Cancelled Theft Claim Registered as "No Fault Claim" on CUE?

[orge]

Hi,

 

I've recently come to renew my insurance policy and have discovered that my previous insurer registered a no fault claim on the insurance database. This is having a substantial effect on my insurance premiums (additional 150-200 per year or 20%) and I would like to know whether it is possible to challenge this record and have it amended/removed?

 

I understand that the current record indicates the following:

theft claim

non fault

non recovered

 

What actually happened is that my car was stolen from outside my house and then subsequently recovered a couple of days later. When it was stolen, I informed the police and started the process of making a claim. As soon as the vehicle was recovered, I contacted my insurer and assessed whether I could cancel the claim without prejudice to my insurance. Since there was no losses at their end, they cancelled my claim without it affecting my NCD. I personally paid the recovery fee to the police, which was the only cost of the incident - a [problem] in itself, but that's another story...

 

When I came to renew after this (with a different insurer), I seem to recall there was initially an issue with the previous claim being left open but this was cleared up and I believed that was the end of it. The new insurer was totally aware of this and was satisfied that the incident should not be recorded or have an effect on my insurance premiums.

 

Wind forward another year and I'm trying to renew with a third insurer, only to find out that the information is showing on the DB as above. From my point of view, there are two factual inaccuracies in the way this is recorded:

1. The claim was cancelled and there is no indication of this (personally, I feel quite strongly that it should not really be on there at all)

2. The vehicle was recovered.

 

Would I be able to challenge this record on these grounds - I appreciate 1 may be more difficult than 2? If so, how do you go about this - through CUE or the previous insurer? I understand that this is not an isolated incident and that insurers are regularly passing information through to this database where a claim is not actually made. However, it's sickening that you go out of your way to avoid making a claim/incurring costs for your insurer and get slapped with a 20% hike anyway!

 

In the meantime, I have little option but to pay the increased premium, as the vehicle would be uninsured and I am not able to SORN it. If I can get the record removed/amended, will I be able to claim back the difference to my insurance premiums?

 

Thanks,

 

James

[labrat]

please keep us updated on this situation as having very similar issue

 

car hit wall

no claim made

car recovered from impound by self

insurance entering as non-fault claim

 

it isnt elephant/admiral by any chance

[orge]

Will do.

Do you also have a thread on here?

 

Not either of those insurers; budget were my original insurer. I get the impression they are all at it and the ubiquitous use of the db means that they are now confident to substantially hike premiums based on this info. Beforehand, they may have lost business because there were insurers who were bit using the db.

 

Fact is, it's only been a year or 2 since the CUE started and we're already getting beaten with it. In the long run, I can't see this benefitting the consumer in the slightest.

 

Thanks,

 

J

[unclebulgaria67]

You would have to speak to the Insurers involved, to ask them about the claims data on their systems. The fact is that you did attempt to make a claim and later withdrew it without Insurers making any payment. The Insurers will want to register the theft as a risk incident which will affect premium rating, but I am not sure whether they have closed off the claim properly. Hence suggesting that you speak to Insurers, to see what they can do, as they are responsible for the data passed to CUE.

[orge]

Ok, I'll contact Budget tomorrow.

 

Do you know anything more about the options for data entered into this database? Clearly, the incident should register that the vehicle was recovered, as that is what happened. However, is it factual for them to register this as a claim, even if it was cancelled? Are there any alternatives for how this information could/should be presented - for example, a non-fault loss rather than a claim?

 

Have just checked the effect on my premium and it's around £150 extra for the first 3 years and then drops to around £90 for the next 2 - that's nearly £650 extra. Guess I'm "lucky" that I didn't get stung with this on my first renewal, but that just makes me wonder whether my previous insurer would have deemed my insurance invalid (even though we spoke directly about the incident on the phone).

 

I can't help but feel that this database is just going to end up as another sort of credit file. However, there appears to be even less checks on the information entered into it and largely random/isolated incidents can lead to prejudice - at least there is some "formal" process with CRAs and the information is more directly related to our own choices, rather than those of others.

 

Thanks for the advice,

 

James

[unclebulgaria67]

Speak to Budget about it. The claim should have been closed off as non fault with nil payment and that is what should show on CUE. I am not sure they would cancel the claim off their records and add a note somewhere else. I don't know Budgets systems, as to how they capture the data.

 

 

http://www.insurancedatabases.co.uk/default.aspx

[orge]

Just got off the phone with the underwriters and it's not looking good. They will close it off with the vehicle being marked as recovered, but can't do anything more. They insist that my no claims discount status indicates the claim was not followed through, but this does not seem to be reflected in the premiums I have been quoted - how can a fractional discount make much difference vs against a 20% modifier!?

 

I can't help but feel information is being misrepresented about me and this is incurring a financial loss for myself. I've seen the other thread about chasing this up as an uninsured loss, but this doesn't really cover my case (and seems to be a bit fraught). Are there any other legal options?

 

Thanks,

 

James

[unclebulgaria67]

Not sure there is much you can do. As most of us now realise, lives are now controlled to a certain extent by information held about us on

databases. You have rights under Data Protection, but I don't think you will be able to have the claim record removed or amended.

 

I had a car stolen over 20 years ago, before these claims databases were in existence and it made no difference to my premiums, as like you although I registered the theft claim, I did not need to claim on the policy.

[labrat]

mines resolved look down this forum for elephant advice **resolved**