If you bought through a broker, make him earn his fee and chase up the claims handler on your behalf. If you bought it direct, speak with the claims handler direct (be nice) and find out exactly what the issue is. The fact that it is potentially modified shouldn't really make a material difference in your case, unless the standard bumper would have been high enough to clear the badger with no damage (unlikely). This issue also doesn't affect the claim for your radiator. Modifications are usually taken into account in terms of theft, not badgers, i.e. a car with nice alloys is more likely to been nicked or at least the wheels are.

There's no basis for a renewal fee if the policy is not renewed. Make a fuss

Yup, that's right. It's all about whether they're still potentially liable or not

No, actually. Groupama have 2 people looking after retail claims and IGI have 1 bloke who does property owners liability. Admittedly, most companies have more than 2 claims handlers for the motor dept. but it's probably not nearly as many as you think, and yes, there are several whose staffing levels for this are in single figures.

Wulfyn is pretty much right here, but there seems to be a couple of re-curring issues on this forum regarding car insurance which no-one has covered. 1.Cancellation. You HAVE to do this in writing and return your certificate before your policy IS ACTUALLY cancelled. This is because technically the insurance company could still be liable to pay out if you hit someone, and can't prove the policy was cancelled. People will try anything when they're on the ropes, "no, I never called you, that must have been someone else etc. ", which is why an insurance co. has to be compliant. Usually, in cases of non payment, they will issue a written 7 day notice of cancellation by recorded delivery. 2.If you pay by DD there is often a 3rd party involved, the premium finance company. They pay the insurance up front to the insurance co. or the broker, and then collect the payments from you. If the insurance company or broker do not return any refunded premium to the premium finance people, then the debt is still outstanding with them, and it can take some time for the premium to go back to them. And it's not unknown for some parties to pocket the return, and leave the client debt with the premium finance co.

If you bought through a broker, try and get them involved. Unfortunately, it's the same with most insurance companies. They have a massive sales team, and then perhaps only 2 people handling all claims. Try and get your claims handler on side, get a verbal confirmation of what they are doing by when, and get their name. Then phone them personally if it doesn't happen by the date requested and so on. You will effectively be putting pressure on that 1 person, by putting the responsibility on them knowing you will call them personally. This is how we get claims moving usually.

Your best option is to call them and ask them to explain and give a breakdown of charges. I would also check your policy wording. Sometimes a policy is sold on a "minimum & deposit" basis (meaning no refunds due and full premium must be paid whatever). This doesn't usually apply to vehicle policies because people chop and change all the time, so it is suprising they are chasing you for the full amount. Alternatively, it may be the premium finance company haven't had a return from the insurance company yet, so the balance is still outstanding. Start with the insurance company (not the broker) and ask if there was a return premium and how much it was, this gets paid to the broker. (Note:no return will be given if you've had a claim). The broker will have set up your premium finance (the direct debit), and will need to return the return premium to them, then you will be liable for whatever is left.

Actually that's not correct. A non fault accident does need to be disclosed, but if full costs are recovered, then it should not affect your rate at all. Churchill will have disclosed there was an accident, but they will not have said that the loss was recovered. It's not really about where the fault lies, it's about whether any money was paid out or whether there was the potential for it. As the Royal Mail paid you direct, on first glance from the insurance co.s point of view, it may still be outstanding issue as they won't have documentation for this. As for your £60, I would ring and make a big fuss, 9 times out of ten they will give you the fee back, although the 14 day cooling off period is not operable in this case, because the policy is appropriate for you, it is not a money back gaurantee.

14 day cooling off period. Many people think of this along the lines of a money back guarantee, it isn't. If you decide you want to cancel a policy within this period, an insurance co have every right to charge a cancellation fee, and I would do the same thing, as it's a waste of time and resouces. The cooling off period is there for when the policy isn't suitable. If on receiving the policy wording the policy isn't right for you THEN you can claim under the 14 day period. You can't just decide you don't want it anymore because you've sold your house/car/whatever. Hope this enlightens you a little.