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Hi

I hope someone can help me.

I had an accident in my car on 11th June 2010. It wasn't a major accident and I didn't think it was completely my fault but phoned insurance company and went through the repair process.

My car was collected by the garage two days later. I then had a letter from my insurance saying that they have found i had tinted windows and didn't tell them about this.

When I purchased the car (second-hand) I was told the tint was factory fitted and I have all the receipts from the first owner (when purchased from new) that the extras added to the car were metallic paint, walnut dash & tinted windows. When I took out the insurance they asked me about 'modifications' like wheels, engine, suspension. bodywork. I never gave it a second thought about the tinted windows as I presumed they were factory fitted.

However, I had a call from the claims department advising that the cost of repair exceeded the value of the car so they would be offering me payment for the car to be scraped.

When I got home from work I had a letter waiting for me from the underwriter advising that they are cancelling my insurance from 1st July because of the tinted windows! I'm at a loss of how they can do this when I have given them the facts and advised that it was not an intentional non-disclosure of a modification.

I'm a 42 year old woman - not a boy racer. The tint isn't 'limo black'. I've never had any problems with vision (if I had I would have obviously done something about it). I think they are being extremely harsh considering the circumstances. I've got 12 years no claims discount - so my risks are extremely low. I'm not even sure if it would have made a significant change to my premium. I never intentionally omitted to tell them about the tint.

Can someone help me please.

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The Insurers will deal with the claim on the basis of a standard car, without the additional optional extras. Although these are factory fitted, they are options you have to pay extra for. The options mentioned in your post would have cost the car buyer when new, in excess of £1000 extra.

 

In regard to the cancellation of the policy, the Insurers view this as a breach of trust, in their relationship with you. So they have decided to give you 7 days notice of cancellation, in line with policy terms/conditions. They are entitled to do this and there is not much you can do about it, apart from contact the Insurers head office to make a complaint.

 

It is worth complaining, because now you have had a policy cancelled due to non disclosure, you will have to disclose this to Insurers on every future Insurance application you make. This will include Car, Travel, Home, life and any other type of Insurance. This will mean you will have to phone companies to obtain quotes and before they are willing to arrange cover, they will want a letter of explanation from the Insurers that cancelled your car Insurance stating the reason for cancellation. This will make things more complicated and probably a lot more expensive.

 

I think the Insurers underwriters have over reacted and I think a telephone call to the Insurers head office may pay off.

We could do with some help from you.

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Thank you for taking the time to reply. I will call head office tomorrow and appeal to them about the decision to cancel my policy.

I regard myself as having the utmost integrity and I hope they will see this and overturn their decision.

Thanks again

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The Insurers will deal with the claim on the basis of a standard car, without the additional optional extras. Although these are factory fitted, they are options you have to pay extra for.

 

This is a touch worrying. I've just bought a new car and it's a make where there's no such thing as a standard fit and just about everything is an optional extra. I didn't build to order but bought one that was in the pipeline and happened to have roughly what I wanted. What sort of things should be declared to the insurer?

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Whenever I've got an insurance quote and been asked about modifications, I always ask "Does that include Factory fitted options?" and always been told it didn't, only After market modifications were counted.

 

Perhaps that has changed or isn't the same for all insurance companies, though it's always been my experience.

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This is what I thought as well! I have the original receipt from the first owner when he purchased it new. On the order/invoice it clearly says extras: metallic paint, walnut dash and tinted windows. I always thought that was a factory fit and not a 'modification'.

Seems they change the goal posts when they want. I tried phoning this morning but was just told they can't override an underwriters decision. I'm going to have to send a letter now but time is running out because my policy is cancelled from Thursday.

However, I have spoken to a friend of a friend who is a top underwriter for Norwich Union and she said that this decision to cancel my policy seems really harsh considering the circumstances. Looks like I'm going to have a battle. I suppose the main thing to say here is, if you are not sure about the 'extras' on the car tell them to note it on the policy so when it comes to a claim then they can't say you never mentioned it.

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The Insurers will deal with the claim on the basis of a standard car, without the additional optional extras. Although these are factory fitted, they are options you have to pay extra for. The options mentioned in your post would have cost the car buyer when new, in excess of £1000 extra.

 

Without knownig what make/model and version we are talking about, how do you know?

 

Some cars come with tinted widows as standard. Has the OP checked the original spec of the car?

 

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I would always urge to seek professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my scales at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice usefull.

 

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I thought this is how the car should look as it was like that from new. I don't know about the original specifications. It's an old car (Honda Accord Coupe 1996 to be exact) how am I to check what were original spec?

It seems a gray area what is classed as modification and factory extras.

However, I am now more confused because i have just come off the phone from the claims dept who are paying my claim and writing the car off.

