Advice needed: Car insurance - claims underwriting exchange

petalleaf8

In November 2021 I was involved in an accident.  The third party accepted liability at the scene - now disputing this.  I have made a claim with the company I am with. 

So far my insurance company have organised for my car to be viewed at a garage and a date for repair has been arranged. 

I am in the process of renewing my car insurance atm. A family member was helping me following this recent claim. They pointed out that I had stated no accidents over the last five years but that I DID have an accident four years ago.  I explained that no I didn’t. My car was parked. I wasn’t in the car, wasn’t present and that I did report it to my then insurance company but they had said everything fine because the other party was dealing with it all through their insurance company, which they did.  

My family member said that I have totally misinterpreted the question and that this should have been declared over these years.  I came back home and researched online and am now terrified as it seems I should have been declaring this and that it is held on a database and my policy will be void!!!  I never had to fill in forms like this before - my husband (deceased) handled these things - and I thought I had answered truthfully and correctly. 

I am worried sick about what to do about this.  Please advise.  

Sandtree

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. In your case you claimed via insurance and therefore there is more chance that it is logged on a database somewhere like CUE as a fraud prevention mechanism but not every insurer reports to these databases and reporting of third parties is less reliable than first party.

Have you been switching insurers over the last 4 years or staying with the same company? Its ultimately your decision what to do... with your claim having gotten this far its likely checks have already been done and so you've "got away with it" but checks can be repeated etc if they feel there is reason to do do. You could do the honest thing and admit your error... admitting it rather than being caught tends to be better. If they'd insurer you with the claim and they accept it was a reasonable mistake then the worst they can do is reduce your claim settlement my the missing percentage premium increase that the claim would have added (so a 5% increase in premium for the claim leads to a 5% reduction in claim payment). Some insurers will allow you to pay the premium instead and then pay in full.

If they think the non-disclosure is intentional fraud or wreckless then they can void the policy meaning not paying the claim and keeping the full premiums. As this is a non-fault claim the claim could continue aainst the third party insurer directly but the cancelled insurance is the bigger issue.

Ultimately your choice but not a fun place to be

petalleaf8

Sandtree said:

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. 

Thanks so much for your response, really appreciated!

I didn't claim for that accident 4 years ago, I just told my insurer at the time that it had happened and that the person who bashed me was dealing with it through their insurance, which they did. Will that still be on a database?

I have changed insurers every year since that accident yes, I always use comparison sites, does that make a difference for this? im now due to renew and feel tied in with this insurance company as I have a current claim with them. 

I really don't know what to do here - its much a massive error and I feel anxious about calling them in case I'm opening a can of worms for myself, but by not calling I feel that im further in the wrong.

DB1904

petalleaf8 said:

Sandtree said:

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. 

Thanks so much for your response, really appreciated!

I didn't claim for that accident 4 years ago, I just told my insurer at the time that it had happened and that the person who bashed me was dealing with it through their insurance, which they did. Will that still be on a database?

I have changed insurers every year since that accident yes, I always use comparison sites, does that make a difference for this? im now due to renew and feel tied in with this insurance company as I have a current claim with them. 

I really don't know what to do here - its much a massive error and I feel anxious about calling them in case I'm opening a can of worms for myself, but by not calling I feel that im further in the wrong.

Most likely, I don't know why it hasn't been picked up so maybe it's not.

Aylesbury_Duck

In this situation I'd go with the known rather than risk the unknown.  Explaining this to your current insurer may have consequences but at least you will know what they are.  Keeping quiet means you'll be sweating about being found out and not knowing what the consequences will be.  

Not an easy position to be in.

Sandtree

petalleaf8 said:

Sandtree said:

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. 

Thanks so much for your response, really appreciated!

I didn't claim for that accident 4 years ago, I just told my insurer at the time that it had happened and that the person who bashed me was dealing with it through their insurance, which they did. Will that still be on a database?

