Ongoing non-fault claim = renewal nightmare!

MrA2012

Hi all, I'm new to this forum, but it looks like a good place to get some advice.

Last December I was involved in a car accident which wasn't my fault. It was a clear-cut case. I was stationary in a traffic queue, and had been for several seconds, when I was hit from behind with quite some force by another car. The driver of the car that hit me admitted blame at the scene and his insurance company admitted fault in writing to both me personally and my insurance company a few days later. From my point of view, everything was settled in my favour. My car was fully repaired at no cost to me - even the excess was waived by my insurance company as it was clearly a non-fault claim with a fault admission by the third party. My no claims bonus was not affected at all.

Now, six months later, my insurance company tells me out of the blue that the claim is still not settled as they have not yet received payment from the third-party insurers. Apparently all requests for payment have simply been ignored and they are now going to get solicitors involved to reclaim the money. There is no indication as to when, or how, this will be resolved. This should be none of my concern, but the problem is that my insurance is due for renewal next month.

When I try to get a quote from an insurance company they tell me they can't provide me with a quote unless they know if the ongoing claim will end up as a fault or non-fault claim. Apparently if my insurance company fails to recover their losses, they will officially log the claim as being my fault and I will have to declare it as a "fault" claim! Unless they can get an assurance that the claim will definitely end up being recorded as non-fault, I can't get a quote until the claim is settled as it could be based on inaccurate information. My insurance company refuses to give me any such assurance.

I'm at a loss as to what to do now. I really don't want to renew with my current insurer as, for various other reasons I won't go into here, I wasn't happy with the way they dealt with the claim. Plus, they have indicated that my renewal price will increase significantly because of the ongoing claim. At the same time, other insurers don't want to quote for me until they know the outcome of the claim.

This all seems so stupid as it couldn't be more obvious whose fault the accident was. Has anyone here been in a similar situation? Is it safe to tell potential insurers that the ongoing claim will definitely be settled as non-fault?

Quentin

You cannot tell others your claim is non fault until the claim is closed with your insurer getting full reimbursement of all their costs. Till then it will be marked on your record as a fault claim. ("Fault" refers to the financial side of this, not who was to "blame")

Your NCD if not protected will be affected by this, meaning another problem when renewing. You will need to explain the situation to any new insurer, and try and get them to agree that they will adjust your premium back to the start date if the matter is concluded as non fault, and any lost NCD is reinstated.

Next time you are involved in an incident where liability is not disputed you can avoid these problems by not claiming off your own policy, but going direct to the third party to claim, (or using a claim handler to do so for you)

McKneff

I had this a couple of years ago with no problem. I changed companies and the new company charged me an extra £35 till the claim was settled and I received the £35 back as soon as it was.

Is your ins. company being a bit lax in chasing the money. I'd be telling them to be a bit more aggresive for want of a better word.

Who is the other insurance company.

Your present company may up your new premium until the claim is settled also.

MrA2012

Thanks for your responses. Looks like I'll have to declare it as a fault claim and try to get an assurance of a refund if (hopefully when!) it gets settled as a non-fault later. Getting them to commit to one or the other when it could change in the future and therefore be incorrect now seems to be the stumbling block. McKneff, can I ask which insurance company it was you switched to? It sounds like they will understand the situation.

My NCD is protected and I have been assured that is hasn't been affected even temporarily, so hopefully it is just the ongoing claim that will affect my premium.

The company not paying up is Swift Cover, but it's difficult to tell whether it's them being stubborn or my insurers being lax. I am told there is no dispute and they are simply ignoring requests for payment, but I don't understand why it has taken six months for anything to be done about it.

I'm beginning to wonder whether it is standard practice for "at fault" insurers to not pay out unless they are threatened with court, or for companies to drag out the settling of claims so they can extract higher renewal fees or make it difficult to switch. But I'm just being overly paranoid... right?

Quentin

Swiftcover aren't known for being that helpful when it comes to service of any kind to their own policyholders, never mind third parties!

Though your insurer should have known this and been taking steps to get paid before now, as you say liability was never in dispute, just presumably the amount being claimed is their only avenue to dispute!

Policies renewing whilst claims are open is a regular occurrence, so you should find plenty of insurers happy to adjust premiums once the claim is resolved, but get their agreement to do so in writing before you buy.

MrA2012

That's a little worrying. I doubt I'll be approaching them for a quote then!

On that subject, can anyone recommend a good, reliable insurance company that supplies a courtesy car but doesn't use accident management companies like Albany Assistance and the like? Or do they all work like that now?

I've heard good things about Direct Line, but am a bit concerned that they only supply a car for a maximum of three weeks (and that's an optional extra!)

molerat

I think most use management companies now, the same as many industries, the department that deals with that stuff has been outsourced to a specialist company (for better or worse).

Annieddiva

I had this very same issue with Aviva - I was involved in an accident and it was a non fault claim, they even said that my NCD would not be affected, yet when my renewal came up in mid May I got on the phone to them to say this was not what you'd previously told me - please listen to your recorded phone calls, and I managed to get this non-fault claim removed, as they had to honour it as per previous phone call advice - despite it still being an on-going claim, (altho it is still showing as a claim made within the last 5 years, and got £14 knocked off my premium as a result of the additional NCD. So don't forget you'll be due a partial refund once the claim is resolved. Quentin's given great advice!

I can't make any recommendations on car insurance, but Aviva used Solus Repair Centre for my car, and they also provided me with a courtesy car. Aviva give you various optional extras and a courtesy car is one of them but I can't remember for how long, as I gave it back as soon as I got my car back.

I have to say I think all insurance companies have pros and cons going for them - so wish you the best of luck in finding a better one for you!

londonTiger

McKneff wrote: »

I had this a couple of years ago with no problem. I changed companies and the new company charged me an extra £35 till the claim was settled and I received the £35 back as soon as it was.

Is your ins. company being a bit lax in chasing the money. I'd be telling them to be a bit more aggresive for want of a better word.

Who is the other insurance company.

Your present company may up your new premium until the claim is settled also.

I bet this "laxnes" happens a lot when both drivers are insured by companies that are owned by the same group.

MrA2012

Are Admiral and Swiftcover owned by the same group? I didn't think they were.

This claim is STILL not settled by the way! I'm beginning to think it never will be. Nobody involved wants to talk about it anymore. I didn't renew with Admiral and my new insurance company have charged me as if the accident was my fault on the understanding that they will refund me the difference once the claim is settled - but only what remains of the difference from the date the claim is settled.

It's not looking like I'm ever going to get that money back. Am I going to have to declare this accident as a "fault" claim and suffer the increased premium forever more?

BertTheRaccoon

No, Admiral are Admiral, or EUI is the group which are Admiral, Diamond, Bell, Elephant and they own Confused.com.

Swifcover are owned by AXA.

Swiftcover are an utter disgrace with their claims, that is my daily experience. Backlogs often in excess of 2 months.