Car stolen, voided insurance and outstanding finance

Ebonydeluxe

Hi all,
I am asking on behalf of a friend whose car was stolen.

His car was stolen from outside his home. The car had a tracker which last report shows car outside the home. Insurance company have voided insurance due to non-disclosure of penalty points of additional driver which will run out in November. Genuine mistake/oversight. Outstanding finance on stolen vehicle still has to be paid (£20,000+).

1. Can the insurance decision be overturned?
2. Is there any recourse from the tracking company?
3. Is there anyway to lower the remaining finance?

Helpful advice most appreciated. They are very stressed out right now and I am trying to advise them on best options.
Thanks

DUTR

It's a bit too convenient the mistake oversight.
You may have to take it up with complaints, the non disclosure may have increased the premium or not offered a policy with the additional driver.
The tracker doesn't stop a car from being stolen.
The finance is still due just that you have no vehicle to show for your money.

huckster

What were the penalty points for ?

I suspect the points were for an offence which would be serious enough for an Insurers to void the policy.

How did the non disclosure happen ? Was the additional driver added by phone call to Insurers/brokers ? Have they asked for a copy of the phone call recording to check what was asked ? If not, suggest a Data Protection Subject Access Request.

Ebonydeluxe

huckster wrote: »

What were the penalty points for ?

I suspect the points were for an offence which would be serious enough for an Insurers to void the policy.

How did the non disclosure happen ? Was the additional driver added by phone call to Insurers/brokers ? Have they asked for a copy of the phone call recording to check what was asked ? If not, suggest a Data Protection Subject Access Request.

From what he has explained, he thought that his partner’s (the additional driver) points had already expired, but he had the dates wrong. Points were for driving without a license. Not sure if the insurance was purchased by phone but I will ask them and put forward your suggestion of asking for a recording.

Kentish_Dave

That’s a very serious offense, one that would likely result in many insurance companies declining to quote.

We’re the dates out by a day or two, or are we talking months?

BoGoF

Kentish_Dave wrote: »

That’s a very serious offense, one that would likely result in many insurance companies declining to quote.

We’re the dates out by a day or two, or are we talking months?

First post says points don't come off till November

Jumblebumble

Ebonydeluxe wrote: »

Hi all,
I am asking on behalf of a friend whose car was stolen.

His car was stolen from outside his home. The car had a tracker which last report shows car outside the home. Insurance company have voided insurance due to non-disclosure of penalty points of additional driver which will run out in November. Genuine mistake/oversight. Outstanding finance on stolen vehicle still has to be paid (£20,000+).

1. Can the insurance decision be overturned?
2. Is there any recourse from the tracking company?
3. Is there anyway to lower the remaining finance?

Helpful advice most appreciated. They are very stressed out right now and I am trying to advise them on best options.
Thanks

2)
Yes you can ask the tracker company to pay and they will tell you the thieves must have found it and ripped it out and that's tough
Lets hope the car turns up

[Deleted User]

You can make an official complaint to the insurance company via their complaints procedure. If that doesn't get the result you want or if they ignore you for 8 weeks, you can escalate to FOS.

rudekid48

Who fitted the tracker? i.e. was it a DIY job by your friend or was it professionally fitted as a 'security fit'? Most car thefts now are targeted and the thieves know where a lot of trackers are fitted and it's the first thing they look for. A professional 'security' fit will often involve more than one device for this very reason.

Regarding the insurance, if the Insurer can prove that they would not have offered cover if they had know about the conviction then it's extremely unlikely that an Ombudsman would rule in your friends favour. Finding this out is really important as some of the 'cheaper' brands will try and void even if they would have just charged a higher premium had they known (I think there's a couple of threads on here somewhere about Go Skippy/Eldon doing this). In this scenario the Ombudsman is much more likely to overturn the voidance.

Either way, your friend will need to follow the insurer complaints procedure first.

Whatever happens, the finance will need to be sorted, your friend should read their agreement as there may well be an obligation to notify the finance company immediately if the car is stolen.

jimbo6977

Your friend needs to follow the insurer’s complaints procedure as set out in their policy documents. This will end up at the FOS, but they have to go through the process first. Frankly I hope the FOS upholds the void-from-inception decision, but having worked in the insurance industry, I have experienced the fickle and bizarre rulings of the FOS, so from the consumer’s POV it’s always worth a punt unfortunately, even if the cost of running the FOS does put premiums up for everyone else.

As to the tracker, if it was a home fit job they will have no recourse (against themselves...) but if it was bought from and fitted by a professional they need to check how the product and fitting service were advertised and sold to them, what promises were made about its effectiveness. I wouldn’t get any hopes up though.

[Deleted User]

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Your friend needs to follow the insurer’s complaints procedure as set out in their policy documents. This will end up at the FOS, but they have to go through the process first. Frankly I hope the FOS upholds the void-from-inception decision, but having worked in the insurance industry, I have experienced the fickle and bizarre rulings of the FOS, so from the consumer’s POV it’s always worth a punt unfortunately, even if the cost of running the FOS does put premiums up for everyone else.

As to the tracker, if it was a home fit job they will have no recourse (against themselves...) but if it was bought from and fitted by a professional they need to check how the product and fitting service were advertised and sold to them, what promises were made about its effectiveness. I wouldn’t get any hopes up though.

Having worked in 'the industry' you'll no doubt also have experienced the fickle, bizarre and morally bankrupt antics they get up to.