Accident Settled 50/50, Losing no claims.

RhysAC

Hi, I was involved in an accident in September last year and was told about 3 months ago it could be settled 50/50.
I was stationary waiting to go into a parking bay which a car was pulling out of. The person could not get out so I reversed a little (knowing full well there was a car some distance behind me!) and I stopped again. This car behind me then decided to roll forward into the back of me!
Somehow doing this she then claimed (after we left the scene some weeks later my insurance called) I was at fault for this! I did not make any claim as I am as honest as they come and didn't need the hassle!
Now my insurance is due for renewal on the 8th June and I received the renewal letter last week with my no claims bonus wiped off! And I wasn't even told this before this letter arrived.
Now with no witnesses, no CCTV and no damage to either car or people involved how is this possible? And is there any way I can contest this with an outcome of getting my claims back or some sort of compensation agreement?
I have heard of insurance companies giving customer payouts to avoid the matter being taken to court. Is this a risk worth taking telling them I would do so?

Thanks in advance.

Quentin

The time to protest this was when you were told your insurer held you liable.

You can complain about this using the complaints procedure set out in your policy, and if unhappy escalate this to the fos or court but the insurer is unlikely to cave in as the policy conditions allowed them to deal with the claim against you and will show what happens to your ncd if a claim occurs.

Realistically you maybe need to put your efforts into scouring the market for the best deal for your renewal.

If liability was 50 /50 you can still claim half your costs off the third party for any repairs you have paid for.

InsideInsurance

RhysAC wrote: »

Now with no witnesses, no CCTV and no damage to either car or people involved how is this possible? And is there any way I can contest this with an outcome of getting my claims back or some sort of compensation agreement?
I have heard of insurance companies giving customer payouts to avoid the matter being taken to court. Is this a risk worth taking telling them I would do so? .

Presumably the TP has claimed for damage however? If they havent then it may simply be a case that the files are still open and hence it is impacting you but this will be reversed once the file is closed with no claims made by either party.

If you have no damages what are you going to claim for? You cannot threaten court on the principle of the matter. The other issue would be that if your insurers have already accepted 50/50 you would need very strong new evidence to have the issue of liability reopened

RhysAC

I called my insurer earlier and they said it was because the case was still open and it can't currently be settled and 50/50 has not been agreed. The only way it looks like it will be settled now is if the claimant takes it to court.

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? I should get my no claims bonus until this has been settled! I've been told it could takes months still, although I would get every penny I have overpaid.

InsideInsurance

This isnt a criminal case and therefore "innocent until proven guilty" doesnt apply as a concept.

The first step really would be for your insurers to find out if the TP is claiming or not. Most dont do this proactively and will just sit on the file for 6 months and close it non-fault if no approach is received but occasionally you can "persuade" them to reach out.

RhysAC

They did say they are doing everything they can at the moment, which in my eyes is nothing. It seems like this is just riding out and is coming to no conclusion. We both had someone come to us for a statement which was handed to both our insurers so obviously they must be so different if nothing has come about this.
I'm hoping this can be resolved by them ASAP because I am going to struggle hugely financially due to my car finance on top of this insurance which is basically doubled.

Is there an end date or time frame where the case can in effect, be closed if no agreement has been made by?

InsideInsurance

RhysAC wrote: »

Is there an end date or time frame where the case can in effect, be closed if no agreement has been made by?

6 years, if there is no injury, 3 years if there is injury (or longer if kids are involved)

Generally most insurers will close a file after 6 months of no contact.

You say there is no damage to either car and so the real question needs to be is if the TP is actually claiming anything or not. You do occasionally get cases where insurers spend months arguing but then finally realize that no one is actually claiming but generally insurers move into defence mode and are totally non-proactive when there is an accident reported for info only and their client is not 100% to blame.

RhysAC

Ok thank you, I am led to believe the TP is only claiming for injuries. The incident happened September last year and we both gave our statements in February.

If the case does last the 3 years will I never have my no claims bonus?
Also would it be worth getting in contact every couple of weeks to try and speed things up?

rs65

Presumably you had 1 or 2 years NCD in June 1012?

Your NCD will start to accrue again from this June 2013.