My car insurance is due for renewal in January but my company is telling me that because a claim from last August is still not settled they will not be offering me cover when my present policy expires.

I caused minimal damage to the bumper of a car which stopped suddenly in front of me in heavy traffic. The other driver would not give me any of his details even though I gave him all mine, I am fully comp insured. I made a claim and my car was repaired. Then a letter arrived from the other driver saying that he was injured. Then another letter saying his brother was in the car and he was injured. Then more letters saying there were 2 more passengers in the back of his car and they were both injured. He was the only one in the car at the time of the accident and he was not injured in any way.

The matter is still not settled so now my company won't renew my insurance. Can they do this? What can I do, will anyone else take me on if there is a case pending?

Can anyone give me advice, please.

An insurance compay has the right to refuse anyone cover for any reason they like - they dont even have to give you the reason.

What is worse is that one of the questions asked in taking out insurance is whether you have been refused insurance - which you will have to answer yes to - insurance companies talk to each other.

The accident you had sounds very much like an insurance [problem] which is certainly nothing new - they may have even stopped deliberately hoping you would hit them.

An interesting feature (did you report to the police) is that drivers are required to exchange details OR the drivers involved in an accident are required to report to a police station as soon as reasonably practical following an RTA - I would speak to the police about this - he may have committed an offence.

I would also report the incident to the IFB (insurance Fraud Bureau on 0800 328 2550, they will investigate thoroughly any claims of insurance fraud (most people do not know about these guys) and may have already come accross this guy or the claims company or solicitor that is processing his claim.

Unfortunately none of this will help your case regarding your car insurance.

All you can do is ring around - answer questions as honestly as you can and hope that someone will offer you cover - but I suspect the premium will increase.

Maybe if you talk to the IFB they may have some ideas that could help.

Sorry not to be more positive but you really should talk to the IFB about these fraudsters - they are the reason that car insurance is so high, and why genuine accident victims have to go through hell to get the compensation they deserve.

Hi Flyingdoc, thanks so much for your advice, gratefully received, I just didn't know where to start, so lucky to have discovered this website.

I will let you know how I get on.

This is a [problem], I would personally appeal to your insurance company and point out a few home truths i.e

Accident was very light (Minimal Damage)

Other Driver braked suddenly in unusual circumstances

Other Driver refused to exchange details (Why Not?)

Driver claiming personal injury damages (Very light accident?)

Further claims from other side for personal injury but he was the only one in the car????????? ([problem])

Now explain to them on balance you believe this whole episode was a set-up / [problem].

You are reporting it to the relevant authorities i.e police / insurance fraud bureaux and will be working with them in there enquiries.

Final request that due to these unusual circumstances and your willingness to work with the authorities they reconsider there refusal of insurance renewal.

Yes, this definitely sounds like one of those "cash for crash" scams. These are becoming increasingly common and they are most often carried out by members of organised criminal gangs.

Do you have the registration number of the car and a description of the driver? As the others have suggested, you should report this to the police and IFB. Next time they try it, they could end up injuring or even killing someone, so it is important that they are stopped.

Furthermore, there is no telling where the claimed money actually ends up - if the injuries don't even exist, then no doubt the money is used to fund other crimes, eg drugs activity etc.

Also, it increases motor premiums, even for people who aren't direct victims, as insurance companies have to increase premiums to cover the cost of these staged accidents. In the worst case scenario, it could potentially cause some companies to go bankrupt.

I find it very sad that someone would want to risk killing someone for the sake of a few hundred pounds. It makes me wonder what kind of upbringing these people had, that they see life as so worthless - they couldn't have been shown much love or affection by their parents/families.

Hello to all who replied to me. I am going to contact my insurance company tomorrow to see why exactly they have refused to renew my policy due in 3 weeks time.

Then I am going to report the whole incidence to the police and the IFB. My insurance company, Bell, is a member of the IFB, so hopefully their involvement will help me.

I think it will be difficult to get insurance from another company until this matter is cleared up.

Thanks for all your comments. I'll get back to let you know what happens.

As sad asI am - I was thinking about this as I was driving into work today and something occurred to me.

I think I know why your insurance company are not renewing your insurance.

They KNOW this is a [problem] and they think you are involved!!!

Hopefully your actions in reporting this to the police - and the IFB will assure them that this is not indeed the case and they may rethink their decision not to cover you.

Oh WOW! I can't believe that, but you may be right. It never crossed my mind. Thanks flyingdoc.

I did contact my insurers, Bell, and they told me that I am high risk and so will definitely not renew my insurance in January. I told them that I thought they were being hard on me as this is the one and only claim I have made, but they would not move on their decision.

I have a letter prepared for the IFB and I will be reporting the incident to the Police when I get home after my Christmas break. I am staying at my mother's home in the ROI and so can't get much done from here.

Today I used Moneysupermarket.com for a quotation and put in that a company had declined insurance for me. I was pleasantly surprised to find 6 companies offering insurance for me, and the best one, Admiral, wasn't much more than I paid last year.

So this has taken the worry away about not getting insured. But I will still be reporting the incident as these [problematic] need to be stopped.

Hello to all who helped me on this forum. I thought I would just fill you in on the outcome of my insurance problems.

The IFB were very sympathetic and said they would be helping Bell's with the case.

The quotes I got on the internet were worthless, when they heard the story none would take me on. I was desparate. They put me on to a broker, Swinton, who found cover for me, but guess how much, £2300. I had no choice.

A week after I have taken and paid for the cover from Swinton I received a call from Bells telling me that they had made a mistake and were now willing to renew my cover after all. They said they would not be paying out this claimant as it was a fraudulent claim.

But too late, I said. But when I moaned about my unfair treatment and bartered with them I got them down to a good price. Then I had to speak to Swinton to release me. This they did, taking just the cost of the week's cover and a small cancellation fee.

I did some research on this company who had sent the letters from the claimant. It is not his insurance, but a company of solicitors, Walker Morris in London. They have a department which offers 'no win, no fee' personal injury claims. I can't believe they took this one on, I think they are immoral.

Anyway, that's my rant for today, and I am glad to say that I am quite relieved to have my insurance record restored, and my money back.

Regards to all.

Wow, well reading this posting has certainly opened my eyes. If any such event should happen to me, I'll be sure to take as many details/photos about the car and the occupants as possible.

Hi all,

This is some really scary stuff ...you never think that it can happen to you. I know from now on I will be bearing the IFB in mind and never ever taking any claims at face value. Just shows how green I am. Thanks for the tip.

Cheers,

Paul.

If,and I repeat if, you can obtain the full contact details of all the 'claimants' and copies of their signed claim form and their claim has been dropped you can sue them for your losses in the small claims court. You can prove your losses but can they prove their injuries?

Hi

I'm glad you got this sorted.

I work in a Personal Injury dept and face this every day, good to see Bell working on the side of the righteous.

As previous people have said any bump no matter how minor is carte blanche chq book for the third party (TP) and their sols.

Got one on my desk TP has 6 claims in 4yrs how unlucky is that!! And I recognise his mates name from claim from last June!!

I would advise anyone who has an accident to take pics at the scene of all vehicles involved, their position if poss and even the TP's involved, as people are paid to contrive accidents to make money then un-involved people claim for the injury.

This is massive problem watch out for roundabouts and supermarket car parks!!