Insurance cancelled after repairs done

Wildcaz_2

Hi.
I'm in a bit of a quandry.
Some months ago I was involved in a car accident. Totally the other party's fault, (his axle snapped and he lost control of his vehicle). There were witnesses, and police, and there has never been any doubt regarding the fact that I was not at fault.
His insurance company (direct line) were on the phone immediately, offering assistance. I avoided the third party capture trap, and contacted an independent claims company who could provide an appropriate replacement vehicle. It was a couple of weeks before it all got sorted, meanwhile I drove my damaged car (not badly damaged) and when it finally went in for repair at my usual mechanic, I had a courtesy car just for those few days while it was repaired.
Now. Three months later, the car's all fixed, the mechanic has been paid for repairs done, and out of the blue the claims company (Proximo) get in touch and tell me that Direct Line have cancelled the third party's insurance from inception, due to misrepresentation, and I need to claim for this through my own insurance company.
I am aware that they have the right to cancel his insurance, but AFTER the repairs have been done?? Surely Proximo should have had the go-ahead from them before authorising the repairs.?
I haven't spoken to Proximo yet, just trying to get an idea of where I stand before I do.
Any advice??

Quentin

It is normally good to deal direct with the third party insurer when they offer to help - not a "trap" at all!


See the wording of your agreement with the accident management company to see where you stand when they are unable to get paid by the third party insurer.


(Hopefully they take it on the chin, and maybe pursue the uninsured driver directly if they have any funds)

paddyandstumpy

Irrespective of whether they cancel the third parties insurance, they are on the hook for third party damage, if it's proven that their PH was at fault.

I'm not sure if a snapped axle and losing control would make it his fault though, unless he was neligent and ignored warnings about its imminent break?

Wildcaz_2

Thanks for the replies. Does anybody know if it is standard practice for a claims management company to ascertain who will be paying for repairs before they authorise them? I stupidly assumed this would be the case.

FutureGirl

If they voided / cancelled the other parties insurance from inception, it means they're acting on an Article 75 basis, meaning they will only pay for your uninsured losses.

If you're using a claims management company they will go ahead and deal with the repairs etc, and then claim this money from the third party insurer - they don't wait for the insurer to authorise any repairs.

Wildcaz_2

Thanks for replies.
Plot thickens!
I've spoken to the other party and checked various dates etc.
Direct Line admitted liability on 17/2
Repairs carried out week commencing 14/3
Third party's insurance voided 24/4, and Direct Line refusing to pay out.

Surely this is somewhat unethical

Quentin

Did you read up your agreement with the AMC (#2)

Hopefully you will discover this is not your problem.

FutureGirl

It isn't unethical.

Direct Line have voided the third parties policy back to the beginning - so it's as if the policy was not in place from the start.

They have still admitted liability, but they're only on the hook for your uninsured losses, not something you could claim for through your own policy.