CCJ against me for an insurance claim

Dr_Crypto

It’s been a while since I’ve had anything to do with the county courts but my understanding was that the court had to see out the defence pack? 

In any event the insurer needs to deal with this - the OP shouldn’t get involved apart from letting them know and forwarding all documents on to them. 

Manxman_in_exile

sourcrates said:

The OP had changed insurance companies since the claim was made, and your right, I am not completely "Au fait" with how the insurance industry works, but I do know how court claims work, the OP`s original insurers were dragging their feet over the matter, and if they drag them long enough, the OP gets a judgement in default.

Apologies if my advice was incorrect, it was given in good faith, and was based on my knowledge of court claims, rather than insurance claims.

The “Board Guide” is pleased the OP has now got the correct advice.

FWIW I think the criticism directed at you has been a bit harsh - I think you might easily have been misled and/or confused as to the urgency (or rather lack of urgency) of the OP's position because: (a) they claimed to have already received a CCJ against them but it's not clear to me even yet if they've actually received a court papers or not, (b) they posted their thread on an entirely inappropriate board in the first place, and (c) the OP seems to have created this thread only one day after* they first notified their insurer of the claim - or whatever it is - so it was a bit premature to be asking how to follow it up with them.  The OP just needs to follow the terms of his policy and to do anything his insurers tell him to do.

He's now had that advice from several posters so knows how to approach it - leave it to his insurers.

*thread started on Friday and the OP had first contacted their insurer the day before.

Sandtree

sourcrates said:

The OP had changed insurance companies since the claim was made

Insurance can be written on one of two basis... "claims made" or "losses occurring"... all personal lines insurance is written on a losses occurring basis and this means that the insurer responsible for dealing with the matter is the insurer that was in place at the time of the incident. Doesnt matter how many years later the solicitors letters arrive you always go to the insurer that you were with at the time. For Motor this is easy because there is a fixed date you t-boned someone exc... things can get a little more blury in home insurance when dealing with things like Subsidence which dont have a singular trigger but there are industry agreements on how this is determined. For claims made policies, the claim is made against the insurer that was in place at the time the claim was made against you rather than the event that lead to the claim. This is most commonly seen in things like Professional Indemnity where you give a client advice today which subsequently turns out to be wrong but a claim isnt made until 2 years time in which case its the insurer you are with then not now that the claim goes against. With a minor potentially having over 20 years to make a claim for injuries (they have until their 21st birthday or technically 3 years from their 18th birthday) its always go to keep a note of insurance!

Ms_Chocaholic

Would it be worth letting your current insurers know of the claim against you, I'm unsure if this is what you should be doing and just putting it out there.

Teme9

Hi just an update to this,

I got a letter from the solicitor that the insurance provided and am now having to attend court for this nonsense. The handling solicitor is apparently away but supposedly they're sending it to court as didn't get a response from the third party's bogus solicitor.

Any advice on how I should proceed? I'm literally being taken to court for a vehicle hitting my rear. Is this failure on my solicitors part for poor defence statement?

molerat

Teme9 said:

Hi just an update to this,

I got a letter from the solicitor that the insurance provided and am now having to attend court for this nonsense. The handling solicitor is apparently away but supposedly they're sending it to court as didn't get a response from the third party's bogus solicitor.

Any advice on how I should proceed? I'm literally being taken to court for a vehicle hitting my rear. Is this failure on my solicitors part for poor defence statement?

A defence statement, good or poor, will not affect the case coming before a judge, it will purely be something for the judge to take into consideration.  If you have been called you need to attend and answer any questions asked.  I expect the defence team will be in touch shortly to brief you, after all it is their money that is on the line.

Teme9

molerat said:

Teme9 said:

Hi just an update to this,

I got a letter from the solicitor that the insurance provided and am now having to attend court for this nonsense. The handling solicitor is apparently away but supposedly they're sending it to court as didn't get a response from the third party's bogus solicitor.

Any advice on how I should proceed? I'm literally being taken to court for a vehicle hitting my rear. Is this failure on my solicitors part for poor defence statement?

A defence statement, good or poor, will not affect the case coming before a judge, it will purely be something for the judge to take into consideration.  If you have been called you need to attend and answer any questions asked.  I expect the defence team will be in touch shortly to brief you, after all it is their money that is on the line.

Fair enough. 

Do all county claims that are refuted go to court?

Jenni_D

All I can say for sure is that not all claims which are filed result in a hearing. In some cases the parties agree a compromise before a hearing; in other cases the claimant discontinues the claim prior to the hearing (after seeing the defendant's defence and witness statement).

Manxman_in_exile

Teme9 said:

Hi just an update to this,

I got a letter from the solicitor that the insurance provided and am now having to attend court for this nonsense. The handling solicitor is apparently away but supposedly they're sending it to court as didn't get a response from the third party's bogus solicitor.

Any advice on how I should proceed? I'm literally being taken to court for a vehicle hitting my rear. Is this failure on my solicitors part for poor defence statement?

Can we just be clear - (because this has been a problem with this thread from the outset)?

So your insurers (or their lawyers) are now defending this claim on your behalf - yes?

If the claim is going to court then what you need to do is to cooperate fully with your insurance company and you must do what they want you to do - and that might mean providing a witness statement or appearing as a witness in court. 

That's because, although they are technically representing you, it's their money that is at stake.  If you lose the case it is your insurance company that pays out, not you.  So you have to do what they want you to do.  If you search through the T&Cs of your insurance policy you will see that you already agreed to do this when you originally took out the policy.  If you don't cooperate you will be in breach of the policy and the insurance company could leave you high and dry.

There is nothing for you to be concerned about - simply tell the truth.  If this is a bogus claim the court will see through it.

And no - it isn't necessarily the fault of your insurance company that it is going to court.  They can't just stop the claimant or their solicitors from taking the claim to court if they're too stupid to withdraw it...

tasticz

All the best and thanks for the update