Ageas Insurance Problems

[Missy Brindello]

Hello, I'm having problems resolving an incident that took place last spring - is this the right forum to ask for advice?

 

In short, an inexperienced caravan driver, not using caravan mirrors, hit my vehicle whilst I was not in it. As we were at a port there were lots of CCTV cameras but everyone - apart from me and my damaged vehicle - boarded the ferry so I had no other witnesses. My insurance company failed to ask for the CCTV footage and have not asked the other driver about his mirrors. They did not ask him for the witness statements he says he has nor have they forwarded my version of events to him. They say the best they can hope for now is a 50/50 settlement as it's my word against his.

Is that really acceptable? Surely they have some sort of responsibility to act in my best interests? If it goes 50/50 my insurance will be three times what it was last year!

Edited May 5, 2015 by Missy Brindello

[BankFodder]

This kind of attitude is an easy copout for insurers. It means that they don't need to take a lot of trouble finding out the truth – and also they can rely on an increased premium next year. It also means that the other side will rely on an increased premium as well.

 

In other words, both insurance companies benefit both clients don't benefit. It is dishonest and it is unfair.

 

I'm afraid that I think that you will have to consider bringing a small claim directly against the driver of the other vehicle.

 

If you can begin that then I expect that the insurance company will feel obliged to get involved. In any event I would also challenge the insurance company and threatened them that you will make a complaint about not being treated fairly – contrary to their obligations under ICOBS.

 

I'm not aware of any insurance companies being sued for breach of ICOBS – and it is about time it happened. It would be a very easy thing to do and a few ICOBS claims against insurers would start to get them to think a bit more seriously about the way they treat their clients.

[Missy Brindello]

Thank you. I'm drafting a letter of complaint at the moment so I will mention ICOBS in that. I don't think I could make a small claim now as there is no evidence that will prove me right. Rather ironic as I was stood under the CCTV camera and clearly not in my car. I would like them to reinstate my NCB as I did tell them all of this on the day of the accident and they seem to have done nothing that is helpful since!

[BankFodder]

If it is clear that you are not in your vehicle and that the other vehicle was moving, then I can't see that you could lose the case.

 

I would certainly want to lay out the facts in a particulars of claim and see what the other side had by way of a defence.

 

If you are going to refer to ICOBS in a complaint to the insurers then make sure that you have read up about it a bit so that you know what you are talking about.

 

However, don't expect the insurers to be fazed by it. Like most of these companies, they're not used to being challenged. They receive a bucketful of threatening letters which are never followed up and they won't take you seriously. You have to issue the court claim and then you will see a very swift change in attitude.

 

Have you written to the other driver? If I were you I would start laying out your position to them and asked them for their response. Copy the insurers in at all times.

 

You certainly should complain to the insurer though and if it is correct that you weren't in the vehicle then you should point this out to them and make sure they understand that it is a no-brainer and that their failure to examine any evidence amounts to unfair treatment and also a breach contract with you

[Missy Brindello]

Sadly with no CCTV it is not clear that I wasn't in the vehicle....

[unclebulgaria67]

Sadly with no CCTV it is not clear that I wasn't in the vehicle....

 

Not sure you can do much about this claim now. It will be a lesson for the future to get hold of CCTV camera footage yourself. You could have done this shortly after the accident and it would have only cost you £10 as the Data Protection access request fee. Insurance companies may not ask for CCTV in many claims situations, because it would be an admin pain in the *ss for them. They receive hundreds of claims on a daily basis and if they requested CCTV on every claim where they were present, it would be difficult to deal with. Insurance claims staff are not going to spend time looking at CCTV, unless it was a major claim.

 

But make the complaint to the Insurers, if they have promised certain actions and have failed to deliver. You are probably going to have to accept a 50/50, as even if you were not in the car, if you had not parked it correctly, you could be held partly responsible. i.e you could have parked the car in a difficult position for the traffic at the port to navigate past.

 

I keep reading posts where people have an expectation of what Insurers should do when a claim is reported to them. Unfortunately in most cases, these expectations are not going to be met. You should presume that when you have an accident, that your Insurers will not do very much and you need to collect any evidence supporting your postion, at the time of the accident or ASAP afterwards. Most Insurers provide an accident pack with a new policy to keep in your car glovebox. It tells you what to do, if you have an accident. There is also an accident reporting telepone number to get further advice.

