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I wonder if anyone can shed any light onto my problem where I have had 2 claims this year (neither my fault) and now cannot afford my renewal
BACKGROUND - CLAIM 1
In April of this year, I was involved in an accident on the M6 where I was travelling at approximately 40 mph and slowing in lane 2 (middle) of the motorway, traffic was medium to heavy and stationary ahead, a vehicle travelling in the outside lane (lane 3) ran into the back of stationary traffic doing approximately 50mph, the force of the impact rebounded the car into my lane and I then collided with the vehicle. My initial reaction was to steer to the left to try to avoid collision, where my vehicle collided with a hgv. The result of this accident meant my car was written off.
I work as a Paramedic, and my immediate reaction after the accident was to jump into "work" mode and tend to those injured in the car involved in the initial impact. At first, one of the 2 occupants of this vehicle, had injuries that could've been life threatening.
I have now been informed that the 3rd party insurers are not accepting liability due to lack of witnesses even though their vehicle ran into the back of stationary traffic.
In my position, I have a "duty of care" to tend to injured person/s in cases like this and in doing so, I didn't get any witness names or addresses. The only witness I have was my partner who i'm led to believe, I cannot use as a witness.
Owing to the "Data Protection Act", the police or even my insurance company will not give me any details of those involved in the accident so I could chase them up for witness details. Unfortunately, due to an oversight on my behalf, I didn't take out legal protection cover. Is there anything I can do??
CLAIM 2
On the 16th of November, I came downstairs in the morning to discover my house had been burgled whilst I was sleeping. There was no signs of forced entry and the police believe the thief/s used a cane and hook method to obtain my keys from a dresser in my living room, and then used the keys to gain entry to the premises where several items were stolen along with my beloved MG. The car was subsequently found crashed into a wall and is most probably likely to be deemed a write off.
My insurance renewal has just arrived and it says I have 1 years no-claims bonus and my renewal price is well over £1000 which I just cannot afford. My insurer is Swiftcover, and prior to joining them, I had had 20 years claim free motoring. They have stated on the phone to me that when I joined them, I had 9+ years, ie maximum no-claims bonus, however they only deal with 5 years as a maximum. I have been told that they take 2 years no-claims off for any at-fault claim. I asked them, if I didn't renew with them, what no-claims would I recieve on a certificate and was told 1 year. So in essence, I have lost 19 years no claims through no fault of my own.
As I am also deemed at fault in the 2 cases, I don't know how I stand with regard to work as any at fault claims, have to be notified to our work insurance owing to the type of blue light response driving I do.
I feel I am being penalised from all angles, with no help from my insurers, it appears they just want to recoup some money from me to recover their losses.
Does anyone know of any independent/advice panel or give any help that may assist me in this most stressful of time.
THE VIEWS POSTED BY MYSELF ARE STRICTLY MY OWN OPINION AND CANNOT BE RELIED ON FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. IF IN DOUBT, CONTACT A QUALIFIED LEGAL EXPERT SWISSTONI
LLOYDS STARTED CLAIM APRIL 2007, WON AUGUST 2007
MBNA STARTED CLAIM JUNE 2007. PARTIAL SETTLEMENT OFFER RECIEVED SEPTEMBER 2007 - DECLINED WITH THANKS. CLAIM STILL ONGOING
LTSB CREDIT CARD STARTED CLAIM JUNE 2007, NON COMPLIENCE FOR S.A.R, AUGUST 2007. ONGOING
first of all my sympathies at the crap year you have had so far. Hopefully we'll be able to help.
For the first claim a lack of witnesses will not completely penalise you. Insurance claims departments can be pretty stubborn. Sometimes this is a good thing as it means all those fraudsters find it harder to cheat the system, but more often it's a rail pain for those with legitimate claims. First of all in the accident there will have been a police report that will have recorded the other people involved.
What you need to do is to say what happened from your perspective. That is to say that you hit an hgv whilst taking evasive action over a car that 'cut you up'. You make a claim against the person that cut you up (even though you know it is not strictly their fault). You put a claim against their insurers who will then refer it on to the insurer of the person at fault. Even though it is the 'intelligent' and 'efficient' thing to do to trace the original driver at fault the system's not geared up to help you in this way.
The difference between the two claims is that in the first claim someone else's insurance will cover you, in the second claim it is only your own insurance that will do so.
Insurance NCD rating is a fairly contentious area, as every insurer has their own rules on what they do. Your insurer states they drop 2 years per claim, so you should be looking at getting 3 years NCD from them (as claim 1 should not be your fault). However you need to be careful as many insurers only classify a claim as not being your fault if 100% of the claim cost is recovered from another insurer, and often they will settle for 25%/75% (etc). Sadly claim free driving beyond 9 years is rarely recorded at all, and bonuses beyond 5 years are rarely given. Some insurers do give up to 9 years even if they don't offer any discount between 5 years and 9 years (which is useful if you have claim that drops you from 9 years to 7 years etc). But again this is not an industry wide thing, but an insurer by insurer basis.
I know this is not 100% the answer you are looking for, but I hope it helps. Definitely try and get claim 1 sorted as not being your fault.
Sadly the second incident is 'your fault'. Although you could do nothing to prevent it because you are claiming against the theft part of your policy then it is your insurer that has to pay.
I think it can be easily summed as by reminding people (including the OP) that NCB is a No Claim Bonus, not a No Blame Bonus.
Wait till something like this happens to you
THE VIEWS POSTED BY MYSELF ARE STRICTLY MY OWN OPINION AND CANNOT BE RELIED ON FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. IF IN DOUBT, CONTACT A QUALIFIED LEGAL EXPERT SWISSTONI
LLOYDS STARTED CLAIM APRIL 2007, WON AUGUST 2007
MBNA STARTED CLAIM JUNE 2007. PARTIAL SETTLEMENT OFFER RECIEVED SEPTEMBER 2007 - DECLINED WITH THANKS. CLAIM STILL ONGOING
LTSB CREDIT CARD STARTED CLAIM JUNE 2007, NON COMPLIENCE FOR S.A.R, AUGUST 2007. ONGOING
Pat Davies is correct though. It is harsh, but that's the way it works.
You have a contract with your insurer. That contract states that where an incident happens which is covered under your policy, they will pay out for repairs. That's a claim.
Where a claim is made, the insurer is entitled to reduce your NCD / raise premiums in accordance with the contract.
That is the contractual position. However, where the damage is caused by another party, the insurer has a duty, where reasonable, to seek to recover their losses from that party. If such a claim is successful and the insurer recovers it's money, then the policy is usually reinstated to the way it was before (as though the incident never happened).
That's the general gist of it. Sorry if it sounds patronising but insurance is a complex field and few (even those working in insurance) appreciate how it works. I know it is not the answer that you would like, but I hope that you can appreciate the way things have worked out.
That of course is entirely separate as to how the claim is handled.
2 Claims - Loss Of No Claims, Help!!!
AUGUST 2007
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Originally Posted by patdavies
