Car insurance claim and cancellation of policy

MummyMoo

Evening all.

I'm posting for my neighbour who doesn't speak English very well and has got into a right pickle! Sorry, it's long post but I'm trying to give all the details I have been given.

She has lived in this country for three years (originally from Sri Lanka and then lived many years in Norway). Last December she took out Car insurance with 1st Capital. She did so by asking a friend (who spoke a little more English than she) to help her fill in the information using a comparison site and paid a deposit and first payment of around £375. A few days later she was involved in a car accident. She phoned the police but the other (drunk) driver drove away. She waited an hour for the police to attend but they did not appear. She had her 5 year old daughter with her at the time and so after an hour they went home and contacted the police from there, who a few days later came out to take a statement. She also reported this to her insurance company. A few days after this the insurance company sent her an email saying that she had given them wrong information on the application and so they cancelled the policy meaning that she was not covered for the period of the accident. When my neighbour called to query this she was told that all her information had been deleted and therefore could not comment further on the matter.

Fast forward to last week; She receives a letter from 1st Capital saying that a judgement had been found against her for the accident and a premium of nearly £7k was due. She states to me that she has never been asked her side of the story for the accident and so does not know why responsibility has landed with her.

Today, I phoned the company on her behalf with all her emails, certificates etc in front of me. Basically they have said that they cancelled the policy because they believe that she intentionally misrepresented herself by ticking the box saying she had been here since birth. The company claim that they have it on record that she filled in the comparison form eight times, and that some information changed each time (though they refused to tell me what information and how so). I asked them if they had given her the opportunity to rectify the error in her application and they said they aren't required to and that she should have done it right first time. They said that they will now pursue my neighbour for the premium of nearly £7k. I also queried why they had taken the claim, taken the money then cancelled the policy without refunding the money (as to me that would imply that she had paid for cover at some point) and the person on the phone said he did not know and would look into it.

So, if you're still with me, thank you. Where does my neighbour stand? To me it seems like they have used the error as an excuse to get out of paying out. To me, they should have asked her to rectify the error as she was still within the first two weeks of her policy before cancelling it? ANY insight or suggestions are welcomed, cos I have no experience of this dilemma.

She is a lovely lady; I tutor her daughter, she is seven months pregnant and has been told (after losing her job) that she is not entitled to IS or JSA so has no income apart from child tax credits and child benefit. She feels like she has been stitched up by the insurance company and has not had her say in the events of the accident occurring.

Thank you so so much for reading, and I hope you can offer any advice :A

dacouch

Could you clarify some information.

The £7k you refer to as a "premium", I don't think this is correct as I think it's the costs of the other driver's claim against her. Could you confirm?

Importantly, could you confirm the (Roughly) start date of the policy and did the Insurers send a letter advising the policy was being "cancelled" from X date in the future. Or did they write and advise her they were voiding the policy?

The Insurers are obliged to retain her information for many years, they have not deleted it. In fact she could apply for a copy of the information the Insurer hold about her under the Data Protection Law

https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/principle-6-rights/subject-access-request/

dacouch

I can't find a "First Capital" Car Insurer, do you mean First Central?

If you could find out who the Insurer is as the exact wording of the question the Insurer ask about her residency could be help her especially as she's been resident in Norway for a number of years.

Do you have a rough idea of how long she lived in Norway for?

Retrogamer

I don't think your neighbour can do much about all of this. She relied on someone else filling out the information for her and by the sounds of it they filled in the form multiple times with different details to find what gave her the cheapest insurance.

Imagine how it looks from the insurance side of things. It'll look like a textbook example of fraud.

As the policy has been cancelled it's likely she'll need to declare this on any future premiums if she plans to drive again as well. Often for life.

dacouch

Retrogamer wrote: »

I don't think your neighbour can do much about all of this. She relied on someone else filling out the information for her and by the sounds of it they filled in the form multiple times with different details to find what gave her the cheapest insurance.

Imagine how it looks from the insurance side of things. It'll look like a textbook example of fraud.

As the policy has been cancelled it's likely she'll need to declare this on any future premiums if she plans to drive again as well. Often for life.

Although it seems pretty pointless posting on this thread as the OP has not been back.

You're correct, although it is possible that the question is not worded well which could confusion especially if the question is worded to ask if you've lived in the European Union as Norway are not technically part of it depending on how the question is worded.

So it will depend on the wording of the question and the exact turn of events, although it's a fairly long shot that the Insurer are in the wrong but it's certainly not heard of.

The devil is in the detail and you also need to throw in the massive amount of leeway the Ombudsman affords a consumer

magpiecottage

dacouch wrote: »

You're correct, although it is possible that the question is not worded well which could confusion especially if the question is worded to ask if you've lived in the European Union as Norway are not technically part of it depending on how the question is worded.

Although not part of the EU, Norway is part of the EEA (essentially the EU plus Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein.

I think a complaint to the insurer is worth trying but clearly the difficulty is that the policy was applied for online.

On the other hand, if they have deleted the information documenting why they cancelled the policy, the insurer may have some difficulty defending the decision to cancel cover.

And if it simply allowed a judgment to be made against her without even telling her a claim had been made - thus denying her the opportunity of a defence - that may not go down well.

She would need to complain about these points to the insurer in the first instance and, if the response was not satisfactory, go to FOS and establish its view.

FOS would also consider whether the wrong box had been clicked deliberately, recklessly or inadvertently.

rs65

magpiecottage wrote: »

And if it simply allowed a judgment to be made against her without even telling her a claim had been made - thus denying her the opportunity of a defence - that may not go down well.

She may have given enough info in the first intimation to indicate that there as no defence.

magpiecottage

rs65 wrote: »

She may have given enough info in the first intimation to indicate that there as no defence.

If the other driver was drunk that suggests that he was at least partly to blame.

rs65

magpiecottage wrote: »

If the other driver was drunk that suggests that he was at least partly to blame.

Nonsense.


Plus, no evidence that he/she was drunk.