Car insurance claim battle

[wifey100]

Hi

I am hoping someone out there can help me.

3 years ago my convertible car was stolen off my drive. I claimed on insurance and everything was fine.

on May 6th this year I was on a family day out with my husband and 10 yr old son. We returned to the field (we were at a Country Park where there was a show on) where our Cherokee Jeep was parked and it was missing. Police were called and after a good search of the field it seemed some B****** had picked on us again!!!!! My son and I were really upset - me in particular as I was starting to get paranoid that someone was really out to get me or that our luck was just so terrible.

We put in a claim with our insurance company - 6 weeks later they have told us they have sent off the keys for forensic testing as they look too new and that many other similar investigations are being undertaken because Cherokee Jeeps are notoriously hard to steal without a lot of space and time involved. I* don't understand this we were parked in a field and had left the car for 5 hrs When we informed the police they told us ours was the second one to have gone that weekend.

Can someone please help me on where I stand - I appreciate because one car has been stolen they perhaps need to do more investigations but to actually say these cars don't get stolen. Hang on a minute mine did and so did someone elses that weekend. It has now been six weeks and the insurance company say it may be another 6 weeks until they can come back to me. This is unfair I am without a car having to rely on people to take me places or on taxi. I am the one out of pocket and none of it is my fault. My stress levels are through the roof and all because some B****** wanted something that was not his.

Please help I don't see what else I can do to prove my car was stolen and perhaps Jeeps are not as good as they think.

[bed32]

Firstly you have my sympathy - both for the theft and the way in which the insurance company are handling things. I am going through a similar experience where 3 months after thieves broke into our house to steal the keys to our car the Ins Co have still not resolved things (that is now with FOS).

The Ins Co are absolutely within their rights to make reasonable investigations but at the end of the day it would be up to them to prove that the car wasn't stolen - not for you to prove that it was.

Unfortunately there is little practical you can do to speed things up even if the delays are unreasonable (as they are).

You should make a formal written complaint to the Ins Co about the delay and then take it up with FOS. They may eventually award you compensation if the delay is unreasonable, but that will take a few months.

You should also check the wording of your contract / schedule to see if there is any mention in there about timescales. Even if not they have a duty to respond in a reasonable timescale.

It is also worth sending them a Subject Access Request to see what information they have available - in my case that revealed a period of 2 weeks when absolutely nothing was done to progress the claim, which is unreasonable.

Ins Cos are required to comply with the FSA handbook - two sections of particular are of interest "ICOB" (Insurance Conduct of Business rules) and "DISP" (Dispute resolution). It is worth downloading those from the FSA website to see whether the way they are handling the claim complies.

[wifey100]

Thanks so much - it is so frustrating isn't it. What really makes me sick is I am them one feeling guilty and worried and not sleeping etc etc whilst someboday is having a great time in my car and scott free.

[Trojan1401]

Hi wifey,

For stolen, not recovered with a police report, the rule of thumb is 4 weeks from date of theft to settlement offer so unless there are further mitigating circumstances ( and from your thread, I can't see any ) then there time is up.

Write to them demanding a settlement offer giving them 7 days to respond unless they can provide a valid reason for not doing so.

BTW, who's the insurer ?

[wifey100]

Thanks for your response. The insurer is Highway. We went through a broker and was put with them. I think they are trying to say there are mitigating circumstances ie Cherokee Jeeps are very hard to steal without space and time. Plus they are saying the key we handed in is too new. What does all this mean. Surely if I write a letter demanding they pay within 7 days they will just say not until the enquires are finished???

[Beanie1]

I presume what they are saying by the key being "too new" is that they are treating it as a suspect case.

Some very naughty people out there get their keys cloned and pass them onto some shady character who then "steals" their car. The police are called, they get a crime reference number and hence make a claim.

I would agree with Trojan. Write to them (keep copies of letter as you may need it to refer to FOS). The reply you get might not be the one you want but the insurer has a duty to let you know why the claim has been delayed for so long.

good luck with this.

