Congratulations with getting this sorted (and it certainly made for an interesting thread!). I agree. Essentially, the insurers were accusing the OP of "Fronting" and were well within their rights to void the policy on that basis. Where they screwed up was in not informing the OP at the inception of the PI claim. The OP should have been involved at each stage of the negotiations so that, if necessary, they could challenge the evidence and/or the amount awarded. This is nothing to do with insurance per se - it's basic legal procedure.

I hear what you're saying - and initially I wondered how to quantify the value of my NCB. So for the purpose of the court summons, I put in a deliberately high guesstimate (factoring in the knock-on effect over the next few years). But in practice neither of the insurance companies involved even tried to quantify it’s value. The 3rd party insurer paid for the damage (and my excess etc) and my own insurer restored my NCB. I was surprised by this, too: I know that in theory it's a "No Claims" and not a "No Blames" Bonus, but this appeared to be standard practice where one party is wholly to blame. I suspect it’s done as a reciprocal arrangement by insurers precisely to get around the difficulties (and endless arguments!) involved in trying to quantify the value of a lost NCB.

Your NCB may be temporarily suspended, however if you successfully prove liability against the other party your insurers will restore your NCB and refund any additional premium that you may have had to pay in the interim. If you don't manage to prove liability against the other party you'll have to claim on your own insurance anyway - so you may as well get your car fixed now and argue the toss later. (And that way there's always the chance that your insurers will pursue the matter on your behalf). Trust me on this one - I've just had to do it for real. It took 7 months to get the money back from the other party. That's a long time to be driving a damaged car.

First up, the police should have reported this as an accident regardless of fault as it involved a motor vehicle on a road and some one was injured. It is irrelevant that no one was in the car. Not that that really affects the liability aspects of this: There is no doubt that the cyclist is liable. However, his household insurance will deny any liability - they always do. I had similar situation very recently when a neighbours tree collapsed and flattened my car. I had to claim on my own car insurance who initially declined to make any attempt to pursue the other party - despite clear liability (the tree was totally rotten). Ultimately I took my neighbour to the Small Claims Court to recover my uninsured losses. Her household insurance continued to deny all liability until they received a copy of the summons, at which point they changed their tune and admitted liability in full. Don't give up on this because that's what they want you to do. Claim on your own car insurance and then go to the small claims court for your uninsured losses. It's very unlikely that you'll ever actually get to court - they'll most likely pay up before you do.

I have just been through this exact situation (with Elephant.co.uk) in May. So I speak with some experience. Basically the FSO recommends that insurance companies should pay out Glasses Guide retail value, minus any excess, in the event of a write off (and that was actually written in the small print of my insurance documentation). Approach a friendly motor dealer and they should tell you what Glasses retail price is for your car. That's what you should be aiming for. Write off to the insurance and tell them that's what you want. If they still refuse to raise their offer, then go onto the Auto Trader website and print off some ads for similar cars. You'll probably find that they're priced around Glasses Guide price anyway - since that's what the trade uses to price cars. Send these off to your insurers, pointing out that that's what it's going to cost to replace, and ask that they increase their offer. If they still refuse, then after their final offer you can then refer the case to the FSO. Never accept the first offer as final settlement (still bank the cheque though). I eventually got a reasonable payout in 3 separate installments. . Be in no doubt: Insurance companies will try to "Do" you in any way they can. I'm disgusted at the way they try to evade their liabilities.

I agree that this is probably the best course of conduct. I don't put much faith in the FSO to be honest. From my recent experiences, it seems that insurance companies are wholly willing to ignore their own liabilities (and even their own terms and conditions) when it suits them. I'm of the opinion that far more regulation is needed.

Tbh, this has always worried me about companies that offer cover over the phone. It's just too easy for them to deny all knowledge should you have to claim... No phone calls recorded that day? Yeah, right!

Based on experience, I'd agree with this 100%. Life insurance is a must, but payment protection - forget it. Incidentally, I have Level Term life cover through work - it pays out £100,000 should one of us die, for £10 pm.

That's my take on it, too. I have now written back to them pointing this out and asking for the full amount. I've also pointed out that all of the dealers within a reasonable travelling distance are pricing similar cars around that level anyway (and I've included half a dozen ads showing just that) - a two pronged attack, if you like. We'll see what they come back with. To be honest, I don't have much faith in the Ombudsman - I'll give it a go but if that fails I might just Small Claims 'em and see how they like that!

Hi all, Last month my car was crushed by a falling tree (my only claim in 20 years). Fortunately no one was hurt, and my insurers (elephant ) have now written the car off. The problem is that they're offering a paltry amount. Their policy documentation states that payouts will be based on Glasses Guide Price. This is £5,400 (I have a relative with access to Glasses Guide) however elephant are only offering £4,000. After deducting the excess this will leave us with barely the trade-in value (and this for a car in excellent pre-claim condition with FSH etc). When I phoned them about this they stated that they had found a similar car advertised for £4,000 in a dealers 58 miles away! I have no intention of making a round trip of 116 miles (without a car!) to view a vehicle that may not be in a satisfactory condition. All of the dealers within 20 miles are asking over £5,000 for a similar vehicle. So far elephant have sent me a cheque for £3,700 together with documentation stating that this is without prejudice to me should I accept it. I have banked the cheque but I have written to them stating that I don't accept this as a final settlement and asking for the full Glasses Guide retail price - though I doubt I'll get it! Where do/can I go from here? Thanks!