Catalytic Converter Theft and Insurance premiums - no claims charge after renewal

Deedee83_2

Hello Hive Mind,

Please could you help? And apologies if this has been asked before!

The catalytic converter was stolen from my car on the 26th of October. I claimed on my insurance with Admiral. When my policy was due for renewal on the 11th of March the premium was double the previous year but still the cheapest on the market. I assumed that this was due to the claim. I renewed. On the 24th of May Admiral charged me a further £79.24 which they said was due to updating "the circumstances of an incident we hold on file for you". Had I known that this was coming at renewal I would have switched to a different insurer as it would have been cheaper.

Is what Admiral have done ok / allowed / legal?

Thanks in advance,

Dee

DullGreyGuy

You need to ask that they clarify the "update" they've had in relation to the claim.

When did you claim on the policy? You say when the theft was but not if you claimed immediately or waited a while.

Deedee83_2

Thanks, I claimed on the day of the incident

HillStreetBlues

If allowing for the renewal a month before, they still had 3 months to update their systems, I would also believe that the quote included the claim. I would be making a complaint.

400ixl

When you did the renewal, did you ensure that the at fault claim was showing on the renewal?

If so, they should have priced accordingly and you should be finding out why they believe you have additional costs to pay.

Cucullan

I also had my catalytic convertor stolen from my car, however, I withdrew my claim on the insurance as the cover was inadequate and would have left me without a vehicle for too long. They told me it would go down as a notification only - theft. I got the car repaired myself out of my own pocket and despite getting a lot of nuisance calls from claims companies who got wind of it as an accident (complete miss-representation) which the insurance company denied sharing when I challenged them - I then put the incident behind me. I have recently been accused of lying on a new insurance quotation request which was quoted almost double as a result and after providing proof that it was a notification only and not a fault claim they reduced the quote but it was still several hundred more than the original quote because they said I should have declared it. How do I protect my integrity in this case? How do I get the notification stricken from record or prevent it from being shared with other insurance companies etc? Is not entrapment to not make it clear if such matters are mandatory to declare in the questions and then to penalise you for your miss-understanding - they profit from this behaviour with increased premiums - surely they are the fraudulent ones? 

DullGreyGuy

Cucullan said:

I also had my catalytic convertor stolen from my car, however, I withdrew my claim on the insurance as the cover was inadequate and would have left me without a vehicle for too long. They told me it would go down as a notification only - theft. I got the car repaired myself out of my own pocket and despite getting a lot of nuisance calls from claims companies who got wind of it as an accident (complete miss-representation) which the insurance company denied sharing when I challenged them - I then put the incident behind me. I have recently been accused of lying on a new insurance quotation request which was quoted almost double as a result and after providing proof that it was a notification only and not a fault claim they reduced the quote but it was still several hundred more than the original quote because they said I should have declared it. How do I protect my integrity in this case? How do I get the notification stricken from record or prevent it from being shared with other insurance companies etc? Is not entrapment to not make it clear if such matters are mandatory to declare in the questions and then to penalise you for your miss-understanding - they profit from this behaviour with increased premiums - surely they are the fraudulent ones? 

So when you were asked something like:

Confused.com asked:

Have any drivers had any motor accidents or claims in the last 5 years?

This includes any incidents, losses, thefts or claims involving a vehicle regardless of fault or whether you claimed or not.

How did you reply? Yes or No?

Irrespective of if you claimed or not, notified them or not, you would legally be obliged to answer yes because you sustained a loss in relation to a theft/malicious damage. The fact you did make a claim and then withdraw it means you cannot "forget" to report it because insurers will find it on CUE. 

Unsurprisingly if you were to complain to the ombudsman that you want it removed because you want to be able to commit fraud and get away with it then you won't get very far.