I have changed insurers every year since that accident yes, I always use comparison sites, does that make a difference for this? im now due to renew and feel tied in with this insurance company as I have a current claim with them. 

I really don't know what to do here - its much a massive error and I feel anxious about calling them in case I'm opening a can of worms for myself, but by not calling I feel that im further in the wrong.

Managed to lose my response last night and didnt feel up to typing it again.

If it made it onto CUE then it would still be there... not all insurers report to CUE and different insurers query CUE at different times (if at all). By changing insurers a few times it means its more probable that you've been on the books of one that checks CUE at point of sale and if they didnt find anything then its less likely your current insurers wont if they check at point of claim but its just a probability thing... you could have been "lucky" and all have been insurers that only check at claims stage.

You are free to move insurers at renewal if you want however open claims are typically treated as fault until the money has been recovered from the other side. This means your renewal notice may show a fault claim and reduced NCD. Normally if you stick with the same insurer that will auto correct when the claim is settled but if you switch insurers you have to quote with the negative sitation and agree with them that they'll adjust once the claim is closed - not all will, my last motor client's IT system didnt allow for a mid term adjustment of NCD after day 28.

Its a difficult situation, be honest and admit the mistake hoping your openness is appreciated and considered in the consequences or keep quiet and hope they dont find out but consequences could be more sever if there is belief the non-declaration was intentional.

petalleaf8

Sandtree said:

petalleaf8 said:

Sandtree said:

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. 

Thanks so much for your response, really appreciated!

I didn't claim for that accident 4 years ago, I just told my insurer at the time that it had happened and that the person who bashed me was dealing with it through their insurance, which they did. Will that still be on a database?

I have changed insurers every year since that accident yes, I always use comparison sites, does that make a difference for this? im now due to renew and feel tied in with this insurance company as I have a current claim with them. 

I really don't know what to do here - its much a massive error and I feel anxious about calling them in case I'm opening a can of worms for myself, but by not calling I feel that im further in the wrong.

Managed to lose my response last night and didnt feel up to typing it again.

If it made it onto CUE then it would still be there... not all insurers report to CUE and different insurers query CUE at different times (if at all). By changing insurers a few times it means its more probable that you've been on the books of one that checks CUE at point of sale and if they didnt find anything then its less likely your current insurers wont if they check at point of claim but its just a probability thing... you could have been "lucky" and all have been insurers that only check at claims stage.

You are free to move insurers at renewal if you want however open claims are typically treated as fault until the money has been recovered from the other side. This means your renewal notice may show a fault claim and reduced NCD. Normally if you stick with the same insurer that will auto correct when the claim is settled but if you switch insurers you have to quote with the negative sitation and agree with them that they'll adjust once the claim is closed - not all will, my last motor client's IT system didnt allow for a mid term adjustment of NCD after day 28.

Its a difficult situation, be honest and admit the mistake hoping your openness is appreciated and considered in the consequences or keep quiet and hope they dont find out but consequences could be more sever if there is belief the non-declaration was intentional.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. 

With what you've said, I will stay with my current insurer for another year to avoid an issue with policies etc. 

As for contacting them - I really don't know what to do there.  The repair has already been authorised and I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils - me only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim was in, or them only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim went in.  I also spoke to the liability team regarding my accident and was told they were investigating the claim as the third party is refusing liability, so I'm not sure whether checks have been done already ? 

Aylesbury_Duck

petalleaf8 said:

Sandtree said:

petalleaf8 said:

Sandtree said:

Insurance normally requires you to declare all incidents irrespective of fault or if you claimed... as such you should have been declaring the parked car incident if its within the number of years asked about (normally between 3-5 years).

Lets be honest, many people have 1 vehicle accidents or even multi vehicle accidents and decide to deal with it "privately" so insurers have no knowledge of it and then "forget" to declare it. 

Thanks so much for your response, really appreciated!

I didn't claim for that accident 4 years ago, I just told my insurer at the time that it had happened and that the person who bashed me was dealing with it through their insurance, which they did. Will that still be on a database?

