why am i being penalised?

leosayer

Ihatecameron wrote: »

On what basis?

You lied to get a cheaper premium.

Ihatecameron

leosayer wrote: »

Some drivers are able to anticipate dangers and avoid putting their car in situations which would involve an insurance claim.

It seems quite logical that insurance companies charge higher premiums to those who get involved in accidents if the statistics show that they are a higher risk for accidents in the future. These are the same statistics which give younger drivers a significantly higher premium than older drivers.

Yes that would be logical if they charged the people who caused the accidents higher premiums, not the victims of accidents who are blameless. If some idiot runs into the back of your car while you are stationary at red traffic lights, no amount of driving skills on your part is going to prevent that.

Ihatecameron

leosayer wrote: »

You lied to get a cheaper premium.

No I did not, when I was asked if I had claimed off my insurance in the last 5 years, the answer was no.

leosayer

Ihatecameron wrote: »

No I did not, when I was asked if I had claimed off my insurance in the last 5 years, the answer was no.

Apologies for jumping to conclusions. I'm used to seeing the question "Have you made any claims..." rather than "have you made any claim off your insurance..".

Imp

Ihatecameron wrote: »

Yes that would be logical if they charged the people who caused the accidents higher premiums, not the victims of accidents who are blameless. If some idiot runs into the back of your car while you are stationary at red traffic lights, no amount of driving skills on your part is going to prevent that.

Due to your normal driving such as

time of day
the roads you drive on
the number of miles you do
your driving style
etc.

there is always a probability that you will be involved in an accident which is someone else's fault. Now, when you take out your insurance, that probability is unknown, but can be estimated from the number of years you have been driving without an accident.

As soon as someone runs into you, we suddenly have a quantitative piece of data to work out the probability, based on you normal driving, that someone else will hit you in the next year. As you have had one recent accident, the calculated probability you will have another accident will be higher. Therefore, to offset this increased probability of you being involved in another accident, you insurance premiums are increased.

If anything, your increased premium is the more accurate premium as there is more data to calculate it (i.e. your accident).

(note, just my mindless ramblings)

Ihatecameron

leosayer wrote: »

Apologies for jumping to conclusions. I'm used to seeing the question "Have you made any claims..." rather than "have you made any claim off your insurance..".

No touch wood, I have never made a claim on my insurance nor had a claim against me.

Ihatecameron

Imp wrote: »

Due to your normal driving such as


If anything, your increased premium is the more accurate premium as there is more data to calculate it (i.e. your accident).

(note, just my mindless ramblings)

I dunno, you sound like an insurance man to me One accident in 25 years, not my fault. Hows that for data.

leosayer

Ihatecameron wrote: »

If some idiot runs into the back of your car while you are stationary at red traffic lights, no amount of driving skills on your part is going to prevent that.

There are driving techniques to reduce the risk of getting rear-ended. For example leaving a massive gap between you and the car front, or leaving your car in a place where there is an escape route.

I'm not saying that would have prevented the idiot from crashing into you, just offering some tips.

mikey72

Ihatecameron wrote: »

I can assure you my insurance is valid, it has been a few years since that accident. Even if I was in an accident soon after that one, I doubt if it would have made any difference, I have not claimed on my insurance so how the hell are they going to blame me.

As you originally said, they ask about accidents. If you say yes, then they ask about fault.
Whether you like it or not, you had an accident. The payout to you will be on the database.

puddy

well good luck OP, someone ran into the back of me when I was stationary, waiting to turn right. She came round to the front of the car afterwards where I was struggling to comprehend what happened and said 'sorry, I was looking at my son on the back seat'

this was september 08, I still have not received compensation although the offical final offer was made last autumn, they are still quibbling over loss of earnings because if was an agency worker and so dont have an acceptable method of officially verifying my absence so looks like i wont get proper loss of earnings. I have learned my lesson, next time I will ensure that I get signed off for no purpose (not entitled to SSP or sick pay) and not just phone in sick to the employer (whose word it seemed was not good enough because they didnt pay my wages direct), but to write letters to my agency (who simply dont pay on absence of timesheet)