Seems a contradiction in terms I think

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It does vary from Insurer to Insurer. I answered the posters question based on how their Insurers were dealing with the claim. It is quite clear that their Insurers have taken the view that the modifications should have been declared and by not doing so, the risk Insured was for a 'standard' model i.e without the extras. I somehow doubt they will backdating cover for the mods if the poster pays the extra premium, so that they pay a higher amount for the write-off.

 

The OP's main concern is the Insurers cancelling the policy. To me this is totally over the top, for an inadvertent non disclosure. Many policies do not require factory fitted extras to be included as mods, as often manufactures include these at no extra cost i.e when a model is about to be replaced. Plus when you buy a second hand car, how would you know whether these were extra cost options.

We could do with some help from you.

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I thought this is how the car should look as it was like that from new. I don't know about the original specifications. It's an old car (Honda Accord Coupe 1996 to be exact) how am I to check what were original spec?

It seems a gray area what is classed as modification and factory extras.

However, I am now more confused because i have just come off the phone from the claims dept who are paying my claim and writing the car off.

Seems a contradiction in terms I think

 

I told you they would pay the claim. The settlement will be based on the book value of the car e.g. glass.co.uk. The Insurers will probably pay for the standard model, without the extras. Not that it would make that much difference for a car of its age, as any options, would now have diminished in value.

 

The Insurers are cancelling because once the vehicle is written off, there is no car to Insure and they are not going to allow you the benefit of any unused premium to Insure another car. Once you claim on a policy, you have to pay the full years premium. So if you paid annually, you won't get any refund. If paid monthly, they will deduct any remaining premium to be paid from the claim settlement.

 

As I said earlier, you need raise questions about the cancellation. If they are cancelling due to non disclosure, this is over the top. If they are cancelling because they will be paying out on a write-off, so they don't continue the policy, this is a different matter. Some Insurers will cancel a policy following a write off. Then when you bought a new car, you would take out a new policy.

We could do with some help from you.

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I'm not sure what to do really. If the car is being written off then the insurance has come to an end for the car. However, I can't have it on record that my insurance was cancelled as (unclebugaria67) states that this will have an adverse effect in getting future insurance. There must be some way I can resolve this amicably.

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I told you they would pay the claim. The settlement will be based on the book value of the car e.g. glass.co.uk. The Insurers will probably pay for the standard model, without the extras. Not that it would make that much difference for a car of its age, as any options, would now have diminished in value.

 

The Insurers are cancelling because once the vehicle is written off, there is no car to Insure and they are not going to allow you the benefit of any unused premium to Insure another car. Once you claim on a policy, you have to pay the full years premium. So if you paid annually, you won't get any refund. If paid monthly, they will deduct any remaining premium to be paid from the claim settlement.

 

As I said earlier, you need raise questions about the cancellation. If they are cancelling due to non disclosure, this is over the top. If they are cancelling because they will be paying out on a write-off, so they don't continue the policy, this is a different matter. Some Insurers will cancel a policy following a write off. Then when you bought a new car, you would take out a new policy.

 

sorry I posted my reply before reading this. I will go ahead with my complaint the Chief Executive to try and get a resolution.

Thank you for taking the time to reply

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just a follow up from my thread...

I tried phoning 'Customer relations' to register my complaint (as per their complaint procedure) only to be told there is nothing they can do about it as it's an underwriters decision. I was gobsmacked! I tried to get to speak to someone in charge but they were 'in a meeting'. So I wrote a letter (3 pages long), contacted the Ombudsman and waited to see if i would hear anything.

Last night (Tuesday) I had a call from the manager telling me he had received my letter and apologised for the way I was treated on the phone. However, he said the underwriter is now looking into it and will be getting in touch. The insurance has been stopped because of non-disclosure of modification but the claim has still been honoured. My car is being picked up today by the salvage company. He also stated that if they had known about the tinted windows he didn't think they would of insurance me. I find this very hard to believe as it doesn't enhance performance or desirability to thieves. I told him I didn't intentionally not tell them - I didn't think it was a modification and have never been told (by them or garages) that they were a problem. As insurance companies take such different views on modifications (there's not a set standard) how is a person like me to know what will be classed as a modification. It says on the schedule to let them know about modifications e.g. wheels, suspension, bodywork or engine.

Anyway I'm waffling on, I'll let you know what happens next so others can learn from this

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Please do. I have a some optional extras on my new car and it never crossed my mind that they might count as modifications for insurance purposes. I have things that are listed in the brochure as available such as a docking point for an MP3 player and automatic lights and wipers. The dealer certainly never mentioned they could invalidate my insurance, neither did BMW insurers when they provided the 7 day free cover for a new car.

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I've just had a call from the insurance underwriter. It's not good news.

They are cancelling my insurance for non-disclosure of a modification.

Basically it's not the fact that the car was fitted with the tinted windows from new by Honda, it's because they didn't know if they were legal or not. Because I didn't send them an engineers report to prove they were legal (in the time frame they gave me - 7 days). They have to cancel the insurance. If I had provided this report then she said they would have back-dated the insurance and adjusted the premium. The car is scrapped now and quite frankly I haven't got any more energy to deal with this. It's time to move on.

