Any insurance savvy bods out there - advice please...

country_girl_4

thanks for all your comments. My main concern is if my son reports the accident but obviously can't claim will he be penalised anyway when the renewal/new policy is taken out. Does anyone know if he'll then be classed as a bad risk?

It seems very unfair that the police (and witnesses) have agreed there was nothing he could do, he wasn't speeding, been drinking etc and has been absolved of any blame if he then has his policy hiked up. One of the policemen attending the scene told my husband they'd already been to several other accidents that night due to ice.

I feel that insurance companies have you over a barrel. I know young drivers get bad press but my son has done everything he can to reduce his insurance liablility.

Good point about the t&c's - I will check though.

bartman

The last time I renewed my insurance, I noticed that some companies asked whether I had made a claim within the past "X" years, others asked whether I had had any accidents. Thankfully I was able to answer "no" in either case, but there is a difference. I cannot see any reason why in this case you couldn't truthfully answer "no" to the question of whether any claims had been made.

brazilianwax

country_girl wrote: »

thanks for all your comments. My main concern is if my son reports the accident but obviously can't claim will he be penalised anyway when the renewal/new policy is taken out. Does anyone know if he'll then be classed as a bad risk?

It seems very unfair that the police (and witnesses) have agreed there was nothing he could do, he wasn't speeding, been drinking etc and has been absolved of any blame if he then has his policy hiked up. One of the policemen attending the scene told my husband they'd already been to several other accidents that night due to ice.

I feel that insurance companies have you over a barrel. I know young drivers get bad press but my son has done everything he can to reduce his insurance liablility.

Good point about the t&c's - I will check though.

He has a maximum of 1.5 years driving experience and was unable to cope with the conditions he was driving in. He has to take some blame for that. If he was driving slowly enough (and if it was icy he shouldn't have been anywhere near the speed limit) the accident might not have happened.

I agree though that it's the question asked by the insurers that should determine your reply and the resulting premium.

Edited to say - if he's a young male who works in anything to do with the motor trade, his premiums will be high anyway. This is high risk before you add anything else.

beefster

Hypothetically of course......
If someone was not to disclose in this scenario how would the insurers check? Would they start chasing the authorities for histories of reported incidents with no one else involved..... I suppose it would depend on the next claim value. For a windscreen No...... if its a mass pile up with lots of money at stake they will try and find anything to save the pay out.
Police records?? Hospital records?? Have they access to these???

He will probably, if this happens in future, not get the authorities involved. He will call a mate to tow him out and save a fortune in the long run. Very sad but true state of affairs that the industry has pushed people into. Cant see a way around it myself.

Must say IMO a lot of people would not declare it...... at his age I would prob have been one of them!

movilogo

When you claim (or other party claims because of yours fault), your claim info goes to Motor Insurance Claim database (which all insurance cos. have access to).

If no other cars were involved, insurance co. has no way to know that you had an accident!

So, why risk a higher premium by declaring an accident to insurer? You're not giving any false info when you declare that you had not claimed anything in last X years.