Car insurance scam

KathrynJohnston

Can anyone help? My husband has just left a job, where he had a company car. I was also insured to drive it.

We have just bought a new car and are searching for quotes. My husband has 5 years no claims.

Two years ago I had a small accident where I caught the car on a brick pillar. It cost the company insurance £640. In February last year I was reversing from a driveway with the sun in my eyes (at under 5 miles an hour) when I touched another vehicle, resulting in a slight dent to it. The bill that I forwarded on to the company was for £348 for repairs.

My husband has just contacted his company transport company for full details of both claims so that we can give them to the insurance companies we are looking for quotes from.

We found out that on the second claim, there was an additional claim for £1700 legal fees, and £7,000 for personal injury submitted to the insurance company. The company suspect that there has been a fraudulent claim and are asking their insurers for further details, which is likely to be a lengthy process.

Since we gave the details of the accidents to insurance companies, the price quoted has rocketed from £250 to £800, and will no doubt go up still further when the details of the £7000 personal injuries is known to them. Is there any way we can reduce the quotes?

mattymoo

Your husband does not have 5 years no claims bonus though. He may have driven for 5 years without a claim but that was on his employers insurance policy. You do not accumulate any NCD under these.

Instead, you have done the correct thing and requested the accident history from the employer but these claims of yours will count heavily against you and your husband (since the vehicle was in his care).

As for the possibly fraudulent claim you mention you were doing 5mph but do not say how fast the other car was going. They say speed kills but they are wrong - its sudden deceleration that kills you. If this vehicle was travelling at say 30 when you hit it then it is quite likely there was an injury. If it was stationary then yes, agreed it does sound suspect.

£7000 is more than minor whiplash. Are your husbands employers sure it was £7k injury. Could be hire car costs. These can soon rack up particularly if you hit a Japanese or luxury car where the garage may have to wait a while for parts. Third party would be entitled to claim reasonable hire costs while his was off the road.

Labman_2

Where's the scam? Insurance Company?,.....damage you caused due to your bad driving?

KathrynJohnston

The other car was stationary. There was no damage to mine and they claiimed £350 for damage to a wing, this indicates a dent. However the other car party £7k in personal injuries plus £1.7 k in legal costs.
I have now found out they claimed there was a passenger in the car. I was talking to the woman and gave her my phone number at the time, there was noting wrong with her, the damage on her wheel arch was barely visible and there was no passenger.

knowledgeman

KathrynJohnston wrote: »

The other car was stationary. There was no damage to mine and they claiimed £350 for damage to a wing, this indicates a dent. However the other car party £7k in personal injuries plus £1.7 k in legal costs.
I have now found out they claimed there was a passenger in the car. I was talking to the woman and gave her my phone number at the time, there was noting wrong with her, the damage on her wheel arch was barely visible and there was no passenger.

Tbh its not in your interests to see the seriousness of an incident

The human body can be a very fragile item and any sort of trauma can cause people to be ill, for example I once broke my leg, I collapsed on a regular basis for several months as a result and the exact cause was never known

For all you know something similar has happened, likewise your idea of damage is different to the victim

Im sure you would have been happy for it to be done on the cheap but the other innocent party wanted it done properly

You need to grow up and accept your liability

Insurance companies take all the details and if there was something majorly suss the claim would have been contested,

mattymoo

Bit harsh there knowledgeman. Clearly you didn't read the op's post correctly otherwise you would have seen there was a ficticious passenger injury claim.

Agree on the other points though. Estimates only ever show labour. The parts, paint and VAT are all on top and can easily treble the cost. Add in hire costs, loss of earnings etc and the claim cost can rapidly escalate.

knowledgeman

mattymoo wrote: »

Bit harsh there knowledgeman. Clearly you didn't read the op's post correctly otherwise you would have seen there was a ficticious passenger injury claim.

Agree on the other points though. Estimates only ever show labour. The parts, paint and VAT are all on top and can easily treble the cost. Add in hire costs, loss of earnings etc and the claim cost can rapidly escalate.

I dont see were she states she can prove its ficticous, yes a collision at 5mph is minor and it probably is but the human body is fragile, a crash at 5mph could injure someone regardless and tbh the OP just doesnt want the history to affect her now

Im sure if it really was as bad as she claimed the insurance would have contested it

mattymoo

But the OP states there was no passenger in the car.

I have now found out they claimed there was a passenger in the car. I was talking to the woman and gave her my phone number at the time, there was noting wrong with her, the damage on her wheel arch was barely visible and there was no passenger.

rabbitmoon

and tbh the OP just doesnt want the history to affect her now

Knowledgeman you are making an assumption here - I think whilst you say the human body is fragile the human mind is even more fragile and prone to distortion and generalisation.

I think the OP was totally reasonable in posting the post - seeing if similar things have happened to others and just wanting to reassurance or ideas. Of course everyone also wants lower car insurance, but then that is what this site is for, there is nothing wrong with that. Certainly no need to be cynical and act so bullish.

Have some humanity - this woman could be in a state of financial turmoil for all you know, and callous replies like yours could easily ruin someones day who is on the edge already.

Reading her post - it certainly seems that someone is lying and making fraudulent claims - if the OP says there was no passenger in the car then I will believe her, and agree that the driver was clearly lying. I'm not an insurance claims investigator so I dont have to say 'true' or 'false' legally, but I think its important to support and reassure each other where possible, not belittle.

burundi

Now that the claim has gone through it will be difficult but not impossible to have the insurance company look at it again, many are keen to stamp down on fraud and if they can be relatively sure that they will succeed in a case they may progress it. I would advise a letter to your husbands former employers to be forwarded to their insurers advising of the situation.

However, none of it will get sorted out quickly and it will not help your current high quotes. Have your husbands insurers provided you with two seperate letters? One for your husband stating how many claim free years he has had and one for stating how many (or not) claim free years you have had? If your husband has such a letter then most insurers will accept this and allocate him the correct number of years NCB on the policy.

If you have your own car you can leave yourself off his policy, if you are only going to drive his car on rare occasions then you should both get policies were you are able to drive other vehicles with 3rd party cover with the owners permission. Check the policy wording however as it may not cover frequent use, spouses or business use.

Cheers B.