Premium increase inevitable?

SuperNova_2

Hi All,

First post here. Apologies if this kind of question has been asked before… or if this is in the wrong forum thread… or if the answer is obvious!

Last October a police van scraped passed my stationary car and damaged the bodywork. I informed my insurers of the incident, my car was fixed and the Police's insurers paid for the work. The cost of repair was approx. £500.

My renewal is now due. I have 7 years no claims yet my premium has gone up from £370 to £640 (the best they would offer). They say all premiums have gone up by approx. 33%, but even that included I still have to pay £150 more. Their 'statistics' suggest I am now more likely to have another accident regardless of fault. This additional cost remains in place for 3 years. Hugely frustrating to be penalised for this, if not a highly dubious way of extorting more money out of the public. What if I don't have an accident in the next 3 years, do I get my money back? I think not.

My question is this: If I start to shop around do I have to declare I had an accident that was not my fault? I assume all insurers have access to the details anyway. Is this unavoidable and I will see an increase across the board?

Any help or suggestions appreciated.

Quentin

SuperNova wrote: »

My question is this: If I start to shop around do I have to declare I had an accident that was not my fault?

You cannot avoid declaring this. You would be in breach of the policy conditions if you did avoid doing so.

Shop around for the best deal.

talulah25

Generally speaking yes insurance rates have increased, dunno where they got the 3 year figure from though, I've never heard of that before. Shop about, use all your comparison sites, dont forget the cashback sites also, these can make a huge difference. Remember, before you take up another policy, phone your current insurers and tell them what price you have and excesses etc, they MAY match it or at least come close, I know thats what we used to do anyway!

talulah25

sorry I've just re-read the post and understand now where the 3 years comes in, doh...baby brain strikes again lol!

vaio

Quentin wrote: »

You cannot avoid declaring this. You would be in breach of the policy conditions if you did avoid doing so.

Shop around for the best deal.

Yep, and just as importantly, all claims go on an industry wide data base so if you don’t declare you will be found out.

There is another thread running at the moment regarding reclaiming increased insurance premiums caused by a non-fault accident from the at fault party. Might be worth having a read of that.

SuperNova_2

Thanks all for your responses. It is as I thought. Shop around I shall. Thanks again.