Getting car insurance problems

nursebill57

Been driving a long time but since August last year that part of my world has fallen apart.Had an accident in my car,which I caused,which I made a claim on with my insurance company as a new door would be needed.They put it into a local body repair shop,who gave me a courtesy car to use while mine was being repaired.Repair shop called the day before I was due to get it back to say that another driver had reversed into mine in their car park,but he would pay to sort all damage.Took the courtesy car to a supermarket for some petrol and a tidy up,and noticed damage to it at some point by people unknown.Three incidents so far.My car was damaged the following week in a hospital car park,again by people unknown.Making 4 incidents.To sum up,I put a claim in for the first incident,the second was paid by another drivers insurance.I paid the body repairer for damage done to their car,and I made a second claim for the 4th incident.My renewal date then came up to be due but my company refused to insure me again for what the saw as four claims.When I see myself as only responsible for one of the four.Tried other companies for insurance.One wouldn't entertain me at all,and 2 quoted enormous amounts to cover me at all.Five companies in total going from my current £400 to the latest one of £3600.During all of this my driving licence was called in by DVLA as I am turning 73,so I am unable to get any insurance at all without a licence.I had a finance agreement on the car which lasts until August,so have contact them to repossess as I can afford the payments but not the insurance,even if I was able to get any.Nightmare to be now unable to drive for one accident I have had and 3 others I didn't cause.Family think I will save a lot of money with not having payments to finance,service plan costs plus road tax and,of course,insurance.Plus petrol and other sundries.I love my little Jazz and am gutted I have had to give it up,but will have to suck it up,I suppose.

Robin9

..............................During all of this my driving licence was called in by DVLA as I am turning 73,.............................

Why?    Unless you've accumulated 12 points or you can't complete the health/eyesight questions you renew it.

Chief_of_Staffy

In the second case, this has nothing to do with your own insurance. They should not be involved and there is no legal requirement to inform them of the incident.

In the third case, again, your insurance should not have been involved and there is no requirement to inform them. How did they find out about it? Also, you're unlikely to be liable for the damage if the car was parked legally and unattended, although possibly you'd need to pay an excess if that's in the contract.

So it sounds like you've told your insurers you have had four claims when in fact you have only had two. Hence the premiums.

nursebill57

Robin9,I mentioned this as I can't get a quote for insurance if I don't have a valid licence.Chief_of_Staffy,at the time these individual accidents happened I was unsure that the other driver would pay for the second incident.He had said that he would pay personally,but ended up getting his insurance to pay for it.So I told my company about it.In the 3rd case,I was driving the courtesy car under my own insurance and paid the body repairer for the damage done,but I was unaware if they were reporting it to my company as my insurance covered the courtesy car for the week that I had it.
There were only ever 2 claims not 4,but my company saw it as 4 claims,not 4 incidents,3 of which were done by other people to either my car or my courtesy car.The last people I tried to get insurance from I only told them about 2 claims,but my company circulated through the central database that they all use that 4 claims had been made.So that last quote went from £1600 to £3600.From the original £400 I was paying when all this palaver started.So carless from yesterday after 50 plus years,and not likely to get another one.Met a chap in town that I know who pointed me towards high risk insurers like Acorn who might cover me at a price.But they wouldn't touch me either until my licence is valid again.

Ayr_Rage

Depending on the reason for the suspension of your licence that will also be a factor in whether you can get insurance in the future.

Chief_of_Staffy

nursebill57 said:

Chief_of_Staffy,at the time these individual accidents happened I was unsure that the other driver would pay for the second incident.He had said that he would pay personally,but ended up getting his insurance to pay for it.So I told my company about it.

It's too late now, but you should not have reported these two incidents at all. In the above case, the garage adopts a duty of care to your vehicle. If it's damaged under that duty of care then that falls under the garage's insurance policy. It has nothing to do with your insurance policy and indeed nothing to do with you, short it being your car and the garage being required to notify you of the incident and give you repair options.

nursebill57 said:

In the 3rd case,I was driving the courtesy car under my own insurance and paid the body repairer for the damage done,but I was unaware if they were reporting it to my company as my insurance covered the courtesy car for the week that I had it.

