Car Insurance - what they don't tell you! Can this be right

Waccer.20

Well a car in a car park hits my car and doesn't own up, but I saw what happened. Took number plate and called insurance for advice. Admiral car insurance said they would look into it. No claim made, no repair. We left it and forgot about it.

As a named driver on my sons insurance we renewed his insurance, but a month later we receive an email asking for £421 extra for his insurance for a undisclosed incident. When we eventually got through it wasn't my son but it was me. The non-claimed 'incident' above puts my sons up to over £400 as I am 'a risk'.

I'm still waiting a full story from the insurance company, but have been told the 'incident' is on my file, but hasn't affected my no claims, so they say.

Can they do this? Is there any thing I can do?

dunstonh

Can they do this?

yes

Is there any thing I can do?

Next time, dont tell the insurer about an incident that isnt going to result in a claim. The questions your son was asked would be along the lines of whether any named driver had an accident, claim or incident whether they claimed or not. The answer to that for you is yes. he said no.

A non-claim incident wouldnt affect your no claims bonus but it would increase the risk premium. It may have little or no impact on yours due to age and experience but a younger driver will find the impact is greater. Plus, there may be a further increase due to risk of non-disclosure.

thenudeone

Waccer.20 wrote: »

? Is there any thing I can do?

Yes.

Go to askmid.com, fill in the details including the incident date, and find out the name of the the insurance company of the other car at that date.

Then contact them to claim for both the damage to your car AND the extra cost of insurance caused by having to declare an incident that wasn't your fault.

But leaving a delay will not have helped your case.

forgotmyname

Best action would have been report the driver for failing to stop after an accident. 6 points may help him decide on being honest next time.

I did this many years ago, He got fined with points added. Police gave me his details and a month later had still not told them about this.

InsideInsurance

you also need to ensure in future you declare all incidents on any policy you are named on. In addition to the risk of the incident itself the fact you have proven yourselves to be poor at accurately answering the underwriting questions is a second massive red flag to any insurer.... thankfully this is a one off and if you switch insurers next year the failure to disclose will disappear

Waccer.20

The incident, was not even thought about, by either myself or my son. The car was parked waiting for the euro tunnel, when the vehicle parked next to us, the passenger opened his door and the wind blew it out of his hand. I only know this as I was walking back to the car and saw my car wobble after the impact of the hit.

The RISK is I am sure, to all drivers who park in car parks, and not only have I been the victim of a hit on my drivers door, now I feel victamised by my insurance company for not passing on information for the non-claimed incedent as neither I or my son thought it as an incident.

InsideInsurance

We all do run risks which is why we all pay premiums. Someone who parks mainly at Westfields (for example) is going to have large spaces, perfectly flat and no wind issues as its underground so a lower risk than the person that always parks in a coastal tourist carpark with tiny spaces, high winds etc.

Evidently insurers cannot realistically ask you 50,000 questions to get the minutia of details nor look to enforce adherence to them but they can see the person who's had 2 claims from car park accidents of neighbouring doors causing damage -v- the person thats had none at all and draw their own conclusions.

You were asked a very specific question along the lines of.... have you been involved in any incidents, irrespective of if you claimed for them, in the last 5 years?... you answered no and that was a lie. The insurer has accepted it was an accidental lie rather than an attempt at fraud hence why they havent voided your policy which would have caused your son problems for the rest of his life (another question asked is have you EVER had insurance cancelled, voided or special terms applied)

That said, you've proven your "forgetful" and there will be a concern from their point of view that you may have "forgotten" to tell them about other things too

rs65

Waccer.20 wrote: »

Is there any thing I can do?

Do you need to be insured to drive it?