Insurance Markers and Insurance Write offs

t8rco

I have a motorbike and my insurance cover track riding(Private road short circuit) went to make a claim as I fell on track not involving anyone else. Turns out there excess is 50% of the vehicle value so pointless as the damage was minimal(Just 3 bodywork panels!)

I therefore decided not to Claim as I will repair at my own cost and they returned my motorbike to me. However they declared the motorbike a write off and put a Insurance 'Marker' against my name even though I didnt claim and this happended on a private road not involving anyone else!!

My questions are - can they legally write off a vehicle even if I do not claim? Are they allowed to put a Insurance database 'Marker' against me even though I havent claimed or had an accident on the road?

Sandtree

You did claim and then withdrew the claim... they didn't just take your bike and value it for fun. So yes, a withdrawn claim still gets logged with CUE etc (same as declined/repudiated claims, reported incidents etc).

On the second part it is a little less clear however the ABI code of practice (code-of-practice-for-the-disposal-of-motor-vehicle-salvagenov2019.pdf (abi.org.uk)) states that the salvage category must be loaded to MIAFTR within 2 days of the decision that the vehicle is a total loss/BER. As you withdrew the claim after the inspection that decided its a total loss its certainly readable that they should still be recording it.. presumably as a "N" class.

t8rco

At no point in buying the policy did anyone say the excess is 50%!! How can that be comprehensive cover if they dont even pay for half your vehicle!!!

Sandtree

t8rco said:

At no point in buying the policy did anyone say the excess is 50%!! How can that be comprehensive cover if they dont even pay for half your vehicle!!!

Its a non-advised sale... they can only tell you the terms and conditions and its up to you to decide if its cost effective or not. Presumably you know roughly your bikes value and can see the excess (and indeed set part of the compulsory excess yourself)  before you bought

I am less close to Bike insurance but with Car, Comp is normally cheaper than TPFT or TPO just because of negative selection (ie bad risks buy TPFT because itll be cheaper and therefore makes them more expensive again)

t8rco

I only withdrew the claim as I then learnt of the 50% excess therefore making it more cost effective for me to repair the vehicle. Surely that is better for them and for myself?

Sandtree

t8rco said:

I only withdrew the claim as I then learnt of the 50% excess therefore making it more cost effective for me to repair the vehicle. Surely that is better for them and for myself?

Absolutely, it'll normally be closed as a non-fault claim and wont impact your NCD as a consequence unless they incurred costs getting to that point. 

vaio

I tend to agree with Sandtree about the claim, you made one and then withdrew so it should be recorded as such.

I’m less sure about the write off marker. In my mind it should only get marked if it is actually written off and it’s at least arguable that unless the claim proceeds to completion then the insurer has no right to mark it as written off (or if they did then they should correct the record.)

Whether this is worth the hassle of getting it corrected only you know

Finally, as always, if you feel you have been unfairly treated then complain to the insurer and if still unhappy then send it to the FOS

[Deleted User]

Unfortunately you need to read every line of the policy terms and conditions before going ahead nowadays.  My insurer now does HPI checks if a claim is made (fair enough) and has greatly increased their mid-term adjustment fees.  Last year cancellation brought a pro-rata refund of premium, this year it's according to a scale, 25% lost in month 1, 40% in month 2 etc.  I only found this out by reading everything.  They were still the cheapest by a considerable margin so I've stayed with them.  At least my eyes are wide open and I know exactly where I stand though.

vaio

desktop said:

....... Last year cancellation brought a pro-rata refund of premium, this year it's according to a scale, 25% lost in month 1, 40% in month 2 etc......

Would anything other than broadly pro rata clear the "treat your customer fairly" hurdle?