John Lewis insurance charging for non fault car accidents

dunstonh

I did in fact not declare the no fault accidents by omission rather than design as when I came to the section about accidents, I just thought that since I had no fault accidents this section didn't apply - but apparently there is no such thing as a no fault accident, even when not in the vehicle.

That explains the reason for the increase.      The question, if read correctly, does state what you should declare.  it is vitally important to read the questions and answer them exactly how they are asked.

Of the £51 extra charge, £15 was for a policy ammendment and thus £36 was penalty for having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Its not a penalty.  You are an increase risk by having two claims in a short period of time.   You also failed to disclose them.  You are lucky the insurer is being forgiving as the "penalty" could have been an awful lot worse.

I find it amazing though how so many people seem to accept that penalisng an innocent party is somehow justifyable, or believe that insurance company statistics could show an increased risk when the fault was 100% with the other party.

The statistics do show that those that suffer a claimable event are more likely to do so again in the short term.    You may not like that but it is a statistical reality.     And often with accidents or incidents, even where there is no fault awarded, some of the blame can go to the innocent party by putting themselves in a position that made an accident or incident more likely.

I just feel this is yet another example of corporate greed and appalling abuse of customer trust. 

Yet you are the one that made a false declaration to the insurer and got caught doing so.   It is possible that your increase is not due to the claims but your non-disclosure as you have shown yourself to be untrustworthy or unreliable in that respect.

You are in no position to make that accusation at the insurers after what you did.

DullGreyGuy

Exetermike said:

I did in fact not declare the no fault accidents by omission rather than design as when I came to the section about accidents, I just thought that since I had no fault accidents this section didn't apply - but apparently there is no such thing as a no fault accident, even when not in the vehicle. So yes error on my part there, and they were in 2021 and 2019, so existed before the new policy came into effect.  Of the £51 extra charge, £15 was for a policy ammendment and thus £36 was penalty for having been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I find it amazing though how so many people seem to accept that penalisng an innocent party is somehow justifyable, or believe that insurance company statistics could show an increased risk when the fault was 100% with the other party.

I just feel this is yet another example of corporate greed and appalling abuse of customer trust.  

The ombudsman ultimately doesn't consider if a price is "fair" or not however they do consider if the question was understandable or not and if a customer's response was reasonable or not based on it. None of us here saw the exact question you were shown but statistics dont side on the consumer.

There are many challenges related to passing compulsory insurance into the hands of for-profit companies but the UK has one of the lowest insurance costs especially compared to those where state charges cover statutory requirements or where losses are notably limited.

If you feel the question asked was ambiguous and you answered it honestly then raise a complaint but the details shared to date on here suggest you've gotten away lightly compared to the potential consequences of a deliberate or wreckless false declaration.