Alleged Insurance Incident - What to do ?

gottasavecash

Got a letter today from an insurance company saying that my vehicle has been involved in an 'incident'. The letter states that i should forward this letter to my insurance company so that they can get in touch with this insurance company. "The information we have leads us to hold you responsible on our insured's behalf. Details of the claim will follow shortly."

At the date and time of the incident i was in place stated, in fact was leaving to pick daughter up from nursery, which is a regular time. I called the insurance company and the only details they could give me was that the claim made was in the region of 300 pounds, that the incident has been reported to the police and that there is an eye witness.

Am beginning to wonder if i've bumped a bumper and not realised but i have been driving 17 years and never had an accident. I have no damage to my car.

Not quite sure what to do, any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

Badger_Lady

What an awful situation! I've never been in an incident either, but I hope someone here can help you. My immediate thought is that you'll have to contact your insurer but deny that you are aware of any incident, and get them to investigate... but I 100% understand why you would be cautious to do so!

flutterbyuk25

Ask the insurance company who contacted you to double check the details and car registration given to them. It could be that they were given your reg mark in error (e.g. similar reg to you was involved) ask if they know colour of car involved too. It could be that they requested the wrong details from DVLA or DVLA sent wrong details.

I'm sure you would have remembered if you had been in accident!

x

hjb123

If the incident has been reported to the police as you state in your original post perhaps they will be able to tell you more if you contact them?

vaio

I’d be tempted to do nothing until I had details of the claim, I also though that insurers had access to the insurance database which will tell them which company insures a particular car.

Ephemera

I would also add -

Take photos of your car, close up to prove there is no damage. And write down any details you can remember of the day as an aide memoire.

....and remember you are innocent till proven otherwise. The eye witness evidence can be notoriously unreliable - my Mum had an accident years ago (not her fault) and the other driver got someone to perjure themselves as an 'eyewitness'. If it looks likely that this has happened then make sure your insurance company looks into the relationship between the witness and the other party. It is a little paranoid but you never know....!

Best of luck!

gottasavecash

If the incident has been reported to the police as you state in your original post perhaps they will be able to tell you more if you contact them?



Contacted the local police today and they confirmed that there had been a report made of this incident to another police station.

Officer at local station advised me to send letter on to my own insurance company along with his details as he has checked over my car and can see no evidence that it has been involved in an accident, he is willing to confirm that for me if requested to do so.

I think i'm just going to have to do that, writing a letter to my own insurance company to check eye witness details and to find out what sort of damage they are talking about.

Still worried

Wig

You *have* to tell your insurer, whether you make a claim out of this is up to you. If I were you, I'd tell my insurer, I would also not make a claim as the amount is so small. And I would write to the other insurer to provide **me** with details of the claim including eye witness statement.

Sounds to me like you have opened your door onto another car, or reversed slightly into another car. Any lack of marks on your car is really irrelevant on what would be a low speed impact. And the copper should have been in a position to tell you the particulars of what was alledged surely???

gottasavecash

Wig wrote: »

You *have* to tell your insurer, whether you make a claim out of this is up to you. If I were you, I'd tell my insurer, I would also not make a claim as the amount is so small. And I would write to the other insurer to provide **me** with details of the claim including eye witness statement.

Sounds to me like you have opened your door onto another car, or reversed slightly into another car. Any lack of marks on your car is really irrelevant on what would be a low speed impact. And the copper should have been in a position to tell you the particulars of what was alledged surely???

Thanks for the reply, the policeman took nearly and hour to even find out that there was indeed a report, he done that through the insurance company contact phone number and not the police system, he claimed he had to call each police station involved with the road stated as 4 different ones covered it (very long road).

I'm going to send the letter to insurance company stating that i'm not sure of details of claim and not sure if i wish to claim insurance. I'm also going to go to the police station that the incident was reported as they will definetly have more details.

My personal excess is 295 pounds ! Don't have the money if this does turn out to be something i have done unknowingly, will have to cross that bridge if i come to it !

vaio

gottasavecash wrote: »

……..My personal excess is 295 pounds ! Don't have the money if this does turn out to be something i have done unknowingly, will have to cross that bridge if i come to it !

I didn’t think the excess kicked in unless you claim for the damage to your own car.

Old_Joe

DON'T PANIC -

A couple of years ago I received an accusing letter from a firm of solicitors from several counties away accusing me of damaging his clients car in ASDA car park some months beforehand and driving off without stopping. As I NEVER use ASDA's car park so knew this to be false.

Without replying to it I immediately forwarded the letter to my insurers together with close-up digi photos of the front of the car plus both front wings of our car.
Apart from the insurers acknowledgement of having received all this, I never heard another thing about the incident, and it never affected my No-Claims.