Car insurance - issue - accident

JohnBravo

Hi Everyone,
I have been involved in a car accident and I am at fault.
1. I am the named (37yrs) driver on the insurance policy.
2. My mother is the main driver (56yrs).
3. Last year (for last 365 days) it has been driven no more than 1600 miles with this car.
4. We have had a bit of a mess at the beginning of last year and we had to go abroad for family reasons - death of a grandparent and further complications.
5. I knew that my mother is not going to be back soon I have changed the keeper to myself and have changed the address to my sister's address so I will not miss anything. Besides I am floating between these 2 addresses anyway helping my younger sister, usually once a week with an overnight stay.
6. now I have had an accident, 1st in my driving career
7. have not updated insurance details (a keeper) for exactly a year
8. insurance was automatically renewed 4 months ago
9. I have claimed for this accident the very next day
10. Logbook has been misplaced and just now because of all of this I have realized these things
11. the insurer is LiverpoolV=

Q: what is the best approach in this case?
Q: should I call them and explain the situation and ask to amend the details and if possible backdate so they can recover anything extra I should pay for that period as the keeper + of course increased premiums moving forward because I was at fault.
Q: Does it mean a keeper is always the main driver or not necessarily? Because the car is used rarely (not for commuting) it is hard to determine who is using it more, but in any case they can always assume that who has caused the accident is perhaps using it more thus fronting.
Perhaps they have already checked that the keeper and the address do not match.

In any case I can see across the board that people's experience with insurance companies is that everything is fine until you have an accident and insurers don't hesitate to cancel the policy and refuse to service the claim.
As someone has pointed out then they should at least refund because technically I was driving without a valid insurance and the case goes to the court and/or there is proceeding for fraud. It looks like they can pick on anything and cancel I assume especially more economical insurers like LV.
Q: is there any point in calling them at this stage or just wait? Is there any mitigation possible with these people?

Please advise
Thank you

forgotmyname

Accident was 4 months ago? a bit late to phone them to explain things.

And whose name is the insurance in? your moms? then they may not even speak to you.

You changed the keeper because your mom wont be back soon? But isnt the car hers and her insurance?

Lost logbook no problem the insurance will simply contact the DVLA for the details so they will know exactly when you took posession.

Mitigating? Looks clear cut to me.

csgohan4

OP why did you not change the insurance to your name? Did you get permission to change the keeper to your name?

You need to be honest to the insurer as anything else will be insurance fraud which you probably committed anyways, making it even harder to get any kind of insurance.


If you can't afford to drive, don't drive at all

JohnBravo

forgotmyname wrote: »

Accident was 4 months ago? a bit late to phone them to explain things.

No, the accident was on Monday this week.

Logbook is not lost, was misplaced, but I have found it.
I have had permission.
She is still the owner, but I think ownership is a secondary to the keeper thing.

@csgohan4
that is why I have asked if the keeper = policy holder.

Quentin

The problem looks to be the policyholder (assuming that remains your mother) is not the keeper, but remains the owner and they hold the incorrect address the car is kept at

You do need to make the insurer aware of this change and take it from their reply.

rs65

JohnBravo wrote: »

In any case I can see across the board that people's experience with insurance companies is that everything is fine until you have an accident and insurers don't hesitate to cancel the policy and refuse to service the claim.

You realise the irony of that statement. Seems like you thought all was fine until you have an accident.

I don’t see how you can do anything but come clean. Get your facts clear though. Why change the keeper address to your sisters when you are just there one night a week. How is it difficult to determine who is the main user when you mother is abroad. Not wanting answers - just for you to think about.

Remember this is actually your mother’s problem as it’s her policy. Don’t make things worse for her.

JohnBravo

Thank you Gentlemen for you input so far.

I have called them up to explain the whole situation and my findings, tell about discrepancy in my initial claim.
They looked the claim and have said there is nothing wrong with it and everything looks clean to them, they took some notes re keeper and the mileage,
they confirmed that there is no indication for investigation.
They have said they ask for a logbook only if the car is going to be written off and what I have to do to speed up the process is to get a repair estimate as soon as possible.
Not sure how much I can trust what they say.

My objective was to take this off my head as it's a new experience and it is affecting my work performance especially in the first 3 days after the accident.

bigisi

JohnBravo wrote: »

Thank you Gentlemen for you input so far.

That's quite an assumption :eek: