Car insurance issues-can you help me?!

shaun_from_Africa

Strider590 wrote: »

You can only blame all the idiots who crawl about brake testing people ...

Surely you mean the idiots who crawl about brake testing other idiots who are driving too close to them.
Irrespective of the fact that someone might be driving like a moron, no other driver should have their vehicle so close to the vehicle in front so that they can't stop safely if needed.

AdrianC

grumbler wrote: »

This is far too blanket and unsubstantiated presumption, especially as it doesn't differentiate betwen 'at fault' and 'not at fault' collisions.

Yes, this it the status quo in the insurance industry. Very unfair, but we have no choice. However, I don't see how it can be justified.

I was involved a few years ago in a not-at-fault claim. Somebody reversed out of a drive into the side of my car, which was parked in a marked bay.

As it happens, that marked bay was right outside my house. And two other people had also reversed out of that same drive into my cars, but with much less damage. Somebody else had rolled down the hill, hitting my car and pushing it across next door's drive - that was a quick, cheap and simple fix. Then somebody else rolled down the hill, shortly after I'd gone out in my car, and pushed next door's car into a phone pole, writing it off.

Now, tell me again how a not-at-fault claim doesn't suggest a higher risk?

LaurenEmma

Thank you all for replying to this, i appreciate all of your responses, I have been calling so many different people trying to get this sorted this is the 1st chance Ive had to reply.

Firstly, i did not claim anything through my insurance for this, and so when i filled out the insurance forms, I didn't say 'yes' to having had an accident because i never claimed anything, nor was this an accident. I was not even at my car at the time, i was parked in a car park where i have done so many times before when a woman hit my car whilst trying to park next to me. I did not think what occurred fitted the description of 'having an accident'.

Secondly, the reason why I changed insurer was because they quoted me over £100 cheaper than my renewal quote with admiral, and being a student, i try to save as much as i can!

I never claimed anything through my insurer and didn't see this incident as anything serious, as nothing ever came from it, the issue was sorted privately and the only reason I called admiral was out of courtesy, and to cover my own back in case the woman decided she wasn't going to pay.

I'm irritated because i am a good driver, and why should i have an increased risk of having an accident because someone else couldn't park properly? I don't understand why i should be penalised for something which occurred without me even being there?!

Silver-Surfer_2

LaurenEmma wrote: »

Thank you all for replying to this, i appreciate all of your responses, I have been calling so many different people trying to get this sorted this is the 1st chance Ive had to reply.

Firstly, i did not claim anything through my insurance for this, and so when i filled out the insurance forms, I didn't say 'yes' to having had an accident because i never claimed anything, nor was this an accident. I was not even at my car at the time, i was parked in a car park where i have done so many times before when a woman hit my car whilst trying to park next to me. I did not think what occurred fitted the description of 'having an accident'.

Secondly, the reason why I changed insurer was because they quoted me over £100 cheaper than my renewal quote with admiral, and being a student, i try to save as much as i can!

I never claimed anything through my insurer and didn't see this incident as anything serious, as nothing ever came from it, the issue was sorted privately and the only reason I called admiral was out of courtesy, and to cover my own back in case the woman decided she wasn't going to pay.

I'm irritated because i am a good driver, and why should i have an increased risk of having an accident because someone else couldn't park properly? I don't understand why i should be penalised for something which occurred without me even being there?!

Thing is it was an accident, not your fault but an accident all the same. Unfortunatly for you the insurance see it as a material fact because someone informed them of the incident.

AdrianC

LaurenEmma wrote: »

Firstly, i did not claim anything through my insurance for this, and so when i filled out the insurance forms, I didn't say 'yes' to having had an accident because i never claimed anything, nor was this an accident. I was not even at my car at the time, i was parked in a car park where i have done so many times before when a woman hit my car whilst trying to park next to me. I did not think what occurred fitted the description of 'having an accident'.

Oh? You're suggesting she drove into your car deliberately...?

The question the Meerkats ask - which is absolutely typical of insurers in general is...
"Have you had any motor accidents, claims or losses in the past 5 years, no matter who was at fault or if a claim was made?"
with an explanatory text box saying...
"It is really important you tell us about all motor vehicle related accidents, claims or losses."

Now, do you REALLY feel that having your car driven into and damaged while parked doesn't count as an accident or loss?

Simple rule of thumb - if something's borderline, tell 'em. If it's unimportant, it won't change your premium. If it changes your premium, then you needed to tell 'em.

