Additional Insurance Premium

[m.bentley]

I wonder if someone could advise me on this issue.A few weeks ago my wife had an accident in her car she was reversed into by a wagon. Not much damage was done just the front bumper. Anyway a claim was made against there insurance my wife was given a hire car while hers was being repaired. Then we received a letter from our insurance company stating we had not declared two SP30 convictions to them.Now I know I did when I took the policy out, we have another car and that insurance has them on. So I wrote to them explaining this and asked them to check there tel records as all companies record conversations.They wrote back and said they had no record of this conversation. A letter then arrived stating that my insurers had agreed to continue cover following disclosure of the 2 convictions but an additional premium was required of £435 immediately. I wrote back asking them to send me a break down of this additional premium because this now made my insurance TPFT an astronomical £650. I have had quotes from other insurance companies for the same cover including the 2 convictions for a mere £190. A second letter was received from them with no acknowledgement of my letter demanding payment again. My next letter back to them now is for them to cancel the policy, am I ok in doing this and will I be liable to pay the additional premium?

[Rob S]

The company that you insure with, do they have an online quote facility? If they do it might be worth your while running a couple of quotes, the first with the 2 SP30's and the second without and see what difference that makes. You state you are TPFT and are claiming off the other party, so this claim should have no impact on your current policy. I would suggest you write to them and point out firmly that you did declare the 2 SP30's. I would also initiate the company complaints procedure.

 

Which company is it out of interest?

 

I would be careful about cancelling the policy at this stage as they will hit you with admin charges and might still try for the additional premium they have quoted. I think the complaint route is best at this stage.

[m.bentley]

thanks for that Rob S the company is direct choice and the policy is underwritten by highway insurance

[rudekid48]

A couple of things spring to mind with this. When you took out the policy you would have been sent either a proposal form to sign or a statement of insurance. Both of these would contain all of the details that your policy was based on. you should check this to see if the 2 sp's were on there. if they are then the broker hasn't got a leg to stand on, however, if they are not there then you are stuck as even if you did tell them verbally, you have accepted the details on the form as the basis of the contract. Also, it is feasible for the premium to jump so high if you did not have any NCB for this policy, you may well have been given a large introductory discount with the insurer which would not have been available if the convictions were declared.

 

if you can't find the forms, ask them for a copy - they will be able to provide one.

[m.bentley]

thanks for that im still awaiting there response to my last letter. we do have three years NCB and I have been on the insurance website that I am with and they are quoting me £193 for the year. So clearly something is wrong here.

[m.bentley]

Ok just received a lengthy reply from my insurance broker. They have broken down the extra premium req by going back three years and stating what the premium would have been if I had disclosed my convictions.They state that the high increase in premium each year is because that each renewal I benefitted from enhanced no claims discount due to the fact I was declaring being claim and conviction free. Now the sums dont add up they say they want £435.20 the figures they quote in this letter come to £438.10 ?They go on to say that the insurers would have placed a loading on the premium, and these combinations result in the insurers being entitled in requesting this extra premium.Again they say there is no record of us declaring to them any convictions at renewal, but if we can recall any dates phone numbers or the person we spoke to to contact them and they would reconsider the outstanding debt.How the hell are we suppose to have that information to hand I dont no. I dont really no what options I have now DO I cancel the policy with them (will I still be liable to pay this extra premium? if I refuse to pay the extra premium what action can they take against me? Can anyone help?

[shudder]

I think you are best off leaving as is. You will still be liable to pay the money as by the sounds of it they are backdating the higher premium to the conviction dates effectively charging you for cover, which you have already had. Don't pay and they could null & void the policy from inception, which also means you will not have earned any NCB in the time since you have been with them.

 

As for the new quote you have obtained looking at their website they appear to be a brokers which means the quote may not necessarily be with Highway.

 

Like Rudekid48 advises you should have been sent a proposal form or statement of fact and the onus is on you to check all the information is correct.

