plz help 4k repair bill and insurance cancelling policy

[chedworth98]

hi

i write for my sister about 6 wks ago she had a collision with a scooter ... it was her fault .. she has joint insurance with her partner .. im sure he is primary holder and she is named on policy ... the insurance cmpany have retrived car and put into garage for repairs . they came out to visit and go through claim they asked her partner to sign written declaration that he had no convictions within last 3 yrs ... they have recieved a call sayin he lied .. from what we can make out .. her partner took call and is not the best at relayin exactly what was said but he has got a previous which he thought was spent more than 3 yrs ago but it is a couple of months under the 3 yrs ! as a result they are refusing the claim and cancelling insurance and sayin sis and partner will have to pay the garage the 4k for repairs to date and deal with it on there own from there on ,.. they are no longer insured and the insurance provider (privelege) will refund all premium paid too date .. so our issues are ... 1 my sis had accident and she is named on policy she has nothing in past so surely as she was named and premium was paid upto date has she got a case to argue ? ... 2 they dnt have the costs for the repairs , where do they stand with the garage surely the garages contract is wiv the insurance not her so any sum agreed would be irrelevant and could we negotiate new costs and do we have a right to refuse payment ??? and 3 what are the police gonna do will she classed as driving without insurance ? the other party did suffer quite a few injuries and was in hospital could no insurance mean an automatic custodial sentance ... please any advice would be much appreciated , she has to go to garage tomorrow .... x

[sailor sam]

Strange that the insurers are asking these questions now. Did the policy holder declare his previous convictions at the beggining of the policy?

 

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.

[Mossycat]

That's a good question to ask SailorSam, if the conviction was declared at the inception of the policy then the insurers cannot cancel the policy as a result of this statement that they signed after the accident because the insurer was clearly aware of the conviction.

 

If however, they failed to declare the conviction at the start of the policy, it could be that the insurer was running an additional check (which some do) and now they know about the conviction they are voiding the policy.

 

To answer the OP questions.

 

If your sister is the named driver and the policy is in her husbands name and he failed to disclose convictions then it doesn't matter who was driving at the time of the accident, the insurers can void the policy. If the policy is voided any and all costs will have to be paid by your sister and her husband. If the other party was injured the insurance company may well have to pay out for those injuries but they will then look to your sister and her husband for reimbursement of anything they pay out.

 

Mossycat

[raydetinu]

have the repairs been carried out?

If so the garage did the repairs under instruction from the insurance company, so you will only have to pay the excess to the garage.

but the insurance company will come after you for the full payment or if the work has not been done yet they can stop it and it will be up to you to sort out.

Also you will be responsible for the thied party repirs and costs.

If the conviction was declared when the policy was taken out then you are in the clear.

[chedworth98]

hi

Thanks all for reply , he did not declare the conviction at the start and have since found out it was not just one conviction! , they are negotiating costs with garage !! The insurance company are refunding his premium to date which is approx £1100, but will they then bill them for all work they have done ? The 3rd party was quite badly hurt she was on a scooter, she has been in hospital for several weeks so a compensation claim is coming a very big one , what happens then obviously they do not have the money to pay ?

thanks x

[sailor sam]

hi

Thanks all for reply , he did not declare the conviction at the start and have since found out it was not just one conviction! , they are negotiating costs with garage !! The insurance company are refunding his premium to date which is approx £1100, but will they then bill them for all work they have done ? The 3rd party was quite badly hurt she was on a scooter, she has been in hospital for several weeks so a compensation claim is coming a very big one , what happens then obviously they do not have the money to pay ?

thanks x

 

I believe Mossy has answered that in post #3. The insurers will probably persue the matter and seek an installment plan by way of court action.

 

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.

[chedworth98]

So Sorry yes he did , misread on my behalf thanks all i will relay news , thanks again x

[reallymadwoman]

It may be worth fighting this. Depending on the seriousness of the conviction(s) and why they weren't disclosed it might be considered disproportionate for the insurers to void the policy. For example, had the conviction been disclosed would they have refused cover altogether or just charged an additional premium? The FOS website has a number of case studies which suggest that they will uphold complaints where there is a fairly innocent reason for non-disclosure.

[chedworth98]

hi i will have a look at fos thanks , its very hard gettin info out of him at the moment there is alot of finger pointing between family who's fault this is all is , but will def ask and update as to what /when x

[reallymadwoman]

If you can get some straight answers re what convictions and why weren't they disclosed in the first place, it may be worth phoning the FOS for an opinion on whether the insurance company are being reasonable.

[crem]

it may be worth phoning the FOS for an opinion on whether the insurance company are being reasonable.

 

Personally I would say the insurance company are being unreasonable, as they always are if there's an opportunity to duck paying out on a policy.

 

Whilst it may be true that by not disclosing something that may have affected the risk factor while he was driving, there is no suggestion that chedworth98 has hidden any details. i.e. she has declared everything that is relevant and the additional premium they may have charged has correctly assessed their risk when she was driving. Therefore the undisclosed conviction of chedworth's partner has no bearing or affect on whether an accident was going to happen while chedworth was driving.