Car Insurance Increase - Claim Database

Quarkrad

I was involved in an accidence last year (multi vehicle shunt on M25) where I was shunted in the rear (hardly any damage to my car).  Due to an injury in the last vehicle (6 vehicles involved) the police made it an 'incident' and advised me to inform my insurance company in case  I ever made a claim in the future for whiplash.  I reported the incident but as I suffered no whiplash thought nothing of it.  Some months later, when renewing my insurance, I discovered that there was a claim against me on the Claims & Underwriting Exchange (CUE) database.  I contacted my insurance company and queried this as I did not make/received any claim in terms of payment or repair to my vehicle.  The insurance company (Zenith Insurance) looked into this and agreed that the wording on the CUE database was incorrect and that they would change the wording to say 'non-fault claim'. 

Recently I contacted the Ombudsman because the database has not been changed.

I have recently taken out insurance with another company and phoned them today stating that there could be an issue with my policy when they check the CUE database - because I do not know if the wording has been changed.  I have had to pay an additional £151.58 this morning because I was told whether the wording  says Fault or Non Fault it is irrelevant - my premium will go up.  I was also told this wording will stay on the CUE database for 5 years.

I am not sure what the formal/legal situation is. From my perspective I informed my insurance company that I was advised to inform them of an incident in case I had a future claim for whiplash.  The damage to my car was minimal (scratches) and was not worth claiming/getting repaired.  I feel like an innocent victim here that is being punished for something (a claim) that never took place.  However, it may be the case that it is what it is - if you inform your insurance company of an incident and no 'claim' is paid out your 'card is marked'.

Any advice on where I stand would be most appreciated. Thanks

Aretnap

There are two issues; (1) the record itself and (2) whether it is correctly categorised.

As far as the fact that the incident is recorded itself you don't have much of a complaint. When you take out insurance you are asked (something like) "have you had any accidents in the last X years regardless of fault and regardless of whether a claim was made?" Clearly the answer to that question is "yes" so you will have to declare the accident for several years, and it's fair enough that the database records it. Different insurance companies will deal with it in different ways - some will increase your premium for a no fault/no claim accident, some won't. All you can do is declare it correctly and shop around for the best price.

However the database should record the claim correctly. Often when you report an incident like this even though your description suggests you are not at fault your insurance company will open a claim and mark it as open or unresolved - in case the other driver turns up describing it completely differently to you and trying to claim from your insurance. While the claim is unresolved most insurance companies will treat it in much the same as a fault claim. However if a reasonable amount of time goes by (typically 6 months) and no claim from the other driver appears your insurance company should close the claim and amend the record to "no fault" or "no claim made", so that you can declare it as such to insurance companies going forwards. If your old insurer has not updated the record, and don't have a good reason for letting the claim open, them you have grounds for a complaint against them.

DullGreyGuy

Quarkrad said:

I have recently taken out insurance with another company and phoned them today stating that there could be an issue with my policy when they check the CUE database - because I do not know if the wording has been changed.  I have had to pay an additional £151.58 this morning because I was told whether the wording  says Fault or Non Fault it is irrelevant - my premium will go up.  I was also told this wording will stay on the CUE database for 5 years.

Had you declared the incident when you bought this insurance?

Whilst we consumers think there is a world of difference between an incident and claim for most insurers they are one and the same. All quote systems ask about any claims or incidents, unfortunately many people "forget" to mention about incidents and then it comes to bite them afterwards.

My prior employer didn't do it but some do appear to charge differently if you declare something at quote stage -v- if it come to light later either as a false declaration that's been found or a more normal mid term adjustment. 

Never come across an insurer that doesn't differentiate between a fault and non-fault claim... how non-fault claims are treated does vary notably between insurers. Who are your crowd? An actual insurer or broker/intermediary?

Quarkrad

My new insurer is the actual insurer