Morning, Myself and two other passengers had an accident end of Feb 2016 with an EU lorry. I was going through some personal issues so upon advice of a friend handed over the case to a claims management company. The case has been ongoing since. I was asked to pay excess and get the car sorted so I have my car for use earliest possible as this case can take few months. I felt that claims management company isn't acting well so have spoken to them numerously in August 2016 pushing them as much as possible. I heard this phrase it takes time as it is a European company and not local - which is understandable but they didn't really do anything to pursue the the other company etc. I kept moaning and pushing them to the best I can and then 3rd week of December 2016 near christmas time I had my excess money returned from insurance company confirming they managed to get their money back. My 8 years no claim bonus was reinstated too. i spoke to the claims management company, did not get satisfactory answer so wrote them to hand over the case back to me and not pursue with the claim as i would like to either pass it to other company or process it myself. No response as always. I then had a letter from some solicitor in Bury requesting some documents. I replied to them via email saying what have you been doing for a year if you need those documents with me now. Why have you not prepared the case already? did not receive satisfactory response so telephoned solicitors office last week. Spoke to a lady who says the case worker is off today, I said you should be able to provide me with an update as you should have an administrative practice in place than saying that person is not in the office. I was then told that actually it is the manager of practice speaking and she didn't like my attitude and that i will be informed via email. I then waited for 4 working days and upon no response emailed them again but two working days have passed and no response. I honestly do not know what to do? These people are irresponsible. anyway i can hold them to account? anywhere i can complain about them. what are my rights? Do you think i should write them and provide them with 5 working days notice to reply and if not I will hire a solicitor and they will be liable to expenses? I am really lost here so would really appreciate your suggestions please.

Hello fellow forum members I'm looking for some advise for my sister who has had her insurance renewal come through at a higher than expected price. Upon looking into the renewal, it shows her no claims bonus is at 4 years, not the expected 9years that she should be entitled to. She rang her insurance company today to find out the reasons why this has happened, and they have stated its due to an incident that occurred in 2015. To keep this story shorter, it was a 50/50 clash of mirrors... my sister informed her insurance of the incident (as you should do) and told them that she and the other party would be sorting the issue between themselves, she assumed that was the end of it. So now due to this minor accident, that no one has made a claim on she has lost 5 years of no claims (as she didn't have it protected) due to the fact there "may" be a possible future claim. Does this sound right? It was my understanding that any accident should be reported to your insurance company, but in doing so she is now worse off even though she has gone through the correct channels. Any help or advise would be greatly received. Thank you in advance

This is my first post on this site. I hope someone has some good advice for me. My wife was parked on the side of the road, stationary, when a van passed by and hit her, scraping 2 panels. It was a commercial vehicle. She was 8 months pregnant but luckily there were only scratches to the paintwork. The van driver stopped, came over and apologised. He wrote his name and number and told my wife to call him if we needed repairs. I took the car to my local BMW dealer for a quote. They asked if the 3rd party was at fault and I said they were and had pretty much admitted it. BMW offered to 'take care' of the whole thing and told me not to even contact the 3rd party and not speak to any of their representatives under any circumstances as it would damage the case. They had a whole team waiting to deal with it and it's all part of their repair service to take the strain off their customers. I trusted BMW and agreed. They then passed my details to accident Exchange without explaining who this company is. Accident Exchange then offered me a replacement car they told me the other insurance would pay. They also told me not to worry, that they will investigate and handle the claim, that we're not at fault and that I should not speak to anyone from the 3rd party or accept anything they might offer. I was not explained the process or the risks of going with them or even who they are and their relationship to BMW. I was not given a quote for repair or the car hire or an idea of what the total claim would be. I was just told that it would be covered by the other side. In fact the estimated time for repairs was extended by BMW twice while I had the hire vehicle. I had to call to find this out, and I was then told not to worry about the additional days of car hire, that this was normal and that the other insurance would still pay. It was within acceptable limits for this kind of repair job. 2 months after the accident and over a month after the repairs had been completed we receive a call from Accident Exchange. They could not recover their full costs from the other insurance and it turns out the other party is not accepting liability. Instead he is claiming my wife reversed out of the parking spot into him as he passed. This is not the case at all, she was stationary the whole entire time. First, Accident Exchange tried to put words in my wife's mouth and suggest she had inconsistencies in her story and that she was at fault. Then on a call they implied I would be liable for costs if they can't recover them. They backed down when I referred to terms that had been clearly read to me earlier on. When I asked them why they didn't even investigate the claim and establish liability before going ahead and incurring costs, they said that is how the insurance business works- they have hundreds of claims and don't have time to investigate, especially if it takes 2 months for the other party to make their statement. That's the way they work and there is nothing wrong with doing it that way. In the end Accident Exchange agreed a 50/50 liability with the other insurers and have 'on my behalf' recorded a 'fault' incident against my wife in the insurance database. I told them I don't agree and do not give consent to do this, but they said they were going to do it anyway because they can't prove who's version is true. As a result my insurance premium will go up £250 this year. It seems there is not a lot I can do about this, but I thought I would ask for suggestions on here: Who should I be most angry with? BMW, Accident Exchange or the 3rd party who is lying? Can Accident Exchange just enter whatever they like into the insurance records without my consent? It's not my fault they did not investigate or build a bullet proof case before incurring costs and contacting the other party. How can they tell people not to speak to the 3rd party and then not contact them themselves until the very end of the process? How can BMW breach the trust of their customers so fundamentally and pass them to a third party that does not follow any BMW service standards or do due diligence before incurring costs? How can someone drive into another car and apologise and then take 2 months to write a statement that denies any responsibility and get away with it so easily? Can I take them to court? My insurance is up for renewal in the next week and I don't know if I should just pay the extra and be done with it or fight to have the 'fault' record overturned. Please help.

