car insurance cancelled and had an accident

[sarahgg]

i had an accident on the 19th nov a woman crashed into me however my insurance esure recovered the car as it was undrivable.

 

they took it to an accident place were the assesors looked at the damage and said it was a total loss (write off) so the car was sat in their compound.

 

the assesors got in contact with the insurace and told them it was a total loss and sent pics.

 

this is when the trouble starts.. the insurance have said cos there was a spoiler on the car and alloys wheels which were not factory fitted they have cancelled my insurance.

 

so here i am with cancelled insurance, and also had to get the car out of the compound and pay the bill myself. and a smashed up car on my driveway.

 

rang the insurance to find out what was going on and after a month of calls letters (me to them) cctv footage, photographs of the accident and also a witness to be told because the insurance has been cancelled they can no longer help me and i should get a solicitor...

 

both me and the woman who crashed into me are/was both insured by esure which makes it that little bit more complicated.

 

my question is now what do i do? i have already been to a no win no fee solicitor for my injurys as i was 22 weeks pregnant at the time of accident and also had my 2 young boys in the car with me.

 

i have pics of the actual accident and also there was a witness... however the other driver has told the insurance that i pulled out of a side street into her and there was no witnesses?? i have cctv footage to prove i never came out of the side street she is saying... the cctv shows me coming out of a side street 500 yards up the road from the one she said

 

what do i do now ? and what should i expect? have i got a case??

 

i have tried to ring my solicitor but they are closed until 4th jan

[unclebulgaria67]

2 different aspects to deal with.

 

1) You need to pursue the claim with the solicitors help against the third party driver, It does not matter that they were also Insured by Esure. Get together as much information as possible, which you already appear to have done. The solicitor will submit the case to Esure and if Esure don't accept liability on behalf of the third party driver, then this could end up in court. This might take many months to resolve, so you also need to pursue point 2)

 

2) Complaint against your Insurers Esure for voiding the policy and refusing the claim. Find out from the cars manufacturers whether the spoiler and alloy wheels were factory fitted or sold with them as standard. Many companies will include these as standard and they are therefore not considered modifications. If the manufacturers or dealers are not much help, guides such as Parkers may reveal what extras were included with the car. Once you have the information, make a formal complaint in writing to Esure. Esure have up to 8 weeks to resolve before you can pass to the FOS, but make sure Esure are aware that you will look to get the FOS involved.

 

Proceed with this as above. Don't start thinking about what could happen in different senarios. It actually helps that both cars were Insured with Esure, so that they will know what the score is with both policies. If you have a complaint ongoing with your policy and are pursuing a claim against the third parties policy, this will give Esure plenty to deal with. There is no way any poster to this site can advise you whether you were at fault or not for the accident. You can work this out for yourself, with your own diagrams for the accident and with reference to the highway code.

[sarahgg]

thanks for your help i have found out that the spoiler and alloys did not come as standard so im a bit stuck as to what happens with that now?

[unclebulgaria67]

thanks for your help i have found out that the spoiler and alloys did not come as standard so im a bit stuck as to what happens with that now?

 

So did you buy the car from new or second hand ?

 

If it was a second hand buy, most people would not know.

 

The FOS do have policy positions on this. From what have I have read, the FOS would view this as an inadvertent non disclosure, expecting the Insurers to deal with the claim as normal. But would require you to pay the relevant additional premium for having these car modifications included.

 

When you make the complaint to Esure about the cancellation of your policy, tell them that unless they reverse their decision, you will ask the FOS to review this. Advise them that any non disclosure of the spoiler and alloys was totally inadvertent on your part.

 

I would find it difficult to believe that Esure would not have insured the car had they known about the spoiler and alloys. It would normally only be in this situation that an Insurer would have cancelled the policy, on the basis that had they known about the risk, they would not have provided cover.

[sarahgg]

the car was 9 years old when i bought it the car is a citroen saxo 1.4 westcoast... however the 1.6vtr is exactly the same car but bigger engine

 

just that i have now found out that the 1.4 westcoast didnt come with spolier and alloys as standard. it was my 1st car so how am i supposed to know the difference?

 

esure have said that they wouldnt have insured me if they had known about the alloys and spoiler as they class these as modifications?

[Mwynci]

It does seem like a very tight underwtiting policy to not offer any increased cover for these mods? then again it is a Saxo. Esure would have to prove to the FOS they would not touch your car. It's not clear cut as only Esure could confirm this.

Worth a challenge I'd say, you have nothing to loose. What UB67 said upstairs may be the winning formula.

good luck, let us know what the outcome is.

[sarahgg]

thanks very much for your help and can i just ask what you meant by saying "but then again it is a saxo" ??? im confused as to what you mean?

