car insurance claim

dodo

My car has just been hit by another driver whilst standing in a car park, all went well with the other driver accepting blame (I wasn't even in my car)
and giving me his insurance details etc. His insurance co. is NU Direct and they have been first class, car is in for repair, hire car supplied and all seems well.
:mad: Then comes the job of informing PO insurance, just for the record, no claim on them. What a mess! Phone an 0870 no. and give details after 15 mins music. Then told to ring the actual insurers, Group AMA, another 0870 no./ another 20 mins of music. That wasnt the right dept. Tried another 0870 no. (quite liked their music for 15 mins.) and gave all details, just for info, not for a claim!
Next morning had a call from Groupama, I wasn't in so they left a no to ring, youve guessed it, another 0870 no. Didnt ring so they rang me later and said I had to fill in a claim form. Shouted at them, "Its not a claim!!" that didnt make any difference as it was only for their records. Finally told them that I would only fill in the form if they would include a letter clearly stating that the form was purely for info and would not affect my no claims discount record.
They have now done this, after a fashion, but the form only asks for me and my car details, use and damage. Nothing about the chap and his car who hit me.
Can anybody advise whether I must fill all this in?.......Help

raskazz

All sounds pretty shoddy.

Firstly, at inception your policy documents should have clearly specified a contact number for claim/accident notification. To be honest I would be surpised if your documents did not state that you need to contact Groupama rather than the PO for notification, but hey ho.

Below is taken from http://www.groupama.co.uk/intermediaries/Library/Motor/OptimaCar/Policywording/OptimaCar.pdf

"If your car is involved in an accident or has been damaged or stolen, here’s what to do.
We hope you’ll find our service fast, efficient and friendly.
Call Claimline on 0870 240 1895 (or 0044 23 92205450 if you are phoning from outside the United Kingdom) as
soon as possible. You can do this at any time of the day. (Calls from a BT landline cost no more than 8p a minute.
Charges from other suppliers maybe different.)
You will need to tell us:
• your policy number or the number shown on your certificate of motor insurance;
• your personal details;
• the driver’s personal details, if you were not driving your car; and
• full details of what happened, including the details of any other people or vehicles involved and any witnesses’
names and addresses.
There is no need for you to fill in a claim form. Our staff will do this over the phone when you call Claimline.
However, we may send you the claim form so you can check the information we have recorded is correct."

It is standard practice these days to refer to the 'claim form' as an 'accident report form' in car insurance - simply because insurers require information of incidents whether or not a claim is actually made. Groupama still referring to it as a 'claim form' is pretty poor show and is obviously causing needless grief.

I suggest you fill in the 'claim form' with the last paragraph above beginning "There is no need for you to fill in a claim form"!

darich

I had a similar situation a few years back but what annoyed me was that i had arranged my insurance through a broker. Although they didn't insure me, i paid them and the cover was arranged.
When i had to make a claim i then had to contact the company direct even though i had no contract with them. i asked the broker what he did for his cut of my policy costs but didn't get any reasonable answer.
i eventually had no option but to deal with it myself but thankfully it was straightforward.

dodo

Thanks for the advice, I am now going to make a complaint to the Post Office as the only documents I have are from them including my certificate of insurance and terms and conditions.
Groupama are even using a different policy no. on the claim forms they sent me!
Will see what happens