done very quickly and i was given a courtesy car for the duration. I had to pay my £200 excess at the time.

Fast forward to September. The Insurance company we are claiming off have only recently (3 weeks ago) finally admitted liability, so my insurance company finally returned my excess. I thought that this was then the end of the matter until i got my annual insurance renewal notice come through and i found that my premiums had doubled in price! When i queried this with them , i was told that as they had not yet received the payout from the party at fault, the accident would still show as my fault! Once it has been settled , I have been told that my premiums will be recalculated to take into account the overpayment , but as i have pointed out to them, going by the previous history of the other party this could take 6 months (if not more!) so why should i have to pay this out and lose interest on my own money?

Surely this is the reason we have insurance?

It also bugged me that i was not able to shop around for a better policy as i could not prove my NCB for the reasons above for any new company.

My question is, can i insist that my Insurance company acknowledge the fact that the claim is going in our favour and therefore reset our NCB (to the full amount) ?

I would be grateful for any help

Bela

Unfortuantely for you your insurance company got a full right to do what they have done. Any claim made on your policy until fully recovered is a fault claim. Your no claims discount can be affected and definately renewal premium. You can make a complaint but this will only result in a nice letter stating all the rules and regulations. I am guessing that your NCD (no claims discount) wasn't protected at the time of the claim, hence the loss of NCD.

vaio

You can shop around but you'll have to run two quotes, one as is and one as will be and then get agreement from whoever you go with that the premium will be adjusted once it's sorted out.

There is also a duty on both insurance companies to sort your claim out in a reasonable time, if you feel this has not been done then you are free to complain and if still unhappy to escalate to the FOS.

Also, when you are running quotes also do one as if the accident had never happened, if this is less than the premium with your NCB restored then the company is loading your premium for a no fault accident and this loading can also be recovered from the TP company

Quentin

vaio wrote: »

Also, when you are running quotes also do one as if the accident had never happened, if this is less than the premium with your NCB restored then the company is loading your premium for a no fault accident and this loading can also be recovered from the TP company

This just doesn't happen! (ie - being given recompense off the third party insurer for a loaded premium following a no fault claim)

vaio

It does, I've done it. It's all part of the "putting you back in the position you were in before the accident” principle.

Now that some insurers load significantly on non fault claims what possible justification can there be for the TP company paying that loading?

Details below from an earlier thread

vaio wrote: »

You can, I have done it.

8 or 9 years ago a 4x4 driver reversed into me whilst I was parked and cracked the back light on my car. I stuck a bit of gaffer tape over it and wasn’t going to bother claiming but she reported it to her insurance.

When I renewed my company (Elephant) loaded by £100ish due to the incident although they were still the cheapest option (don’t you just love online quote systems!!).

The 4x4 driver’s insurance (Direct Line) argued they shouldn’t pay because they wouldn’t load for a non fault incident and suggested I move to them but then quoted a figure that as way more than elephant even with the loading. The head elephant (Tanya?) kindly sent me a letter confirming the loading, process was repeated the following year and eventually I got £250 ish from direct line to cover 2 (maybe 3) years loadings.

It might be that because of the small sum involved they didn’t bother fighting but it seems to me that the loadings only occurred because of the accident and therefore should be recoverable from the third party along with all other consequential losses.

Similarly I’d argue that if someone loses 6 months premium because of a total loss payout which was someone else’s fault they should be able to recover cost that from the TP.

All to do with restoring you to the position you were in before the accident

Quentin

You did well.

Had it gone to court the judge wouldn't have allowed it!

vaio

But if the additional cost came about solely as a result of the accident I can’t see any justification for the TP company not paying it as part of the “put you back in the same position etc” principle

Quentin

It's "one of those things"!

The third party isn't considered responsible for future premium increases.

Pastyman_2

I recently had a car accident on a single track lane. I saw a car coming towards me and stopped. The oncoming car could not stop (because of her speed) and crashed into my car. The other driver admitted that she “just couldn’t stop”. Other than my passenger, there were no witnesses. I reported the incident to my insurers who maintain that it is likely to be settled on a 50/50 basis. The consequence of this is that I will have to pay the excess on my policy and lose 2 years no claims bonus – probably amounting to £500. I naturally feel aggrieved at this because I was definitely not at fault. Does anyone have experience of pursueing a claim through the small claims court to recover the costs?

Quentin

If the insurers agree on 50/50, then that is likely the way the judge would look at it - but you would have to pay all the court costs as you would lose your case.

If it is finalised at 50/50, then you would be able to claim 50% of your excess (and any other uninsured costs you are put to over the incident) from the third party (and vice versa)

mentor9436

I was wondering if any one can help me.
I sold my car 2days later the new owner
Had an accident.
I did not cancel my insurance on the car.
I did complain with tesco insurance
They told cos I didn't cancel the insurance
Under the traffic act I was at fault.
I was not the driver at the time of the accident
Nor the owner,I have receipts with the new
Owned signature.
I lost my 1year NCB,and I have to pay more this year.
I think is not fear for sure but I need your
Help to see if tesco is braking the law.

Any suggestions please will be grate.
Thank you