dodgy insurance broker

inthedontknow

Hi guys,

Apologies as this is already in the small businesses section but I thought this section may be better.

An accident happened at my brother's shop a few days ago which wasn't his fault. But long story short we thought we could get his insurance company to sort it. We phoned the broker (a small independent business and a one man band) to put in a claim a day after the accident but he told us he was going away for 5 weeks and for us to sort it.

Today he phoned the insurance company direct and they said that they couldnt help us as the broker had only bought the insurance the day after the accident (even though we paid him a few weeks beforehand and have a receipt saying so)!!!!!!! The broker had obviously delayed buying the insurance to save himself cash!!1

The broker's shop is now closed (I guess for 5 weeks) and we sent him a very seething email saying we will contact the FSA if he doesn't sort it out.

The person that caused the accident in my brother's shop is at fault and we have a police report saying so we can claim off that person's insurance, but what else can we in the mean time to get recourse or to make sure he is in a lot of trouble?

dacouch

Your post is not clear.

The broker is one you paid sometime ago for your shop insurance?

If so did you have a policy before this that the new policy should have run concurrently from?

You can claim directly from the car driver's Insurance, if you don't know the Insurance company you can find it here for a small charge of £4 which will give you the name of the Insurer, tele number and policy number. http://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx

inthedontknow

My brother's insurance ran out in the middle of June, say 15 June 2012. He paid the broker for insurance from 16 June 2012-15 June 2013. However, the broker did not pay the insurance company until the day after the accident (as a measley attempt to cover his own a!! when my brother had notified him of the accident). The insurance company informed us of this, so given the lapse of cover, they are refusing to help submit a claim against the other person which caused the damage to my brother's shop.

lisyloo

Claim direct off the person that caused the accident. If you have a police report then that is a very strong case.

Also report the broker to the FSA.

He should also keep better tabs on his paperwork. If your brother didn't get a policy through he should have chased this up.

dacouch

inthedontknow wrote: »

My brother's insurance ran out in the middle of June, say 15 June 2012. He paid the broker for insurance from 16 June 2012-15 June 2013. However, the broker did not pay the insurance company until the day after the accident (as a measley attempt to cover his own a!! when my brother had notified him of the accident). The insurance company informed us of this, so given the lapse of cover, they are refusing to help submit a claim against the other person which caused the damage to my brother's shop.

That's great evidence eg a receipt dated just before the renewal date out of interest was the price to renew with the same Insurer?

As mentioned you can claim directly off the car Insurer, give them a ring, it saves you paying your excess

inthedontknow

Thanks for everyone that has commented.

Will claim direct off the person that caused the accident. Have just complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There is a small chance this could be just an unintentional error but I doubt it. Will see what comes off that.

My brother got a letter with an insurance policy number saying it will be valid from June 2012 to June 2013 and he thought that was all he needed.

My brother was lazy, he took over the business from someone else and just went to the same broker as them to avoid the hassle of shopping around!

losgiganteskid

[QUOTE=inthedontknow;54365553

An accident happened at my brother's shop a few days ago which wasn't his fault. [/QUOTE]

Are we all assuming this was a road traffic accident !!

dunstonh

Have just complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

You cannot complain to the FOS. They will not take on complaints until the firm in question has had a chance to deal with your complaint. All they will do is write down what you have said and send it to the broker.

You need to complain to the FSA if you suspect fraud. The FSA do not handle consumer complaints but they will look at cases were fraud is concerned. If you dont suspect fraud but think it is just bad administration then they wont be interested and you will have to wait for the official complaints process to work its way through.

dacouch

inthedontknow wrote: »

Thanks for everyone that has commented.

Will claim direct off the person that caused the accident. Have just complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service. There is a small chance this could be just an unintentional error but I doubt it. Will see what comes off that.

My brother got a letter with an insurance policy number saying it will be valid from June 2012 to June 2013 and he thought that was all he needed.

My brother was lazy, he took over the business from someone else and just went to the same broker as them to avoid the hassle of shopping around!

I assume your brother has employees, it's a legal requirement for him to display the Employers Liability Certificate or a copy at his place of business. If an Insurance supplier does not supply one of these within a few days then it would raise suspicions.

Chase an EL certificate asap in the future as if a proper one is issued then cover should have been issued

magpiecottage

First things first. Can you pm me the name and address of the broker? I will check their status on the FSA register for you and provide further guidance.