Car Insurance Claim not settled in 4 months - anything more I can do?

TTT_93

Hi,

I was involved in an accident earlier this year where another driver decided to swap lanes into the side of my car. My car has been written off, and 4 months latter the claim is still open with the other driver claiming they were not at fault. Due to the delay I've had to renew my insurance policy at a high cost and with my NCB dropping from 12 to 4 and the claim being unsettled.

I've chased up my insurance monthly hoping for an update but there seems to be no movement - is there anything else I can do to expeditate this process?
There are unfortunately no witnesses to the crash as everyone drove off when it happened. I believe the damage to their car supports my claim, namely the damage to their car being the leading edge of the alloy wheel where it contacted my car rather than the face of the wheel being damaged.

Thanks

SaverRate

Whos the insurer please? 

tifo

If your car was written off then you should have been paid, in which case you buy another one. If you've not been paid then you should be asking for this. Maybe you might have a courtesy car while you're waiting for payment?

"NCB dropping from 12 to 4". Don't know what this is, most insurers state max 9 years and it may drop to 5 years after a claim.

Disputed claims take a long time to settle.

DullGreyGuy

tifo said:

If your car was written off then you should have been paid, in which case you buy another one. If you've not been paid then you should be asking for this. Maybe you might have a courtesy car while you're waiting for payment?

"NCB dropping from 12 to 4". Don't know what this is, most insurers state max 9 years and it may drop to 5 years after a claim.

Disputed claims take a long time to settle.

Most insurers reduce 5+ NCD to 3 years but there are exceptions. Similarly what "Max" is normally is 5 or 9 years but some do use other numbers however now that data storage is cheap and computers can deal with more complex logic more will show that you have 10 or 23 or 50 years NCD... it doesn't add anything but people like seeing the big number. Remember being quoted about £5m and an extra £1m a year to increase our NCD field from 0-9 to 0-99 but all our letters said 5 or more years anyway.

TTT_93 said:

I've chased up my insurance monthly hoping for an update but there seems to be no movement - is there anything else I can do to expeditate this process? 

4 months is relatively short in the world of motor claims, unfortunately. Assuming there are no injuries I'd argue most claims could be settled much faster but the reality is both insurers have cut staff to save costs to sell insurance cheaper. Both sides wont wait in a queue to talk to each other and so end up sending letters which sit in queues and go backwards and forwards many times over.

You need to speak to the technical team dealing with the third party and see where they are. The probability is they've asked the third party insurer for a full description and supporting evidence and have sent a few a few chasers. There is a reasonable prospect the TPI has done the same to your insurer.

forgotmyname

4 Months?   Mums non fault claim took 2 years and she had witnesses. Stopped at the time and left space for cars to emerge

from the side road. Unluckily she got someone that did not know howto use a steering wheel.

They emerged and must have wound on full lock and crashed into her drivers front wing/door.

TTT_93

Thanks for the replies. I was insured with 1st Central at the time of the accident. From your comments it does just seem to be a waiting game then, while paying higher premiums in the interim.

DullGreyGuy

TTT_93 said:

Thanks for the replies. I was insured with 1st Central at the time of the accident. From your comments it does just seem to be a waiting game then, while paying higher premiums in the interim.

1st Central are an intermediary not your insurer... are they dealing with the claim themselves, are you dealing with an accident management company or have you been dealing with the real insurer/underwriter?