Accident - not at fault

martin1959

My son was involved in an accident on Friday when the driver of a Merc ran into the back of a car at 60mph which had stopped on the M25 due to traffic. This car was then catapulted into my sons car and pushed him into the one in front so a total of 4 cars involved.


He has been given a hire car and his insurance company accept he was not at fault.


However, he has tonight tried to obtain a new quote for a replacement car and when he puts in he has made a no fault claim it increases his premium by about £300.


Surely it cannot be right that he has to pay a higher premium through no fault of his own. The insurance company have said it will not affect his 2 years no claim discount, but by disclosing the claim, it increases the premium before the NCD is applied.


Is there anyway around this, or can he sue the driver of the Merc as his actions will cause my son a higher premium for the next X years....


Any thoughts?

Quentin

Why does he need a new policy?


Can't he change over cars on his existing policy.


(It is the norm for any claim to result in increased premiums,)

martin1959

Quentin wrote: »

Why does he need a new policy?


Can't he change over cars on his existing policy.



(It is the norm for any claim to result in increased premiums,)

He can, but his policy runs out in June and will need to renew.
It may be the norm, but why should have to pay more because some idiot was using his phone and di not see the cars in front had stopped....


If the claim is against the other divers policy, then I do not see why he should be penalised and he has not 'made a claim' as such, against his policy.


If this is the case, then I will suggest he takes up with Insurance ombudsman and see what their opinion is....


Just wondered if anyone else had this and what if anything, they did about it....

robbies_gal

it the norm u cant complain to the ombudsman about premiums

scotsbob

Would he not claim against the driver of the Mercedes who then has the option of settling the bill or passing it on to his insurance company.

Car_54

The insurance companies base their premiums on the perceived risk, and will tell you that having had an accident - regardless of fault - increases your probability of having another. However, different insurers take different views on risk, and it's a very competitive market, so it pays to shop around.

The quote the OP's son has been given by his existing insurer is simply an offer, not part of his existing contract, and therefore outside the scope of the ombudsman service.

The best course of action is probably to negotiate rather than complain - find the cheapest quote and ask them to match it.

laidbackgjr

Also you say it's for a new car, how much of the £300 increase is due to the different car?

Quentin

martin1959 wrote: »

If the claim is against the other divers policy, then I do not see why he should be penalised and he has not 'made a claim' as such, against his policy.


If this is the case, then I will suggest he takes up with Insurance ombudsman and see what their opinion is..

It is irrelevant who he claimed from (a claim is a claim!)


He doesn't get the same "penalty" for a non fault claim as it would have been for a "fault" claim (both of which he could be blameless for!)


To complain to the FOS he first needs to go through the insurers formal complaints procedure, then if unhappy with their reply or they have not replied within 8 weeks he can ask for the FOS to adjudicate (though complaining "my quote is too high" won't be taken on by the FOS!)

OnanTheBarbarian

The only way you can go about this is to make a claim for what the next insurance will cost, beyond that, it is impossible to see what premiums and loadings will be applied in 2 years time as the market changes all the time.

To make any claim for increased premiums, you have to evidence this and make sure you are only seeking the difference due to the disclosure of the non-fault claim, not an increase because a newer or bigger vehicle is insured in place of the one in the collision.

So you need to run a quote via a price comparison site with all the correct details inserted, print off the results and save the quote. You then need to run an identical quote but without the non-fault claim disclosed and see what the outcomes are and seek to claim the difference.

There is a list of insurers who allegedly do not load premiums in this article

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-3052191/How-drivers-insurance-costs-soar-no-fault-accidents-don-t-claim.html

AdrianC

The claim is still open.
Once it's settled, it'll be down as a not-at-fault, and any extra premium can be reclaimed from the insurer you've bought the policy from.

And, no, you can't reclaim the difference between an unblemished premium and a not-at-fault claim premium. Your son was involved because he was in a place where a collision happened... This, statistically, makes him a higher risk to be involved in another one in the future. Strange, but true.