Inadequate insurance - what should I do?

DLsttyl

Hi, all.
My insurer of a secondary (rarely used) vehicle was not informed of some points and a disqualification - the policy renewed by itself and I didn't inform them of the change. They have asked for a DL check code a little while ago, which would of course reveal that information to them. I am yet to furnish them with it.

1) If I do, are they likely to merely void my policy / offer a price increase, or would I risk being reported (to someone or other) for not having had the proper insurance?

Continuing - I may wish to make a claim on this insurance. Presumably, if I attempt to do so, their first act will be to insist upon that check code before proceeding. So, let's say I begin to make a claim, they ask for the check code, I give it, they void my policy, now they know that I was involved in an "accident" AND the policy was invalid at the time. Does this affect what might happen?

NB I do not have to make the claim, but it's a considerably out-of-pocket expense if I don't. I am weighing up whether or not to try sorting my insurance and then claiming or to let that sleeping dog lie. I imagine that even if I sort the insurance out today (e.g. they up my premiums), since the accident occurred a few weeks ago, they won't honour it (because back then, my policy wasn't complete), right?

Moral issues aside, what's my best course of action here?

Thanks,

AdrianC

Surely the only correct thing to do is to call them and say "I've suddenly realised that I failed to inform you of this before my renewal. Really sorry, totally inadvertant. How much is the extra premium? And, btw, I was involved in an incident a few weeks back which I know I need to declare. I may yet need to claim for it."

Then all the other worries go away, don't they?

If they say "Oh. Then we aren't prepared to continue covering you", then you can start looking for a new policy.

RBN20

As above, be honest with them. If they are still willing to insure you they will likely backdate the change to the start of this years policy so you would technically be covered for the incident. 

If you avoid telling them it will be worse in the long run

Hermione_Granger

AdrianC said:

If they say "Oh. Then we aren't prepared to continue covering you", then you can start looking for a new policy.

Or if they decide to cancel your policy, looking for a bicycle might be more useful because having a cancelled policy, a previous disqualification and additional points will probably make it extremely hard to find an insurer willing to provide any cover at all.

MinuteNoodles

Point one depends on the offence. A SP30 dealt with by a fixed penalty notice is likely to result in an increase in the cost, a more serious offence especially a 5 or 6 pointer is likely to result in a cancellation and one you'll need to declare when applying for insurance in the future which will put the price up.

Insurance companies look for any way out of a claim so they could use the failure to tell them of a notifiable change to either reduce the payout or not pay out altogether and if it's the latter and involves a third party as well you may find yourself having to repay what they pay out to the third party.

sweetsand

They could charge with fraud, IE paying less for your car insurance than you would have otherwise and cheating them out of the money they would have got if you told them the truth.
It's fraud, it is not nice, do the right think, fess up, now!

DLsttyl

sweetsand said:

They could charge with fraud, IE paying less for your car insurance than you would have otherwise and cheating them out of the money they would have got if you told them the truth.
It's fraud, it is not nice, do the right think, fess up, now!

Crikey - well if that's a possibility then I definitely wouldn't want to own up to it now. Can anyone else comment on this? I imagine they wouldn't bother trying to "charge me with fraud" - I'm very insignificant. But who knows.

MinuteNoodles said: Point one depends on the offence. A SP30 dealt with by a fixed penalty notice is likely to result in an increase in the cost, a more serious offence especially a 5 or 6 pointer is likely to result in a cancellation and one you'll need to declare when applying for insurance in the future which will put the price up. Insurance companies look for any way out of a claim so they could use the failure to tell them of a notifiable change to either reduce the payout or not pay out altogether and if it's the latter and involves a third party as well you may find yourself having to repay what they pay out to the third party.

The offences were all SP30's - three were declared and the final one was a discretionary, short, disqualification. I didn't tot to 12 points, in the end. I've ran it through the price comparison sites and the increase in my premium isn't that much (if I compare delcaring it vs. not) but you do see different insurers willing to take me on or not. The claim would be to repair the other person's vehicle. I am in a position to pay it directly - I'm on good terms with them and they don't mind that at all. If it was just damage to my vehicle, I'd keep it quiet, for sure. I'm basically thinking, is it worth trying to 'fess up now and maybe get the claim to work out through insurance, or is it too risky and maybe I should just swallow the cost (roughly two months' salary) myself and quietly correct my insurance later.

eamon

Fess up to the points total as an admin error on your part. What your Insurance co do next is out of your hands. I wonder if it would be useful to take an opinion from an insurance broker on what you can do re the claim and the attitude of your insurance co. Possible Insurance co responses range from paying out to not paying out, cancelling your policy and black marking your record. 

Jumblebumble

sweetsand said:

They could charge with fraud, IE paying less for your car insurance than you would have otherwise and cheating them out of the money they would have got if you told them the truth.
It's fraud, it is not nice, do the right think, fess up, now!

I would be interested in you citing a case where an insurance company has charged anyone with fraud under these circumstances rather than voiding from inception and keeping the premium

Car_54

You said "the policy renewed by itself and I didn't inform them of the change". Policies don't renew by themselves: you are always notified in advance and reminded that you need to declare any changes.

So now you (1) have failed to declare a change and (2) are now planning not to notify them of a claim.

You are in a hole - stop digging!

AdrianC

DLsttyl said:

The offences were all SP30's - three were declared and the final one was a discretionary, short, disqualification.

So this offences you "forgot" to declare is a BAN...?

Yeh, they're definitely going to sit up and take notice of that one...