Insurance company (1st Central) stalling on payout

Debbo1

Hi, my daughter was slammed into earlier this yr by another driver and her car written off. She suffered whiplash resulting in time off work. She attended the physio appointments as instructed by the insurers and is due a payout however every time she calls she is fobbed off that they don’t know how much it will be. She is passed from pillar to post to phone numbers which ask her to leave a voicemail, which she does, without response, or to numbers which just cut out. This has been going on for weeks now. She has followed their process .. I suspect they’re evading having to pay out. She is only young and is becoming distressed about this. Is there anything my daughter can say/do to expedite this process? Would the mention of reporting to financial ombudsman make them settle this? Or is there an insurance regulator who could influence? Advice on how she can bring this to a close wd b appreciated.

miniemma

Have you started a complaint?  

https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/kb/FAQ/content/PROD-6082/How-do-I-complain-about-my-car-insurance

"If you wish to complain please call 0333 043 2077 (we're open Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm)."

This will at least give you a time frame for resolution, they have 8 weeks to resolve the issue from the date of complaint and then you can take it to the ombudsman for assistance.

born_again

Is she claiming/dealing from her or the 3rd parties insurance company.

Any complaint has to go via the ins co 1st (If going via 3rd party ins co. She can't complain to them) who have 8 weeks to respond before she can take it to FOS.

Personal injuries can take years to be sorted.

sheramber

A claim for personal injuries cannot be settled until the total cost is known. That depends on what treatment is necessary and how long it takes to be resolved.

Has you daughter fully recovered from  her injuries?

Sandtree

miniemma said:

Have you started a complaint?  

https://help.1stcentralinsurance.com/kb/FAQ/content/PROD-6082/How-do-I-complain-about-my-car-insurance

"If you wish to complain please call 0333 043 2077 (we're open Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm)."

This will at least give you a time frame for resolution, they have 8 weeks to resolve the issue from the date of complaint and then you can take it to the ombudsman for assistance.

An injury payment is made by the third party insurer and you have no right of complaint or escalation to the FOS for an insurer that you are a third party.

Debbo1 said:

Hi, my daughter was slammed into earlier this yr by another driver and her car written off. She suffered whiplash resulting in time off work. She attended the physio appointments as instructed by the insurers and is due a payout however every time she calls she is fobbed off that they don’t know how much it will be. She is passed from pillar to post to phone numbers which ask her to leave a voicemail, which she does, without response, or to numbers which just cut out. This has been going on for weeks now. She has followed their process .. I suspect they’re evading having to pay out. She is only young and is becoming distressed about this. Is there anything my daughter can say/do to expedite this process? Would the mention of reporting to financial ombudsman make them settle this? Or is there an insurance regulator who could influence? Advice on how she can bring this to a close wd b appreciated.

Its really not clear if she is self representing to the third party insurers or if 1st Central is her insurers and they are assisting her claim against the third party?

As mentioned above you can only complain to your own insurers and escalate to the FOS however it wont be your insurers that set the value or settle the claim and so your complaint is highly limited at best and will not actually result in a quicker payment if you have any at all.

Where is she on the medical report process and if its been done, what did it state about prognosis? Whiplash now has a fixed tariff but its dependent on the anticipated duration of the injury. 

Ectophile

For injuries, she has three years to put a claim before the court.  She shouldn't be in too much of a hurry to settle until it's clear if there are any long term problems.  Once she's accepted a "full and final" settlement, that's the end of it, and she can never claim any more.

But she should be very careful to make sure she does put a claim before the court if they do just keep stalling.  Let that time expire, and they win.  That's the point at which she needs a lawyer.

Sandtree

Ectophile said:

But she should be very careful to make sure she does put a claim before the court if they do just keep stalling.  Let that time expire, and they win.  That's the point at which she needs a lawyer.

Though as it is now a Small Claims Court claim it is where finding a lawyer may be difficult.

Ectophile

If it's the other party's insurer she's claiming from, then there is no help from the ombudsman.

If it's a small claim, then the next step is a Letter Before Action addressed to the other driver (not their insurance company).  She needs to know at that point how much money she's claiming.  The letter traditionally gives 14 days to pay up.  After that, it's the small claims procedure at the local county court (and don't forget to add all the court costs to the claim).

If the injury is more serious, get a no win no fee lawyer.

Sandtree

Ectophile said:

If it's the other party's insurer she's claiming from, then there is no help from the ombudsman.

If it's a small claim, then the next step is a Letter Before Action addressed to the other driver (not their insurance company).  She needs to know at that point how much money she's claiming.  The letter traditionally gives 14 days to pay up.  After that, it's the small claims procedure at the local county court (and don't forget to add all the court costs to the claim).

If the injury is more serious, get a no win no fee lawyer.

LBA is only sensible if the OP already has the medical report... the backlog to get appropriate medical experts is long and so they could follow your advice and suddenly find that they have to submit their evidence months before an appointment is even available

Manxman_in_exile

Sandtree said:

Ectophile said:

But she should be very careful to make sure she does put a claim before the court if they do just keep stalling.  Let that time expire, and they win.  That's the point at which she needs a lawyer.

Though as it is now a Small Claims Court claim it is where finding a lawyer may be difficult.

Is there already a claim?

If there is, was it wise to initiate a personal injury claim themself?  In small claims?

Debbo1

sheramber said:

A claim for personal injuries cannot be settled until the total cost is known. That depends on what treatment is necessary and how long it takes to be resolved.

Has you daughter fully recovered from  her injuries?

Yes, she underwent 6 weeks of physio at the behest of the insurance company, so this should surely now be payable.