 

as far as im aware a car is a car!!!?? does it being a saxo make any difference?

[Mwynci]

Sorry, I don't want to come across as being rude. I drive a pretty average car.

A Saxo is a higher statistic for having a crash or being more attractive to theives than say a people carrier. Certain cars are more attractive to certain demographics, they appeal more to a younger driver who on whole have more accidents, I'm not commenting,or being an old (ish) fuddy duddy, it's just the way it goes. Some insurers just don't want them on their books, insurance is a giant gamble.

[sarahgg]

ahh right i see. so obviously a saxo isnt a car to have then??!!

 

just received a letter this morning off ESURE... they are asking for 318.00 off us (which sounds like the rest of the policy for this year)

 

do we actually have to pay this to them?

 

they have said if it isnt paid it will go to debt collections?? :-x

[rebel11]

I would write to them disputing any amounts owed on the policy as you have a on going dispute with them.

 

Also Sara it might be an idea to type 'Esure Complaints' into Google and see what it throws up, have there been similar situations of Esure getting out of paying claims. Send all letters Recorded.

 

 

ahh right i see. so obviously a saxo isnt a car to have then??!!

 

just received a letter this morning off ESURE... they are asking for 318.00 off us (which sounds like the rest of the policy for this year)

 

do we actually have to pay this to them?

 

they have said if it isnt paid it will go to debt collections?? :-x

[sarahgg]

ok thanks very much for your help

[Surfer01]

Either way neither the spoiler nor the alloy wheels contributed to the accident in anyway. If it went to court I guess that this is the way the judge might look at it especially if ther is CCTV footage.

[unclebulgaria67]

ahh right i see. so obviously a saxo isnt a car to have then??!!

 

just received a letter this morning off ESURE... they are asking for 318.00 off us (which sounds like the rest of the policy for this year)

 

do we actually have to pay this to them?

 

they have said if it isnt paid it will go to debt collections?? :-x

 

Think Esure have messed up here.

 

If they wouldn't cover the Saxo with the spoiler and alloys, then the policy should have been voided from inception of cover for this car and all premiums refunded.

 

If they have decided to cancel using the 7 days notice clause in the policy and are asking for the remaining premium, this means that they could be open to claim from yourself as well as the third party.

 

I think I would be sending a complaint by recorded delivery to Esures CEO asking what they are playing at. This is clearly a case of an inadvertent non disclosure of the spoiler and alloys, for which the FOS would take a dim view of the cancellation. These mods to the car have nothing to do with the claim loss event. The mods had no bearing on whether you had the accident or not.

 

Before you write, do a quote on Esures website to see if they would cover the car with the spoiler and alloys added. If they would cover, this is more ammunition to help with your complaint.

[rebel11]

Hi Sarah

 

Heres what I believe to be the correct e-mail for Peter Wood, Chief Executive of Esure [email protected]

Mark the letter, Formal Letter of Complaint.

[Surfer01]

If the amount is for the balance of the account and you pay it based on their request, they will have a very hard time voiding your insurance because by sending the letter requesting the balance they are in fact making the contract vaild again.

[unclebulgaria67]

If the amount is for the balance of the account and you pay it based on their request, they will have a very hard time voiding your insurance because by sending the letter requesting the balance they are in fact making the contract vaild again.

 

Except that they have received or expect to receive a claim from the third party, so they want the premium paid. Under the RTA the Insurers would be liable to pay out to the third party, even if they voided the policy. So what they have decided to do is cancel the policy, but just refuse to pay their policholder for damage to their own vehicle.

 

I think I would be making the complaint first and then coming to an agreement to pay the premium if the Insurers review their decision.

[sarahgg]

also they cancelled the insurance on the 1st dec... and we recived the cacelation letter 2 weeks later...

 

now when insurance is cancelld aint they supposed to give 7 days notice? as we had no notice the only way we knew they had cancelled it was becasue it never came out of the bank.

[unclebulgaria67]

also they cancelled the insurance on the 1st dec... and we recived the cacelation letter 2 weeks later...

 

now when insurance is cancelld aint they supposed to give 7 days notice? as we had no notice the only way we knew they had cancelled it was becasue it never came out of the bank.

 

Yes they have to give a minimum of 7 days notice in writing of the cancellation.

[ashmk]

When filling in your insurance application and you got to the bit that said has the car been modified did you put yes or no? If you put no then the insurance company are not really doing anything wrong.

[sarahgg]

i put no as i didnt know alloys and a spoiler were classed as modifications... how many cars come with alloys and spoilers as factory fitted these days?

 

 

all i wanted to know in this post was have i got a case were i will be able to claim for the car and my injurys or will it get thrown out?