I would just like to say to everyone that if you have had ANY extras added to your car TELL the insurance. Then, even if they say it's not a modification, at least then you have informed them (I would also tell them to put a note on file so it's there for future reference). My story has a bad ending but i hope it helps other people.

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It does vary from Insurer to Insurer. I answered the posters question based on how their Insurers were dealing with the claim. It is quite clear that their Insurers have taken the view that the modifications should have been declared and by not doing so, the risk Insured was for a 'standard' model i.e without the extras. I somehow doubt they will backdating cover for the mods if the poster pays the extra premium, so that they pay a higher amount for the write-off.

 

The OP's main concern is the Insurers cancelling the policy. To me this is totally over the top, for an inadvertent non disclosure. Many policies do not require factory fitted extras to be included as mods, as often manufactures include these at no extra cost i.e when a model is about to be replaced. Plus when you buy a second hand car, how would you know whether these were extra cost options.

 

Sorry but this argument of non-discloser will just not stand up. Its not upto a buyer to list every possible mod unless it affects performance & who's to say it was a mod it was simply built at the factory to the buyers spec

 

Every vehicle I have purchased in the last few years comes with tinted windows & god help any insurer who tried to repudiate cover cos & hadn't expressly mentioned it The writ would be on their desk by the very next business day

 

This is just another example of an insurer trying to escape their obligations to a customer who's had the audacity to make a claim

 

I should even bother with the ombudsman see a solicitor with a view to issuing proceedings & don't forget to include your consequential losses which you no doubt have incurred simply because of their behaviour

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I agree with Jon Cris.

 

You must follow this up, by complaining to the Insurance underwriters chief executive in writing. They cannot insist you get a report within 7 days to prove whether the tinted windows were legal or not. What if you had been on holiday at the time or couldn't obtain a report in time. Surely the Insurers assessor could have provided some opinion as to whether the windows were legal or not. Also I would have thought if the window were not legal, the car would not have passed an MOT.

 

You could still ask the FOS for their assistance, but these days they are so slow, you could be waiting for over a year to get any answer.

 

By having a policy cancelled due to non disclosure, this could cost you hundreds, if not thousands in additional premiums, in the years to come. I think you would be daft not to fight this, even if it did cost you legal fees.

We could do with some help from you.

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This is the case. I couldn't provide a report in the time-frame because every garage I went to in the area didn't have the equipment to test the windows. I was advised by one garage that it is not a requirement of the MOT to test windows. Apparently, after looking at VOSA web site, they do not form it as part of an MOT because it would be too costly for every MOT centre to get this equipment.

Here is the link to the VOSA document on tinted windows:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Tinted%20Windows%20Oct%202008.pdf

The underwriter said that their assessor did take a photo of the tint and in his opinion they were illegal. This is what she went from. I can't prove whether they were legal or not.

I've already gone to the ombudsman but I really do not have the strength to carry on knowing it could be a long battle. I haven't had much sleep over the past 2 weeks worrying about this and I just want to get on now. The insurance I was with was Sheilas Wheels (part of eSure). I have now contacted NFU, advised them of the full story (they were amazed at this) and are looking into insuring me.

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This is the case. I couldn't provide a report in the time-frame because every garage I went to in the area didn't have the equipment to test the windows. I was advised by one garage that it is not a requirement of the MOT to test windows. Apparently, after looking at VOSA web site, they do not form it as part of an MOT because it would be too costly for every MOT centre to get this equipment.

Here is the link to the VOSA document on tinted windows:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vosa/repository/Tinted%20Windows%20Oct%202008.pdf

The underwriter said that their assessor did take a photo of the tint and in his opinion they were illegal. This is what she went from. I can't prove whether they were legal or not.

I've already gone to the ombudsman but I really do not have the strength to carry on knowing it could be a long battle. I haven't had much sleep over the past 2 weeks worrying about this and I just want to get on now. The insurance I was with was Sheilas Wheels (part of eSure). I have now contacted NFU, advised them of the full story (they were amazed at this) and are looking into insuring me.

 

Bull tell them that as they were factory fitted they were not illegal & if they insist they were tell them you'll be asking the manufacture to become involved as a co claimant as its also to their benefit that this decision be debunked.

 

Also if the MOT stations cant check because the kits too expensive how come their assessor could:confused:

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Esure have a bit of reputation for trying to avoid claims and cancelling policies.

 

Also once they get a complaint, they did themselves a big hole, by just being silly.

 

The OP should get a note from the manufacturer about the tinted windows which were added in the factory and then look to take this further.

 

It is not only the hassle and expense that will be incurred. I suspect the next battle will be the settlement offered by Esure. Expect a very low offer and an argument !!

 

If you want to go to the press Tony Hetherington at the Daily Mail Financial mail, is very helpful. This is the sort of thing, that Tony would love to highlight.

We could do with some help from you.

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