NCB taken away non fault

samcuddy123

Hi guys so in September 2015 I was involved in a car accident, I was driving down the road and a woman walked out from behind parked cars, long story short the police and my solicitor say it wasn't my fault, and to this day the pedestrian still hasn't made a claim however my insurance took my no claims bonus off me because 'she might claim' they said I don't get this back for 3 years, I am a young driver and this obviously effects my premium quite drastically, I can't find a lot of answers on the web and I'm wondering if this is correct? Do I really have to wait 3 years to get that years NcB back? Or is this wrong?
Thanks
Sam

Mungo76

Regardless of fault right now (it gets really awkward with pedestrians) and based on the probability of a claim being made, it is ok to keep it open for a period of time.

If it was a year that's reasonable (although the FOS tried to tell me 6 months at one point), 18 months even, 3 years is not, unless the underwriter can demonstrate a very good case why it should be open for the whole 3 years, or they express this (with figures) in the policy wording.

Make a complaint to your insurance underwriter asking them to confirm how long they intend to keep it open, if you don't like the answer go to the FOS.

samcuddy123

Thanks, I'm not actually with that insurer anymore just after everything I changed after the policy ended, so it being open for 16 months you would say is unnecessary ? And I should contact them and suggest it be closed and I get the years no claims restored?
Thanks
Sam

Nasqueron

I suspect that as you legally have 3 years to make a personal injury claim after an incident, that is why they are keeping it open

Quentin

samcuddy123 wrote: »

.... I should contact them and suggest it be closed and I get the years no claims restored?

Yes - chase it up!


Though assuming they do agree to award you a year's NCD you will need to explain this in detail to your present insurer with the ai of getting it added to your existing number of years NCD


(You did disclose the incident to your current insurers when applying to them for cover??)


(Not a good idea to reveal your true ID on any public forum!)

samcuddy123

I will chase it up, I feel like the other reply maybe correct as they can legally claim for 3 years they may keep it open for 3 years but I will contact and chase it up none the less, didn't even realise my name was there it's a force of habit from emails etc, my ID is edited out if all posts now!
Thanks

Quentin

samcuddy123 wrote: »

, I feel like the other reply maybe correct as they can legally claim for 3 years they may keep it open for 3 years ......
Thanks

Well....third parties can legally make claims a lot longer than the 3 years for injuries (it's 6 years for damage and for minors injured it is until they reach the age of 21).


The FOS wouldn't normally allow insurers to reduce the NCD just in case a claim comes in until the legal time limit is reached!

samcuddy123

I'm not entirely sure which category it would fall under, she walked out without warning from behind parked cars and never looked and she never defended otherwise; I think my solicitor said it was 3 years also, I will get onto the underwriter and see what they say and then move on to the FOS if needed!

Quentin

Yes in your case she does has up to 3 years to start a claim.


But insurers wouldn't normally get away with denying your NCD until a claim can no longer legally be lodged, (unless there is more to the story not revealed that makes the insurer think a (successful) claim will be forthcoming)

Aretnap

samcuddy123 wrote: »

long story short the police and my solicitor say it wasn't my fault...

It's worth mentioning that the police don't determine liability for civil claims - they will only be interested in the criminal side of things (ie whether to charge you with careless driving).

To convict you of careless driving the police would have to show beyond reasonable doubt that you were at fault for the accident - but to successfully claim from you for personal injury the woman would only need to prove it on the balance of probabilities, which is much easier.

So when the police say that it wasn't your fault, what they presumably mean is that they're not going to charge you with careless driving. That's good news, but it it doesn't necessarily mean that you wouldn't be found at fault in the civil sense if the woman decided to claim.

That aside I agree it's not normal practice, and probably unreasonable, for your insurer to keep the claim open for the full three years on the off-chance, unless they have good reason to believe that a formal claim is on the way.

samcuddy123

Well considering she had just argued with her husband , and then attempted to kill herself using my car, which was witnessed by her husband and 2 other civilians, I'd say it's a pretty clear cut case but even after all this they still keep the claim open , which just seems silly to me I'll get back to contacting them soon.