[Missy Brindello]

Thank you. That sounds the realistic option although I hoped if I complained they might give back some of my no claims. Do you think that's possible? I can see with hindsight I did not deal with it well but my husband had recently died and I had cancer so I ended up very stressed and crying at them a lot. And yes I had expectations - I remember the days when brokers sorted it all out for you and because we ran a driving school it was never our fault!!

 

I have photos of my car parked perfectly so there could at least be no claims against that but I do feel that they have just ignored me and my case as unimportant.

[unclebulgaria67]

Thank you. That sounds the realistic option although I hoped if I complained they might give back some of my no claims. Do you think that's possible? I can see with hindsight I did not deal with it well but my husband had recently died and I had cancer so I ended up very stressed and crying at them a lot. And yes I had expectations - I remember the days when brokers sorted it all out for you and because we ran a driving school it was never our fault!!

 

I have photos of my car parked perfectly so there could at least be no claims against that but I do feel that they have just ignored me and my case as unimportant.

 

They won't offer anything in regard to no claims if they make any payment for a claim they would not get back.

 

If you are successful with your complaint that the Insurers did not deliver on any promises made, then all you may get is a small amount of compensation (£50 if you are lucky). But they may just apologise and offer you nothing.

 

Sorry to learn of your loss and I can understand why you were not best place to deal with the accident, but unfortunately Insurance these days is mostly just business and the personal customer service went years ago. If you want more of the old fashioned customer based service, have a look at NFU mutual who have offices around the country. Many of the high street brokers are now owned by large companies and they are not much different than going direct to Insurers. It can depend on how good the local office is and whether they are willing to offer assistance when required.

[honeybee13]

Agreed about NFU, UB. I spoke to them recently and was very impressed. You deal with a local branch and people who are there when you ring another time, rather than a call centre when you can't find the same person twice.

 

HB

[Missy Brindello]

Thank you all for your help. I have contacted the port re CCTV, reports etc. and nothing exists now so I will be a lot more cynical if anything like this happens again. I have to renew my insurance next week though and I just cannot get anyone from Ageas to reply to me. I have been trying since 24th April. I know you say they do not owe me anything but surely they have some minimal duty to represent my interests or at least respond so I can take out another insurance policy??

 

M

[unclebulgaria67]

Thank you all for your help. I have contacted the port re CCTV, reports etc. and nothing exists now so I will be a lot more cynical if anything like this happens again. I have to renew my insurance next week though and I just cannot get anyone from Ageas to reply to me. I have been trying since 24th April. I know you say they do not owe me anything but surely they have some minimal duty to represent my interests or at least respond so I can take out another insurance policy??

 

M

 

If you have a vehicle covered under the policy, then you should have had a renewal notice weeks ago or a letter saying they could not offer renewal. Suggest that you get on the phone to find out what is happening with the renewal.

[Missy Brindello]

When I first spoke to them they said they would no longer insure me. Then I said if the claim was settled 50/50, would I have a years no claims left. I don't know if this is the case. They have sent me a renewal based on what I suggested (complete guess at the cost of claim and 1 years no claims left??) I have no idea if this is the case or not!!

 

If they have sent me this, can I assume that I WILL have a years no claim and say this to other insurers with confidence?

 

I'm sorry if I sound like a complete idiot but my husband was a driving instructor and so dealt with all the vehicles insurance...

[unclebulgaria67]

When I first spoke to them they said they would no longer insure me. Then I said if the claim was settled 50/50, would I have a years no claims left. I don't know if this is the case. They have sent me a renewal based on what I suggested (complete guess at the cost of claim and 1 years no claims left??) I have no idea if this is the case or not!!

 

If they have sent me this, can I assume that I WILL have a years no claim and say this to other insurers with confidence?

 

I'm sorry if I sound like a complete idiot but my husband was a driving instructor and so dealt with all the vehicles insurance...

 

The renewal notice is the basis of their offer of Insurance for the next 12 months. So if you are happy with it, you can simply renew it, making the payments due. You can also shop around on the basis of the information shown on the renewal notice. The renewal notice should show what is currently registered on the Insurers system and not what you have told them.