Misrepresentation

Virgoan65

Hi

I have just had my motor insurance policy cancelled after they agreed a non-fault claim. I'm a painter and foolishly whilst speaking to the claims adviser mentioned (in small talk) that I had helped a friend out DJing. Since I didn't mention this when applying for insurance they have avoided the policy (careless misrepresentation, so I believe I should be reimbursed). My question is, how do I pursue the third party that has owned up to damaging my vehicle? 

Virgoan65

PS I have informed the insurer that I am not happy with the decision and have requested a Final Response Letter to be delivered before 8 weeks is up. Financial Ombudsman after this.

400ixl

Do you have their insurance details? If so, then contact their insurer directly if you want to do a 3rd party claim.

Virgoan65

Will my insurer have told them that they are not pursuing the claim?, and no I don't have their insurance details.

DullGreyGuy

Virgoan65 said:

Will my insurer have told them that they are not pursuing the claim?, and no I don't have their insurance details.

Unlikely, insurers are very bad at telling each other when they are dropping stuff and even if they did its of no relevance and doesn't preclude you from claiming. 

Virgoan65 said:

PS I have informed the insurer that I am not happy with the decision and have requested a Final Response Letter to be delivered before 8 weeks is up. Financial Ombudsman after this.

What's your basis of complaint? 

Under CIDRA and careless misrepresentation the insurer can only cancel the policy if they would not have insured you had you made the declaration at the quote stage. Its not a subjective thing, the FOS will simply ask for their underwriting guide which will include which professions they dont insurer and its likely that entertainment/musician/DJ is in the list as many insurer won't touch them. 

Virgoan65 said:

I have just had my motor insurance policy cancelled after they agreed a non-fault claim. I'm a painter and foolishly whilst speaking to the claims adviser mentioned (in small talk) that I had helped a friend out DJing. Since I didn't mention this when applying for insurance they have avoided the policy (careless misrepresentation, so I believe I should be reimbursed). My question is, how do I pursue the third party that has owned up to damaging my vehicle? 

First instance, speak to the claims team of your insurers, ask if they have the third party insurance details from MID.

If they dont and won't check for you then you have choices...

DIY
You can use https://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx to get the details yourself for £10. You need to use the paid third party service as you can specify the date of the collision and it will give you the name of the insurer, their contact details and the policy reference number. Dont try and fraudulently use the free check your own vehicle service as it only says yes/no to if its insured, only checks for today and doesn't give the name of the insurer nor the policy number. 

With the insurance details you can then contact them and initiate a claim, most are happy to deal with third parties directly and it won't be materially different to if you'd claimed off your own insurance 


Credit Hire
Alternatively you can approach an accident management company who will deal with the repairs and provide a replacement vehicle on a credit basis and then recover their money from the third party insurer. Whilst most cases go smoothly you will see horror stories on here where the credit hire has gotten to £30k or more and the third party insurer won't pay the whole bill. You are obliged to support their recovery efforts but arent liable for the shortfall in most cases. 

If you dont know any accident management companies well anyone who has anything to do with the business of cars/vans will have on they can sell pass you to as they pay good commissions for referrals. 

Virgoan65

I'm complaining because I DJed once, it is NOT my second occupation.

DullGreyGuy

Virgoan65 said:

I'm complaining because I DJed once, it is NOT my second occupation.

Sounds like a reasonable case then as long as you didnt get paid for it.

Virgoan65

Under CIDR insurers are entitled to a remedy if a consumer has made a misrepresentation before entering into an insurance policy. There are two types of misrepresentation:

Deliberate or reckless (i.e. untrue or misleading and which was known to be relevant to the insurer); or

Careless (i.e. any other misrepresentation).

If the misrepresentation was deliberate or reckless, then the insurer may avoid the policy, treating it as if it never existed, and retain the premium. 

If the misrepresentation was careless and the contract would never have been entered into then the insurer may avoid the policy but must return the premium.  If the insurer would have provided the policy, but on different terms, then the policy is treated as if it is in those terms.

"Dear Mr ###,

We write further to the above policy to inform you that all cover is to be cancelled due to a misrepresentation. Whilst not deliberate or reckless, this means had we known, we would have been unable to provide cover".

If this is the case, am I due a refund on careless misrepresentation terms?

DullGreyGuy

Pleased to see you looked up CIDRA!  There is a little more on careless would they have written the policy but thats not relevant in this case. 

For careless your due at least a partial refund, depends if they cancel the policy from the date they learned of it or void the policy meaning it was never in force. Most will do the later but have heard of some doing the former. 

Aretnap

DullGreyGuy said:

Virgoan65 said:

I'm complaining because I DJed once, it is NOT my second occupation.

Sounds like a reasonable case then as long as you didnt get paid for it.

I'd suggest that even if he did get paid for it, having once accepted a small fee for DJing on a single occasion wouldn't mean that he's a professional DJ or that DJing is his second occupation.

If an insurer asks a question along the lines of "do you have anyother occupation" I think most people would understand that to mean something that you do for money on at least a semi-regular basis. If the insurer wants to know about everything you might ever have done for a few quid on any occasion in your life, they need to ask that question explicitly.

OP - you should really be looking to get this cancellation overturned if possible as you that didn't want to have to touch the box in future to day that you have had a policy cancelled. Your argument is not that they should be refunding your premium because you carelessly misrepresented the facts - it's that they should not have cancelled your policy on the first place because you answered their question accurately as it was put to you - there was no misrepresentation at all.

Virgoan65

My policy was cancelled with immediate effect so I have had to get alternative cover. If they reinstated my policy I would have two policies!