Need Advice - Admiral multicar, car written off by uninsured driver

misslee1888

I covered 2 cars with the Admiral multicar policy at the beginning of the year. Premium was paid monthly by direct debit. At the beginning of April a van smashed into the back of us whilst I was making a turn and pushed us into a wall. The police were in attendance and the guy admited liability. It was plain to see it was his fault. Anyway I was taken away in an ambulace and the police took all of the details. The isurance company paid out, but we have since found out from the officer in attendance that the guy is being charged with no licenece and no insurance. It was a works van and his work are saying that the van was stolen. Now I had a look at my multicar policy and since the accident was not our fault and the insurance company have said that one of the policys on the multicar is now cancelled, i thought that the direct debit for this amount would be reduced for the monthly amount for the car that was written off.
The have said that the full premium is still payable for the car that has been written off. Is this correct. Its just that if I thought that they were going to charge us the premium for the rest of the year ( a further 8 months). Then I would have pushed for a higher settlement figure.

This accident was not our fault and we are being penalised for it. Is there anything that I can do and can they do this, why did they not tell me this when they sent the letter out saying that this had been cancelled and why did they not decuct this from the settlement figure?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

raskazz

If you submit a total loss claim then the full annual premium is always due, whether or not the policy subsequently runs until the next renewal or is cancelled prior to the next renewal.

Sometimes an insurer will leave the policy open after a total loss for a certain period of time, in which you can place a substitute vehicle onto the policy. However, an insurer is under no obligation to do this, and if they do it is only as a gesture of goodwill (because technically the policy can be cancelled by the insurer after a total loss as they are 'discharged by performance' i.e. the policy has served its purpose).

If you look at your policy documentation then it will almost certainly state that this is the way in which the policy operates, so it's not really necessary for the insurer to point this out, the responsibility lies with you to know what the terms of the policy are.

They don't have to deduct the figure from the settlement figure (although some insurers do). Indeed, I don't think you can have issues with this as if they just let the direct debits run they are giving you a longer period of time in which to pay the rest of the annual premium.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Sorry to hear of your accident.

You mention that you were injured. You can still claim compensation for this from the Motor Insurers Bureau. All UK insurers contribute towards the cost of running the Bureau (it works out at about 2% of your premium) and they step in as "insurer" for uninsured drivers. What they usually do is nominate the claims department of a UK insurer to act for them.

Last time I dealt with them, you could also claim for any uninsured losses you have had to pay out for (taxi costs, prescription charges, hire car costs, etc) but they deduct £300 from the final figure. It's not great, but better than a kick in the teeth.

See if you have legal expenses cover on either your Motor or Home insurances (or if you are a member of a union, they may help) as they should take the case up for you free of charge.

Good luck.