I have changed insurers every year since that accident yes, I always use comparison sites, does that make a difference for this? im now due to renew and feel tied in with this insurance company as I have a current claim with them. 

I really don't know what to do here - its much a massive error and I feel anxious about calling them in case I'm opening a can of worms for myself, but by not calling I feel that im further in the wrong.

Managed to lose my response last night and didnt feel up to typing it again.

If it made it onto CUE then it would still be there... not all insurers report to CUE and different insurers query CUE at different times (if at all). By changing insurers a few times it means its more probable that you've been on the books of one that checks CUE at point of sale and if they didnt find anything then its less likely your current insurers wont if they check at point of claim but its just a probability thing... you could have been "lucky" and all have been insurers that only check at claims stage.

You are free to move insurers at renewal if you want however open claims are typically treated as fault until the money has been recovered from the other side. This means your renewal notice may show a fault claim and reduced NCD. Normally if you stick with the same insurer that will auto correct when the claim is settled but if you switch insurers you have to quote with the negative sitation and agree with them that they'll adjust once the claim is closed - not all will, my last motor client's IT system didnt allow for a mid term adjustment of NCD after day 28.

Its a difficult situation, be honest and admit the mistake hoping your openness is appreciated and considered in the consequences or keep quiet and hope they dont find out but consequences could be more sever if there is belief the non-declaration was intentional.

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. 

With what you've said, I will stay with my current insurer for another year to avoid an issue with policies etc. 

As for contacting them - I really don't know what to do there.  The repair has already been authorised and I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils - me only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim was in, or them only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim went in.  I also spoke to the liability team regarding my accident and was told they were investigating the claim as the third party is refusing liability, so I'm not sure whether checks have been done already ? 

In which case, your best bet is to contact your insurer and ask.  There's so much on record that if you don't, I suspect the risk of this coming back to bite you later is quite high.

Sandtree

petalleaf8 said:
As for contacting them - I really don't know what to do there.  The repair has already been authorised and I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils - me only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim was in, or them only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim went in.  I also spoke to the liability team regarding my accident and was told they were investigating the claim as the third party is refusing liability, so I'm not sure whether checks have been done already ? 

Dont know who your insurer is and to be honest its been too many years since I actively worked in claims to be able to say I have any inside knowledge on structure or processes for different companies.

I'd be surprised if many insurers would authorise repairs if they havent done all their indemnity checks as it'd be hard to get you to repay us and we cannot make the garage bill you after we've told them to do the work on our account. However curveballs do come out at times that brings new information to light... like one of my policyholders who casually mentioned when I was discussing the circumstances of the accident that they were arrested at the scene for drug driving but had only had "4 phat ones" that morning so felt fine to drive. That was passed over the fence to the team that deals with policyholder repairs to see what we could do to stop the garage incurring more costs.

petalleaf8

Sandtree said:

petalleaf8 said:
As for contacting them - I really don't know what to do there.  The repair has already been authorised and I'm not sure which is the lesser of two evils - me only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim was in, or them only realising I'd made a mistake when a claim went in.  I also spoke to the liability team regarding my accident and was told they were investigating the claim as the third party is refusing liability, so I'm not sure whether checks have been done already ? 

Dont know who your insurer is and to be honest its been too many years since I actively worked in claims to be able to say I have any inside knowledge on structure or processes for different companies.

I'd be surprised if many insurers would authorise repairs if they havent done all their indemnity checks as it'd be hard to get you to repay us and we cannot make the garage bill you after we've told them to do the work on our account. However curveballs do come out at times that brings new information to light... like one of my policyholders who casually mentioned when I was discussing the circumstances of the accident that they were arrested at the scene for drug driving but had only had "4 phat ones" that morning so felt fine to drive. That was passed over the fence to the team that deals with policyholder repairs to see what we could do to stop the garage incurring more costs.

Thank you so very much, that has put my mind at rest and you've taken time out of your day to do so. Wishing you well!