Car insurance increase but no claim

mattz38

Hi all,

I have recently had a problem with our car insurance, which has now rocketed from around £200 a year to £650 a year. This was notified to me in the last few days via my renewal quote from my current insurer, LV.

This appears linked to a report my wife made of a collision in a car park recently. The shunt was very minor and indeed, the driver of the other car decided not to pursue the claim as there was little or no damage to their car. After speaking to LV, they said it didn't matter if there was no claim, our premium would still increase. I know insurance companies are usually a law onto themselves, but this seems very unfair.

Anyway, since I had no intention of renewing I decided to see what other quotes I could get. Yesterday I was quoted £200 by Nationwide, which I decided to go with. Imagine my disappointment when I saw who the policy is underwritten by - yes, LV.

I am now in a difficult position as to what I do. One, cancel this policy using cooling off period and go with someone else or two, lodge a complaint with LV. I find it bizarre that I can successfully apply for insurance under the existing insurer and pay less than the renewal quote. It wasn't even like I lied on the application - all this asked is whether I had made any claim in the last five years, which I haven't.

Any advice?

Sgt_Pepper_2

Just run with the policy..

Quentin

mattz38 wrote: »

.....It wasn't even like I lied on the application - all this asked is whether I had made any claim in the last five years, which I haven't......

You haven't lied as long as you don't have your wife on the policy!

All insurers (including "nationwide") ask if you have had claims or accidents/incidents/losses which could have ended in a claim (or words to that effect).

You have to tell them this for all drivers.

Sounds like you haven't compared like with like here.

So tell them the truth before they find out!!

(And nearly all renewals are more expensive than starting a new policy)

mattz38

Quentin wrote: »

You haven't lied as long as you don't have your wife on the policy!

Well my wife IS on the new policy but it asked if she has made a claim. The answer to that, if I follow word for word, is no. The same for myself....

Even my renewal letter from LV confirms I have made no claims under the policy, for either driver.

Quentin

You have misread the question asked! As previously posted, you need to disclose incidents as well as claims.

You haven't made any claims but your wife has had an accident.

Check the wording of the "nationwide" (really lv) question! (It specifically asks about claims or accidents)

If you carry on with the policy without correcting this, then be prepared for them either finding out soon about your non disclosure and asking for more money or cancelling the policy, or later when you do need to claim and voiding the policy for deliberate non disclosure!

mattz38

Yes, I didn't misunderstand the question. The Nationwide application did not ask about incidents, the question was specific to claims. I guess the best thing to do would be to cancel the new policy and renew with an alternative but with disclosure of non claim incidents (assuming I am given the option to disclose!)

I have no intention of using LV and run the risk of them ramping up premiums to ludicrous levels. As you rightly state, the renewal is likely to more, regardless of claims, incidents, etc anyway.

Quentin

"Nationwide" on line (using the same form as LV) asks:

Have you had any accidents or claims in the last five years?

The easiest way out of this (assuming you accept you have made a mistake) if the policy has not yet started and there is no charge for cancelling is to just cancel and start again. (When doing quotes, all companies will want to know about the "incident", so always disclose it)

But if you have to pay a charge to cancel it, it may be cost effective just to tell them about the omission, and pay any difference they ask for.

forgotmyname

Did you declare the INCIDENT... though??

Read it carefully claims accidents or incidents.... You MUST declare this incident for the next 5 years for most insurers.

LV=_company_representative

Hi, we've read your forum posting and are keen to answer any queries you have on this matter, as well as clarifying our position. If you could email us your contact details and polciy number to [EMAIL="LVCares@LV.com"]LVCares@LV.com[/EMAIL] we can discuss this in detail offline. Regards.