[wifey100]

I gathered that they feel this about our case. But how do I prove this is not the case. The key will come back fine because we haven't had a key cut or cloned from it. But it worries me that they will just not pay out. I see on their small print they don't have to if they feel there is something wrong. Surely they have to have evidence this is the case before not paying us??? All this and the thief (I could use many other words) is out there probably making money from my car.

[craigwalton]

Hello,

I have looked for the reason they are stating that the car is too good to be stolen - Jeep Cherokee are either 4 or 5* on thatcham's website - the rule of thumb is that a 5* cannot be driven away without the keys, 4* would take a long time to bypass the system. However, vehicles can be towed away, but then again, automatics only can be picked up a certain way. The forensics show the approximate mileage of each key.

They are carrying out their investigations. The Insurance company cannot refuse to pay out if they "feel" something is wrong - they need to prove that you have acted fraudulently - beyond reasonable doubt.

[bed32]

Originally Posted by craigwalton

They are carrying out their investigations. The Insurance company cannot refuse to pay out if they "feel" something is wrong - they need to prove that you have acted fraudulently - beyond reasonable doubt.

Shouldn't that be "balance of probabilities" in a civil case?

[wifey100]

Thanks Craigwalton that explains a little bit more to me. its a shame the insurance company could not do this. My car was not an automatic. I suppose there is every chance it could have been towed away as we were in an over flow car park - basically an open field with no car park attendant. We checked for signs of any glass but could not find any. But the police did say that often when windows are smashed glass falls inwards. Mind you they might have got in another way we are just guessing.

Your comments have been incrediby reassuring and I will keep everyone informed as to what happens next. They are due another chaser call tomorrow - it will be 2 weeks then since I last spoken to them.

[craigwalton]

Originally Posted by bed32

Shouldn't that be "balance of probabilities" in a civil case?

You would think so!!

Although in a civil court, judges tend to go with the beyond reasonable doubt in insurance claims, when it is Insurer v Claimant

[stuthesaint]

Craigwalton is right, insurance companies rarely have good hearings in their own name in County Court as they are seen as having very deep pockets and unless their case is watertight, they will often lose.
Realistically this shouldn't get as far as this though. With a renewed emphasis on fraud indicators, insurers will often look out for things such as new looking keys etc, especially when the car in question has a good theft-resistance rating. The best bet is to send a recorded delivery letter stating clearly but politely the facts of the case (always best to keep cool, especially when the document could ultimately be used as evidence of reasonableness in Court); the reason why one key looks new - could be that only one is ever really used; explain the difficulties that the delay is causing and that you consider it unreasonable and that the delay is causing you stress and incurring undue expense for you. Then give them a deadline to resolve matters in. Mention that if they do not soon resolve matters then you will contact the FSA.

This will hopefully get things moving, however forensic tests will be able to show the use of the key as well as when it was manufactured etc and so if it is recently cut then best to be honest with them regarding it.

Anyways good luck and keep us posted.

[wifey100]

Thanks for the advice. I have actually sent them a letter with all the above mentioned. As it is costing me money in taxis etc. There is only one key for our Jeep. When we brought the Jeep from a garage they only gave us one key. I did look into getting another key but was told by Chrysler it was approx £160. I therefore didin't bother as it was a lot of money for a key to sit in a draw as a spare. I am not worried about the forensic testing as we have not had a key cut from it in the time we have had the car. It just annoys me that it has now taken an extra 3 weeks for this. We rang them on Friday and they said the lady we need to talk to was on holiday. So another week has gone by without any news. Then yesterday we received a letter from her saying they were still carrying out their investigations and we would be hearing from them in due course. I am ringing them today to see what the outcome is. Of course I will keep you informed but I fear its going to be long and lengthy saga. I am quite confident they will pay out one day from everything you guys have said as it is a genuine claim and they need to prove otherwise which obviously they can't do

[bed32]

Have you already made a formal complaint about the delay?

If not you should do so as (a) it may speed things up and (b) you will probably want to try to claim compensation from them for the delays and may want to use the FOS