Accident (not my fault) causing increased premium

Pat2524

A B&Q lorry wrote my son's car off a month ago - it was parked outside my house. The service from Tesco Bank (my son's insurer) has been diabolical - long periods of just waiting on the phone, say they will call back and don't etc. Resulted in the car being written off and him having to buy another car which he didn't want - his car was fine until B&Q........now he is being charged £40 extra than quoted (plus £100 more than he paid last year for insurance - decided he didn't want Tesco anymore) as apparently the case is still 'open'
I feel so sorry for him - he had no intention of changing the car, and I know its too late to do anything about it now as he accepted what the insurance company gave him - but what can be done to 'hurry up' the finalisation of the claim to avoid yet another £40 that he hasn't got?

Pat2524

Just to add to this......he just spoke to Tesco's who told him that they didn't think B&Q's insurance had admitted responsibility - despite witness statement by my neighbour saying that she saw the lorry hitting the car and then driving off quickly................is it a case of you just can't win when you are up against the 'big boys'?

Quentin

Presumably your son has been paid his claim?


If so then not a lot you can do to get progress on the insurers finalising the claim between themselves - expect this to be months rather than weeks


He needs to ask why the £40 extra is now being demanded (could it be because his replacement car attracts a higher premium???)


Next time he is involved in an incident where he is blameless he should consider claiming off the guilty party insurer rather than his own which will avoid paying and reclaiming his excess plus any problems at renewal if this hasn't been resolved and he wants to switch insurer but has (temporarily) reduced ncd

DanParks87

Next time he is involved in an incident where he is blameless he should consider claiming off the guilty party insurer rather than his own which will avoid paying and reclaiming his excess plus any problems at renewal if this hasn't been resolved and he wants to switch insurer but has (temporarily) reduced ncd

Piggy-backing on Quentin's response here - also expect it to potentially take longer, because as you can see from this very example there can often be liability disputes* that cause the case to drag on unnecessarily.


*Sometimes it's not even a dispute, it could just be that the insurers are having trouble getting ANY response from the driver. Particularly troublesome when dealing with a nationwide company like B&Q who must have hundreds (if not thousands) of drivers.


In your son's case, as the claim is still 'open' pending a final liability decision, it is usually considered to be a fault claim. If and when this is resolved in your son's favour (if justice prevails) he should have his NCB reinstated.