As far as risk - well, you park in this car park everyday. Doesn't that suggest there's a risk of it happening again? And next time, you may have to claim off your own insurance because you can't identify who did it.

grumbler

AdrianC wrote: »

I was involved a few years ago in a not-at-fault claim. Somebody reversed out of a drive into the side of my car, which was parked in a marked bay.

As it happens, that marked bay was right outside my house. And two other people had also reversed out of that same drive into my cars, but with much less damage. Somebody else had rolled down the hill, hitting my car and pushing it across next door's drive - that was a quick, cheap and simple fix. Then somebody else rolled down the hill, shortly after I'd gone out in my car, and pushed next door's car into a phone pole, writing it off.

Now, tell me again how a not-at-fault claim doesn't suggest a higher risk?

Firstly, I said 'accident', not 'claim'.
Secondly, have never said that it didn't. My point was that not all accidents are the same, but insurers are far to lazy to go into detail or, at least, have some rough classification for them, say, on the scale from 1 to 5. It's obvious to me that not all "not-at-fault" accidents indicate "a higher risk of being involved in a future claim".

Quentin

LaurenEmma wrote: »

Firstly, i did not claim anything through my insurance for this, and so when i filled out the insurance forms, I didn't say 'yes' to having had an accident because i never claimed anything.....



I never claimed anything through my insurer and didn't see this incident as anything serious, as nothing ever came from it, the issue was sorted privately and the only reason I called admiral was out of courtesy, and to cover my own back in case the woman decided she wasn't going to pay.....

You DID claim - off the third party directly.


You DID notify your insurer of the loss you had experienced in the incident.


Your loss/claim is now on the shared database that insurers use to prevent people making false declarations when applying for insurance which you apparently did by not disclosing this when applying to Endsleigh.


Other insurers have been known to take a much stronger line against policyholders they discover to have made false declarations such as voiding the policy when a claim comes in (which they can do if they believe you deliberately missed off the claim in an attempt to get cheaper insurance)


Pay up and move on - and disclose it properly next time you ask for quotes!

LaurenEmma

Thanks again to all comments, just wanted to give you guys an update, Endsleigh have contacted me and they lowered this cost, saying it shouldn't have been so high- which is fab. However, the call handler who was very helpful has told me that if i could get a cheaper quote elsewhere then the best option for me may be to cancel my policy and go with them. So this is what I have done, found that admiral have quoted me an even cheaper price than my renewal! so have cancelled my policy with Endsleigh which has saved me over £300!

I appreciate the advice everyone has given me on here, I know for next time now, however still find it cheeky that I can be charged extra for something which i didn't have a clue had even happened until i found a note on my car! Irritating that someone else's bad driving can penalise me, nevertheless, all sorted now so thanks for the comments and advice!

forgotmyname

You need to declare this incident for upto 5 years.. Did you inform Admiral of the incident?

The wording is usually something like... Accidents or claims or incidents where no claim was made.

Your incident fits into the last one, even though you didnt claim you need to declare it. If you have not told Admiral then you may need to cancel that policy before they find out.

shiells28

Have you noticed the latest Admiral Car insurance ads. I quote: "How are you? How can we help? Is this all we can offer? Is there a better way? We judge ourselves by this belief. Always eager to learn and constantly striving to understand your wants, your worries and your needs. No matter how big or how small."
Well this inflexible prat of an organisation has left me in a real Catch 22 situation, deliberately leaving me the risk of my three cars being left uninsured. I'm off driving to Italy leaving around the 13th/14th April. Back around May 5/6 (pensioners are flexible). My Admiral multi-car policy is due for renewal on May 2nd, while we still be travelling. Being a very responsible motorist, I contacted Admiral to ask them to help make sure my renewal notice reached me before we left, as I obviously would not be home to receive it and pay them. To cut a long story short they have totally refused to do this, despite me making several pleas, including a letter to their CEO. I have just received a ludicrous "final decision" from their complaints team saying there's no way they'll comply fewer than 21 days before the renewal date. They have also refused to confirm my long-standing no-claims bonuses (17 years in this case) before that date. I have obviously re-insured -- with AXA -- but they won't validate my new insurance without proof of NCB. So I'm left en-route to and from Italy with no insurance in place. It seems I may have to cancel, losing paid-for ferry crossings and pre-paid-hotel bookings. All I need is my proof of NCB as of today. Nothing more. They simply won't do it. I have tried everything I can possibly think of to be responsible and have pointed out the madness of their stance. They just won't listen. Avoid Admiral at all costs. Spread the word.