INVALID INSURANCE COVER + investigations...

[lovebanana]

hi everyone, I need some serious help here please. i've been in a no fault accident, the lady recognise her mistake and was at fault but with no witness. but now the claim is taking more tham 5 months with investigations.... and third part insurance refusing to give any information on the claim or investigation they've carried out( sent an engineer and an investigator). they are still checking liability... well my problem is that i think they are just looking for reason no to repare my car even thought the lady accepted the fault which was obvious, i didn't call the police because it was just a small issue, what i thought and regret. now they want to know more about my driving record, mot, all sort of things, how it happened... now I think my insurance is invalid because i didnt give the right information on how many years i've had my driving lincence for( i said 4 years insted of 1 including when i had the provisional for) and i've left my job since I took out the policy to go back to studies. i didn't say this to the investigator, when ask to see my licence i said i was lost and he made me sign a paper giving them permission to retrive info from dvla( by the way, can i revoke this permission???). i really reget giving wrong info on my insurance( it was too much for a car worth £700), i will surely never do it again for the peace of mind but now, WHAT SHALL I DO, GET A SOLICITOR? AM I IN A BIG TROUBLE? ANY OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTION? please help, thank you for your time

[lovebanana]

her mistake and was at fault but with no witness. but now the claim is taking more tham 5 months with investigations.... and third part insurance refusing to give any information on the claim or investigation they've carried out( sent an engineer and an investigator). they are still checking liability... well my problem is that i think they are just looking for reason no to repare my car even thought the lady accepted the fault which was obvious, i didn't call the police because it was just a small issue, what i thought and regret. now they want to know more about my driving record, mot, all sort of things, how it happened... now I think my insurance is invalid because i didnt give the right information on how many years i've had my driving lincence for( i said 4 years insted of 1 including when i had the provisional for) and i've left my job since I took out the policy to go back to studies. i didn't say this to the investigator, when ask to see my licence i said i was lost and he made me sign a paper giving them permission to retrive info from dvla( CAN I NOW REVOKE THIS PERMISSION BY CALLING THE DVLA????). i really reget giving wrong info on my insurance( it was too much for a car worth £700), i will surely never do it again for the peace of mind but now, WHAT SHALL I DO, GET A SOLICITOR? AM I IN A BIG TROUBLE? ANY OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTION? please help, thank you for your time

[the_shadow]

Hi, One thing I think you can guarantee is that your insurance will be void, I'm afraid by mis-stating the number of years you have been driving they have taken a risk assessment on you and the reason the amount would have been different if you'd put 1 year is new drivers are more likely to have accidents simple fact I'm afraid.

 

I would prepare for the fact that a) You will get nothing for repairs to your car and b) Your insurance premiums from now on will be very high

 

Just my thoughts, sorry. cant be more positive.

 

S.

[sailor sam]

You havn't said whether you have fully comp insurance or third party. If the latter, there is no reason for your insurers to check you licence as they will not be dealing with any claim (as it is the TPs fault according to your post). It would be for you to persue the TP. However, now your insurers know you have given false information they will no doubt cancel your policy and you will be liable for any outstanding premium. It will probably be recorded on the insurance data base of you giving false info which will hamper any future insurance proposals or will make premiums very high. This will also be the case if you were fully comp. They certainly will refuse your claim but the good news is that as it is the TPs fault and once that has been established, you should not be liable for their losses. Now the 'iffy' bit; why do you want to revoke your permission for your insurers to check you driving licence?

[zoomboy]

I would think if they're asking about the license they are just confirming what they already know. Otherwise why would they even ask?

 

As above I'd be expecting your insurer to cancel your policy which goes on record for life - as every application for insurance has the question similar to "Have you ever been refused insurance?".

 

As to the claim if the liability lies with the 3rd party then they should repair your vehicle. The problem is, you may no longer be able to be insured to drive it.

[T.C.]

I have to investigate many of these types of claims and the reason as to why your claim has been selected can be wide and varied, sometimes cases are just picked at random, others are selected depending on the circumstances or the details of what is being claimed for.

 

As a general rule of thumb, providing you have not deliberatley lied, then there should be no problem. The issue of how long you have held a licence for to a degree is imaterial. Providing you hold a full and current licence, it is not too big an issue including your time as a learner when asked how long you have held a licence for.

 

The loss adjusters and investigators accept that people sometimes get nervous when asked a load of personal questions about their driving history, and their answers can become confused or contradictory, hence the reason why you were asked to sign the driving licence mandate so that they can get a copy of your licence hhistory, which by the way cannot be revoked, once you have signed authorisation, it will go through.

