After some advice on Insurance payout

Plumz

Hi guys thanks for reading.

Last June I had a motorbike crash, crashing head on with a car, I think I ended up writing his car off.

I wasn’t driving dangerously it was just a genuine accident, to which the police agreed, and I admitted fault from the start.

About a month after the crash I believed the claim to be settled, they even told me the cost of the claim was £14,800, as I rang up to find out for future insurance applications.

A few months later I noticed an email from the Insurance company, asking me to print and sign something to allow them to act legally on my behalf. They weren’t the first people to contact me offering legal support telling me I could claim etc, (they obviously passed my details on to 3rd parties) so I just ended up ignoring it. They are my insurance company, of course I want them to act on my behalf, that is why I paid them.

Anyway 18 months after the crash (today) I receive a High Court Writ in my name for £31,499 and the claimant is the chap I crashed into.

I rang the insurance company asking what was going on and they asked for me to take a picture of the High Court Writ and to email it to them, and that they were going to sort it out. He even said they will pay it and I won’t have to.

Even though he said don’t worry I feel this is going to majorly come back and bite my behind.

Am I at fault for not printing and signing the email attachment?

Why has it gone from £14,800 to £31,499 ? Will the insurance only pay the 14,800 and say the rest is up to me?

I received nothing regarding a claim against me from the county court, absolutely nothing. The High court had my road name wrong but house number and postcode right, maybe the county court did to?

The insurance company only emailed me regarding the consent form, they also have my phone number and address surely they could have used another form of contact, I very rarely check my emails,

Does anyone know the insurance process or wether it should have even come to this?

I also have a CCJ on my credit file for 30k from September this year.

I recorded the phone calls to the insurance company and to the High Court Collections.

I won’t be able to sleep properly until it’s sorted. _pale_

Thanks

uk1

Are you saying that your own insurers asked for your agreement to handle and settle the third-party claim but you ignored it?

Plumz

Yes but I didn’t realise what it truly was, I thought it was a scam or someone just trying to put a claim in for me. My phone was ringing everyday with legal representatives wanting me to pursue a claim even though I said It was my fault.

Carrot007

uk1 wrote: »

Are you saying that your own insurers asked for your agreement to handle and settle the third-party claim but you ignored it?

I think most people would. I would believe that you had already made such an agreement by, you know, taking insurance out with them.

Plumz

Carrot007 wrote: »

I think most people would. I would believe that you had already made such an agreement by, you know, taking insurance out with them.

My thinking exactly, they told me it was settled when I rang up and asked for the settlement figure, so I just moved on from it.

uk1

Carrot007 wrote: »

I think most people would. I would believe that you had already made such an agreement by, you know, taking insurance out with them.

I find your opinion odd, but there you go.

If you are involved in an accident you sign a claim form. If your insurers seek your permission to be your legal representatives in dealing with a large third party claim, I think most sensible people wouldn’t ignore the request but either sign the form as requested or If there was some doubt I think the least you would do is call and clarify it. Ignoring it doesn’t strike me a being what “most people would do”.