Lease Car Hand back Claims

Essex_Jim

Hi all,

I have just been speaking with my Lease company insurance. I have found out that a hand back claim from Feb 2025 has been put in my name. My son, who also drives the car took the car back and I assumed the claim was in his name. My error!

My Lease Company told me I do not have to to inform other Insurance companies where I am a named on the policy about a Hand Back claim. For a sanity check, I called Admiral where I am named. The people I spoke to did not seem to understand 'hand back' claim. The outcome was I had to pay for adding a claim. Cost me £326 for five months. Is this reasonable?

MyRealNameToo

So basically you handed the lease car back with damage? Was the damage from a single incident or was it multiple smaller incidents?

You havent made a claim so nothing would be declarable under claims however insurers ask about incidents irrespective of if you claimed or didnt. So if you did have incidents then you would be declaring them anyway as an unclaimed loss so nothing changes.

Essex_Jim

So basically you handed the lease car back with damage? Yes. My son handed back the car.
Was the damage from a single incident or was it multiple smaller incidents? Don't know. Can't tell you the exact nature of the damage. Claim cost just over £1k

Based on your second paragraph, I should declare the incident? And the added cost to my Insurance is reasonable?

Mildly_Miffed

When you take on insurance, you're asked to declare all damage, collisions, incidents - whether insurance was involved or not.

Your "handback claim" is actually the lease company asking you to pay for the damage caused to the car in your care. So, yes, you are required to notify the insurer of this. (Of course, most people wouldn't, and it's not really an insurance claim.)

Is nearly £800 difference to an annual policy cost reasonable? Depends on your insurer. The choice you have is to find a different insurer.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Is "handback claim" invoice for damage? Was it company car? It would never cross my mind to inform insurance company about kerbed wheel or scratch bumper, or similar.

Essex_Jim

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936966#Comment_81936966

This was done and logged in the same place as an accident. So will the lease company insurance they called it a claim. In this instant it was either a scratch or damaged alloy

Goudy

By the sounds of this they aren't invoicing for damage but making a claim for the damage on the insurance.

This suggests there is damage beyond their normal chargeable damage list.

This list might include a 20mm scratch or 10mm dent per panel for £x, but more than that they will claim it back on the insurance.

What does the contract state?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81936710#Comment_81936710

You are asked to declare all incidents irrespective if you claimed for them or not. Certainly no one sensible here would tell you to commit fraud and answer "no" when you know the true answer is "yes". That said there is going to be a significant proportion of people who do "forget" to mention such things and a good proportion of them get away with it but not 100% do.

Having worked in motor claims many years ago have had more than one policyholder having to pay out thousands because they had failed to declare an incident when buying the insurance but did admit to it when registering a claim for another incident. It was deemed intentional so the policy void, the claim declined and ultimately they had to pay all the compensation to the person they injured with their car.