 

Providing you did not tell any porkies when you first applied for your insurance cover, you should not have any problems. If it is a genuine claim (which I am sure it is) and they drag it out too long, then it will be worth speaking to the Insurance Ombudsman ast the FSA who will be able to assist you.

[lovebanana]

thanks you all for your replies. my cover is third part only. i want to revoke the permission so that the do not get information about my driving licence which will show that i've had a full driving licence for only a year instead of the 4 years I told them( on my insurance application and also to investigator). what they are doing is finding the liability: who was at fault even thought the lady accepted liability at the scene and is ready even today to give me a statement. is the insurance company going to tell her she was not at fault or make her say so even thought she knows she was??? well my biggest regret is givng that just 1 wrong information about the years i hold my licence for( i did made my cover cheaper), i'll will never ever do it again. by the way am I supposed to let them know I am not longer working but instead studying? thank you very much.

forgot to add the lady driver at fault has a full comprehensive and is making injury claim

Edited January 25, 2011 by lovebanana

[sailor sam]

If the TP is at fault (and it is likely they are) then there is little to worry about the actual claim. If the TP is caiming injury then it will be her own insurers who will be paying for that. If however liability is disputed (which appears to be the case) and the TP is able to claim anything of your insurers, they will no doubt pay out and persue you for the costs if they revoke your cover. As you only have third party cover, you should be writing to the TP directly enclosing a bill or estimate for your repairs and losses and asking for paymnet as you regard her as being liable for the accident. Indicate that you reserver the right to take legal action to recover your losses unless payment is received within 14 days. Advise at the end of your letter to her to pass on your claim to her insurers should she wish for them to deal with this on her behalf.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

 

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

 

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

[lovebanana]

If the lady accepted liability, can her insurer refused that and blame me instead? my insurance want me to sign a peace of paper to take the case to small claims court, is that ok? or should I just cancel everything? i mean the claim even though it is genuine? thank you again

[sailor sam]

If the lady accepted liability, can her insurer refused that and blame me instead? my insurance want me to sign a peace of paper to take the case to small claims court, is that ok? or should I just cancel everything? i mean the claim even though it is genuine? thank you again

 

Her inurers will always blame you! They are attempting to mitigate their losses which is perfectly normal. If your insurers are advising that you got to court then you will have to do so if you want your un-insued losses recoverd and the cost of repairing your car. In any event a 'letter before action' (LBA) will need to be sent directly to the TP driver before commencing proceedings. you need to check with your insurers whether they are going to do that or if you have to. I would imagine that as you only have TP cover, it will be the latter. If you need any help with that let us know.

 

Please Note

 

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

 

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

 

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

Edited January 28, 2011 by sailor sam
signature not posting automatically

[Mallrat83]

Okay i'll put this in two sections:

 

Claim: Problem is the 3rd party may have accepted liability, but with no witnesses and no police involved.... Try prove that she accepted liability? Its your word against hers, and unless the investigations state that there is no doubt the 3rd party was at fault, they may look to settle this 50-50. So her insurance company would pay to repair her vehicle, and your insurance company would usually fix ur vehicle. So follow the advice and speak to her insurance company and to the ph herself to try ascertain whats happening and see if you can get her to admit liability.

 

Insurance: Your policy will now become void. The insurance company are now likely to refuse to repair your vehicle should the claim be settled 50:50. So your best bet is to hope that she does admit liability to her insurers, afteral if its a 50:50 claim, she will have a fault claim anyways so she may aswell say she was at fault and future insurance companies dont care if its settled 50:50 or a complete fault claim. a fault claim is a fault claim.

However your insurance company gave you the premium you received based upon different data including your occupation and your driving history. It is important to provide them with correct information, as just having a full uk license for 1yr will mean you are a higher risk than someone who has a full uk license for4 years. so your premium would have been higher has you provided the correct information. and regarding your occupation, you should have made your insurance comapny aware of this, as insurance companies rate premiums based upon your occupation aswell. Insurance companies like to know what your vehicle is used for. If you are for example a receptionist, the insurance company can assume that ur travelling to work between 8-9am. in work between 9-5pm and travelling home between 5-6pm. Whereas if you are a student, your lectures could be at anytime, you may not be in college/uni 5 days a week, you could be driving round more during the day etc.etc. therefore likeyhood is your premium would have increased. So you not giving the insurance company just these two bits of information correctly will mean that they will void your insurance.

And as you have been advised, you HAVE to declare that you have had insurance cancelled by your provider to any other insurance company you receive a quote from, and because of this, you will be seen as a higher risk, meaning they will load your premium up.

 

Telling a couple of porkies may have been worth it at the time in order to reduce your premium, but in the long run, you got caught out and will suffer the consequences financially unfortunately. Lesson to be learnt here... Dont play with fire unless you want to get burnt!