When you take possession of a courtesy car you are covered by the garage's motor trade insurance. You do not drive it on your own insurance and you don't even have to have an insurance policy in order to drive a courtesy car. If you paid the damage from your own funds then that would either be a contractually agreed excess, or the garage is almost certainly acting illegally by telling you that you can drive their courtesy car on your own insurance. Whichever is true, you had no obligation to inform your insurance.

I don't know of the situation with your licence, so that might be a factor.

The upshot is, you've been too honest and now you're being penalised for it. I used to be like that. Not any more. The only solutions are to shop around and consider a very low band insurance car, high excess, low annual mileage policies, etc. to get the cost down as far as possible. And in future don't do anything that has no net benefit to you unless specifically mandated by law.

MyRealNameToo

Chief_of_Staffy said:\
When you take possession of a courtesy car you are covered by the garage's motor trade insurance. You do not drive it on your own insurance and you don't even have to have an insurance policy in order to drive a courtesy car.

Not necessarily true, some insurers provide the cover for a courtesy car provided to you under your policy by your policy not the garages. Inevitably a way of getting cheaper prices from the garage as any incidents involving the car doesnt touch their insurance. 

I agree the incident involving the OPs car whilst in the control of the garage wouldnt have had to be reported. They arent however being penalised for it, they have lost their driving licence due to poor eyesight and so can't drive irrespective of the insurance situation. 

Archergirl

Why didn't you just apply for a new licence a few months before your 73rd birthday like you are supposed to?

I have had a letter from the DVLA asking me to do so, my 73rd birthday is in March and I applied online last week.

Chief_of_Staffy

MyRealNameToo said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:\
When you take possession of a courtesy car you are covered by the garage's motor trade insurance. You do not drive it on your own insurance and you don't even have to have an insurance policy in order to drive a courtesy car.

Not necessarily true, some insurers provide the cover for a courtesy car provided to you under your policy by your policy not the garages. Inevitably a way of getting cheaper prices from the garage as any incidents involving the car doesnt touch their insurance. 

I think that's highly unlikely, because unless the OP has a drive-any-cars option on their policy - one which allows non-emergency use, or contacted their insurer and the insurer added the garage's vehicle to their policy prior to driving it, then they would have been uninsured. And even if they did all this and were insured, it's unlikely to be comprehensive so damage from a third party wouldn't have been claimworthy anyway.

sheramber

A few years ago  my husband had to get cover from his own insurance for the courtesy car.

 The garage did not give you insurance cover. 

nursebill57

Ayr_Rage - it was merely my first review at the age of 73 from 3 years ago when I came under the rule that all licences must be renewed every 3 years.Which tends to mean that I can still drive until the licence comes back from DVLA,but I cannot in practice get a quote from an insurance quote without a valid licence.
Chief of Staffy thank you for those comments which are very useful.I could have covered all of the incidents financially if I had the financial means but do not living on a small NHS pension and an even smaller state one.One chap did suggest I get an old banger at some point on third party insurance and run it around until it collapses then scrap it.The local Enterprise car hire branch said I could hire a car from them no problem for a long trip to visit family,and I would be covered by their insurance and wouldn't need any myself.Their excess would be £1250 however,a good incentive to drive safely and hope that other drivers do as well.
Archergirl - that is what has happened with the DVLA asking me to send in my details to be renewed,which I am now waiting to be returned to me.It was unfortunate that I was looking for quotes from insurance companies when my licence ran out.
Sheramber - my point exactly.My policy asks me to report everything which I was happy to do in these 4 instances.I did not foresee them being classed as 4 claims rather than 4 incidents worthy of reporting.Which have made my driving career come to an end.Major plus point for a relatively poor NHS pensioner is no more car payments to finance company and no more service plan payments to garage,and no road tax or insurance to find from diminishing financial resources.Every day is a schoolday.