Declaring Claims on Motor Insurance

Chubba

Bit of background first of all...

A couple of years ago I was the policyholder on a car insurance policy with my wife as a named driver.  My wife had a non-fault accident (I was not in the car at all) resulting in the loss of the car. Since then my wife purchased a car and insurance with her as the policyholder and me as the named driver.  She'd always declared that she had the accident in the claims section.

Now the latest insurer (third since the policies started being with her as policyholder) has notified her that upon checking the Claims Underwriters Exchange (CUE) there was a slight discrepancy with the details she had provided.  They found and agreed the claim she declared but they found my details on CUE as well.

I've questioned this with the insurer the original claim was made under and they're of the opinion that this is correct because although it was my wife that had the accident, the claim was made on the policy where I was the policyholder and therefore why my details must also be on CUE.

This kind of makes sense and luckily on this occasion, although the insurer has found this discrepancy they've not sought to change the premium.  But I was thinking would that not 'double count' the claim when insurers are calculating the premium?  Especially if, for example, me and my wife have separate cars and separate policies where we're each a policyholder (and no named driver) and we both need to declare the same accident?

jlfrs01

I'm sure another Forum Member will correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you and your wife will need to declare this accident for 2 reasons. There are 2 areas of risk that can affect the underwriting of insurance policies. Firstly, it's assessed on the individual's history and secondly, it's based on what claims are made on the policy. A "no fault" accident can affect insurance premiums as it's a matter of being "no claim not no blame" so it can be recorded unless the insured asks for it to be removed.
Also, I found out to my cost that when I called my insurer to report an accident which I subsequently decided not to claim against, it was still recorded and it affected the next year's renewal quote

DullGreyGuy

So she made a claim as a driver and you made a claim as a policyholder. This is where the system is difficult.

If the both of you continue to be insured on the same policy then you'd attach the claim to her as the driver at the time. On a policy that you are on but she isnt insured you'd declare it in your name. This avoids the double dipping issue you mention but does mean you still get stung because you allowed her to be a ND on your policy