Churchill raising claim when i refused and did not need to

Kris2020

Background - stopped at traffic lights the car in front went to run red light decided against it and stopped across the crossing. As a bus turned the corner the car in front was in the way and the bus couldnt make the turn so car in front reversed and nudged my front bumper. I say nudge as i couldnt even describe as a bump. there was no damage and i was not injured so we returned to our vehicles and i drove to work.
When i got to work discussing with colleagues one stated you have to report everything to your insurance as the driver in front could make spurious false claim - i thought in this day and age of claim culture it would probably happen to me so i called churchill and passed on the information stating there would be no claim as there was no damage or injury to me and the operator stated a note would be made on their system for info only and it was not recorded as a claim, it did not affect my NCB etc.
My insurance with churchill expired beginning of the month and i took insurance with Hastings - i used comparison site as i do every year. I obviously stated i had 9yr NC and took out the insurance. I have now had request for further information from Hastings as there is a claim flagged on my Reg No. I called churchill to clarify and they stated it was them who put it as claim but if no parties come forward to claim within 90days it will be closed. The original operator stated it would not be recorded as claim and i never intended on claiming as no damage or injuries. I have informed Hastings of all this but they have advised my premium could go up or indeed insurance cancelled.
I feel really agrieved here - information i passed to churchill and confirmed by their operator it would not be logged as claim is then logged as a claim and it affecting my new quotes and insurance. I would be the party to claim but do not wish to persue as i am not in the business of making false statements for no damage and no injuries...
Can anyone give me advice on what step to take now? I would like to contact the FSA to raise the complaint

Thanks in advance
Kris

jobdone1

Hi you have to declare all claims to any insurance company regardless of any repairs / payments to you it is still classed as an accident. It should make very little difference to your premium but you should always declare any material facts when doing your quote.

InsideInsurance

You cannot contact the FSA to raise a complaint, they do not deal with individual consumer issues. It is the FOS that does this but to raise the complaint to them you must have first raised the complaint with Churchill and either (a) had their response or (b) given them 8 weeks to respond (whichever is first)

Many insurers do not have any way to deal with "incidents" other than by registering a claim. It sounds like the initial call centre operator overstepped their mark by saying it would be closed instantly and when it went to the file handler they are following normal procedures of keeping it open for 3 months.

I know DLG have been running a claims target operating model programme for a while but I didnt think they'd restructured their teams which would suggest the operator also logged it as a disputed claim as if it had been logged as TP at fault it would have gone to Recoveries who would have closed the claim as soon as they saw there was no repairs to be claimed for your vehicle.

thenudeone

I've corrected it for you:

jobdone1 wrote: »

Hi you have to declare all [STRIKE]claims[/STRIKE] incidents to any insurance company regardless

thegirlintheattic

The question usually asked is any claims, losses or accidents. It was an accident so you should have told Hastings. I'd apologise and pay the extra.

AlwaysWorking

I had something very similar happen to me and only realised yesterday when I was looking online for quotes. Two companies would not proceed with my application and a third (who I phoned) increased my quote from £220 to £370 because of a 'claim' last year. Only, like you, it wasn't a claim and no damage was done.

I phoned the insurance company I am currently with, thinking it was a mistake. They said I had to notify them and it goes on the system and that there was nothing that could be done as I had had an 'incident'. I understand your frustration...basically I am paying more money for being honest, even though there was no damage and it wasn't my fault. :mad:

em_z

Same story here unfortunately. I had a minor non-fault accident a week before my renewal. I'd already compared prices so had the list of insurers and quotes but because I'd been involved in an 'incident' (even though it wasn't my fault) and had to declare it, the quotes jumped by at least £80! Seems v unfair.

chopravic

Stupid question, but does this mean that every time I have a lossI need to inform the insurance company?

The amount of times my toothbrush has gone missing is unreal, should this be declared?

Stupid Point but I think it makes a point, if the insured does not make claim for the loss then why note down the loss?

hugoshavez

chopravic wrote: »

Stupid question, but does this mean that every time I have a lossI need to inform the insurance company?

The amount of times my toothbrush has gone missing is unreal, should this be declared?

Stupid Point but I think it makes a point, if the insured does not make claim for the loss then why note down the loss?

Insurers need historical information like this to help determine what premium to charge.

If I've never had buildings insurance but my house has burned down every Christmas day for the last three years, then I'll never have made a claim.

But if I go to an insurer on 23 December this year looking for cover, they'd certainly want to know about the previous fires. that's why they ask for claims and losses/incidents.

Unless it was a solid gold, gem encrusted toothbrush, you needn't worry. Common sense (or reasonableness) applies too
:beer:

rs65

Losing a toothbrush wouldn't give rise to a claim as it is most likely less than your excess.

The OP is different, there is/was a possibility that the other party would allege that the OP ran into the back of them. It correctly was an incident that might give rise to a claim.

System

rs65 wrote: »

It correctly was an incident that might give rise to a claim.

The "that might give rise to a claim" is a significant addition to the simple definition of an "incident". Supposing it doesn't give rise to a claim?

Any incident, however trivial, might give rise to a false claim.

Supposing someone brakes hard in front of you, you stop in time, the other driver waves his fist at you, and drives off? Is that an incident? It might well give rise to a (false) claim.

You gently brush your own gatepost, with no damage? Is that an incident? Supposing it is someone else's gatepost, he has a look and agrees there is no damage. Is that an incident?

You leave your laptop in the car boot and returning after 5 minutes find it missing. Incident? Supposing later on your wife remarks that she has borrowed it - does that cancel the incident? Or once an incident always an incident?