Fault Claim - Saga Car Insurance Inspection took place 1 year after incident

citylife

Advice Needed – Insurance Inspection Took Place Over a Year After Incident

Hi everyone,

I need some advice regarding an issue with my saga car insurance, and I’m feeling pretty frustrated.

The ‘incident’ happened in August 2023. There was no damage to my car, but the other driver was aggressive and intimidating saying I damaged her car.  Their car (petrol blue) had minor white /scratches /marks, and my car is black, so I wasn’t convinced the marks were from me. I took photos at the time and tried to call my insurance company, but they were closed over the weekend. 

I didn’t hear from my insurance until September 2023, Saga stating they had a claim from that other driver,  I explained I experienced aggression, intimidating from that driver and disbelief about the damage the representative  told me not to worry. After that, I heard nothing for months, until March 2024  some strange calls claiming to be from insurance company wanting to inspect my car. I wasn’t sure who these calls were actually from.

Finally, in November 2024 after clarification it was from Saga (now over a year after the ‘incident’) an inspection took place.  Got a letter few days ago from the Loss Recovery Dept staring that there was “some damage” to my car but didn’t specify where, didn’t provide any drawings, and didn’t send me a report. they told me it was a fault claim, saying it would no longer be possible to prove that the third party was negligent. Now they say they will proceed with the settlement, but I’m not happy with how this has been handled.  Are they saying I'm at fault? 

They didn’t ask for my photos until the inspection, even though I had them ready all along. It feels like the delay and lack of communication worked against me.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Is it normal for an inspection to take over a year? Should I challenge the fault claim decision and the settlement process? Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much for your help.

DullGreyGuy

citylife said:

Advice Needed – Insurance Inspection Took Place Over a Year After Incident

Hi everyone,

I need some advice regarding an issue with my saga car insurance, and I’m feeling pretty frustrated.

The ‘incident’ happened in August 2023. There was no damage to my car, but the other driver was aggressive and intimidating saying I damaged her car.  Their car (petrol blue) had minor white /scratches /marks, and my car is black, so I wasn’t convinced the marks were from me. I took photos at the time and tried to call my insurance company, but they were closed over the weekend. 

I didn’t hear from my insurance until September 2023, Saga stating they had a claim from that other driver,  I explained I experienced aggression, intimidating from that driver and disbelief about the damage the representative  told me not to worry. After that, I heard nothing for months, until March 2024  some strange calls claiming to be from insurance company wanting to inspect my car. I wasn’t sure who these calls were actually from.

Finally, in November 2024 after clarification it was from Saga (now over a year after the ‘incident’) an inspection took place.  Got a letter few days ago from the Loss Recovery Dept staring that there was “some damage” to my car but didn’t specify where, didn’t provide any drawings, and didn’t send me a report. they told me it was a fault claim, saying it would no longer be possible to prove that the third party was negligent. Now they say they will proceed with the settlement, but I’m not happy with how this has been handled.  Are they saying I'm at fault? 

They didn’t ask for my photos until the inspection, even though I had them ready all along. It feels like the delay and lack of communication worked against me.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Is it normal for an inspection to take over a year? Should I challenge the fault claim decision and the settlement process? Any advice on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated!

What was "the incident" guessing its a claim that you hit their parked car or something but you dont say. 

You called them but they were closed on the weekend so presumably you called them on Monday when they were open again? Or did you leave them in the dark and they only contacted you after receiving the allegations from the third party? 

So when you got the calls in March and you weren't sure who they were from you presumably then phoned your insurers and checked? 

Do you know who they were insured with? Could it have been Saga -v- Saga? Were you dealing with Saga themselves as the intermediary or the insurance company they placed you with?


Claims take as long as claims take, with two good insurers and responsive policyholders most claims can be resolved in a couple of months. Unfortunately not all insurers are good and nor are all policyholders responsive. Had plenty of policyholders where you had to leave 3 voicemails and send 5 letters before you heard anything from them but we were generally not that patient so the third letter, if not the second, would have said we were settling the claim as we saw fit and if we didnt get a response thats what we did. 

I wouldn't have paid for an inspection a year after the event, far too much time has passed where repairs can have been done and new damage sustained. When a customer doesn't inform us about an incident but admits to knowing off it when you make contact its fairly damning... most that are being honest tell us as soon as we're open and its understandable in the cases where they say their car was 500 miles away at the time of the allegation. 

Had the tables been reversed and I was representing the third party, you'd have already had court papers on your door mat by now if Saga kept telling us you were ignoring their communications.