 

The only form of recourse I think you may have is against the brokers themselves as they have failed to replicate conviction disclosure on this vehicle. It can be quite common for information not to be entered under both policy records and this is something I have definitely come across in the past. I think your best bet would be to see if the broker is prepared to meet the additional premium 50/50 as I believe that they have at least failed Data Protection Act requirements by not recording information correctly as it differs between policies.

 

To look on the bright side at least it is only a minor claim with no great financial outlay. In the last 12 months I have dealt with a claim whereby Highway null & voided the contract for non-disclosure of motoring conviction and the policyholder was left with a bill in the region of £8,000 to settle personally.

[m.bentley]

ok thanks for that shudder I will write to the brokers and see what response I get from them with the 50/50 offer.

[Rob S]

I'm not so sure about making them an offer of 50/50. If you have disclosed the convictions as you say then someone within the chain has made a mistake. Why should you pay financially for that mistake when you have declared the SP30's as you are required to do. I would initiate a formal complaint against the insurer and be prepared to go all the way to the ombudsman if needed.

 

Ultimately they are unable to prove that you failed to disclose the SP30's. Just out of interest is it a case of you and your partner having one SP30 each or one of you having them both?

 

By the way, the letter from the broker about benefitting from an enhanced no claims bonus is nonsense. Your no claims accumulates because you don't make any claims on your policy. The insurer may well add loadings for driving convictions, but they normally reduce over time and most would have reduced the loadings to zero after 3 years for the minor offences, assuming you don't get any more.

[shudder]

ok thanks for that shudder I will write to the brokers and see what response I get from them with the 50/50 offer.

 

As in all the other threads don't accept if they say no, perhaps Rob is correct and you should get the broker to pay the whole lot as your convictions were disclosed to them; its them who have failed in their professional duty. At the very least they should agree to meet you halfway as they are in part to blame for not updating their records and you in part for not checking the documentation.

 

If the above fails and I'm assuming that both the vehicles are covered by different insurers then it is the broker you need to make the complaint to as you have no recourse against the insurer.

 

If both are with the same insurer ask the broker to take it up with the insurer as they are effectively supposed to work for you.

 

Find a decent broker and you wouldn't have any need to use a forum.

[m.bentley]

thanks for your help Rob S and shudder. In answer to your questions my partner has two convictions, and both our cars are insured with different insurance companies.

[shudder]

Ok,

 

Have you spoken to the broker yet?

 

If you haven't then raise the issue with them personally and ask to speak to a manager (by phone or visit) see if they can accept some sort of liability. Point out the fact that you had disclosed the convictions to them but they have failed to duplicate the information known to them on your other policies and therefore failed in their professional duty and also that they could well be in breach of the Data Protection Act. (note sure of the exact wording myself but I know that it covers correctness of information stored and entitlement to compensation)

 

If you don't get any joy then ask how you make an official complaint (this should be detailed in their terms of business letter).

 

Let us know how you get on

[m.bentley]

Point out the fact that you had disclosed the convictions to them but they have failed to duplicate the information known to them on your other policies and therefore failed in their professional duty and also that they could well be in breach of the Data Protection Act. (note sure of the exact wording myself but I know that it covers correctness of information stored and entitlement to compensation)

 

not sure where you are coming from with this shudder. I have two car insurance policies with different insurance companies and brokers.But I have written to them and again reiterated my stance on informing them at renewal and suggesting 50/50 as neither party can really prove whether I did or didnt. I also informed them that if they could not agree to this to cancel the policy and if they cancel my three years NCB so be it, I can still find a policy cheaper than what the are asking for in additional premiums. I

[shudder]

Sorry I was under the assumption that both policies were with the same broker but different insurers

[m.bentley]

just a quick note to thank all who offered advice on this matter. Managed to get the insurance company to go 50/50 with the premium stating they are to blame as much as us.thankyou