Hi, I was involved in an accident on the 26 December 2013. The other driver admitted liability and my car was written off. I have had a Claims company acting on my behalf and i have received a full and final settlement for my vehicle which i am happy with. However, as a result of my car being written off i was given a Hire car from Vehicle Assist Ltd via the claims company. I have since bought a new car and I am waiting for Vehicle Assist to collect the car on Monday 21st January. Today i have received a letter from the third party's insurers that reads the following: "We have received the invoice from the company who provided your hire vehicle. In order for us to consider paying the hire invoice, please provide a response to each of the questions, sign and date this letter and return it to us" What do you use your vehicle for in a typical day? How far do you travel (miles) in a typical day? Do you use your vehicle on the motorway? How much motorway driving do you do in a typical day? Did you require a hire vechile? If so, would a smaller vehicle be suitable for your needs e.g Ford Fiesta 1.2cc? Would you have been able to use public transport? Do you need to use your vehicle as part of your work, whilst at work? (Like a salesman, not commuting) Please confirm if there were other vehicles in your household that could have been used? Do you have provision of a courtesy car under your insurance policy? If so, was a suitable vehicle available to you? Were you aware that you had entered into a credit hire agreement with Vehicle Assist? What is your occupation? Is this standard practice? I am concerned that they have mentioned about a credit agreement and that i maybe liable to pay the costs of the hire vehicle. Could anyone shed some light on the subject? Many thanks

I desperately need some advice with my insurance claim saga. It's a long tale but i will try and keep it on point as much i can It started in January 2012 when my flat was burglarized 4 times in a month, removing every piece of copper from my flat and the one below. In the first break in they took the copper water tank from both flats flooding the entire building, hence it was empty for the subsequent break in's. The claim is still ongoing and now the loss adjusters, cummingham lyndsey on behalf of the insurance company, Covea, are reneging on completing certain aspects of the building works (despite documents provided by them and advising the work) and also failing to adhere to the terms of the insurance policy. The claim refers to two two bedroom flats and a common close and it is insured under our building factor. The initial plan given by CL (Cummingham Lyndsey) was to complete both flats and then the close to avoid taking building materials through a newly refurbished close, fair enough, however, my flat is only now, after 19 months, completed, and they have insisted i can return to my home despite the middle flat not being completed yet and their continued refusal to complete all the works listed on their own schedule of work, saying that it's open to open to their interpretation despite being provided by a contractor they hired. My policy also provides me with alternate accommodation payments, however, these are consistently late, up to 3 months and now they are trying to give me half a month rents as opposed to the full months because they claim my flat is habitable despite being above a building site and both close doors being boarded up with only one functional. Which to my mind is not inline with the terms of my contract to have my property returned to the standard before the claim. I have complained and received an apology regarding the delay of both works and accommodation payments, back in March from Covea with the assurance that the delays would not be repeated and i am, at present, still without my home and 3 months behind on payments. I have, this month, reported Covea to the financial ombudsman but all they can do it arrange compensation not expedite the process. I also tried to complain to CL but despite a complains procedure on their website the Glasgow branch were unaware of it and unwilling to follow it. I am not sure what my next step should be? Is it right to force me back in to my flat when the claim is still unresolved? I am worried that a lawyer will be very expensive and that it may not get me my property back any quicker. I don't really want elongate the accommodations payments any longer as it appears CL are inferring, i just want my home back to the standard of before. I had just done my property up to sell it so my fiancee and i could buy our first home together with our son, 19 months later we are still waiting and its starting to have a negative impact on our lives. Any advice would be greatly received, Thank you.

Hi All, I was travelling on a dual carriageway which has a speed limit of 60mph. The road conditions are wet and it is raining. It has gone past sunrise and visibility is good. As a precaution, I drive between 40-50mph taking these conditions into account being fully aware of braking distances / aqua-planing etc etc. As I go round a bend, some 700 yards up the carriageway I see queing traffic and decide to apply the brakes, not firmly but enough that I will know will bring me to a slow speed safely before I reach the traffic. However, the brake doesn't want to work and I now have my foot glued to the pedal and the pedal to the footwell of the car. I feel the ABS kick in yet it is having very minimal effect and the car is only slowing down as we are travelling slightly uphill and the fact I am no longer accelerating. I keep the brake pressed but to no avail, I hit a staionary car in front (which was unavoidable) at now 10mph whereby his car moves about 2 feet forward. Had he have had his handbrake on, it probably wouldn't have even moved. The 3rd party hasn't hit anyone in front, at the moment it is just between me and him. I get out of the car, pulling up my handbrake and switching on my hazard lights, he kicks off and starts becoming very aggressive. I have called the police at this stage. However, I inspect all round the front of my car and the rear of his where the impact has happened and I think, thank God, not even a scratch. No damage at all, as if the accident never happened. Whilst the other driver is calm, I offer to exchange insurance details. However, another car now ploughs into the rear of me, sending my car forward once again into the front car. This time, not so lucky. Both the front and rear of my car is extensively damaged. The 3rd party (front driver) that I initially hit has had his boot cave in but his vehicle is drivable, and he later proceeds to drive home in it. My car and the car that has gone into the rear of me look like write offs. Police arrive and by this time everyone has realised that there is a diesel spillage further up the road which has caused the accident to happen. The queing traffic I have seen was also due to an accident further up who had skidded on this diesel. The police put it down to a damage only RTC and obtain insurance details and exchange them with all parties. No one is complaining of any injuries and the front car (that I hit initially) has a boot that will need replacing leaves to go on his way. The driver at the rear who has hit me is showing INSURANCE NOT HELD on PNC and produces a motor insurance certificate insurance showing that he is insured. He gives an honest account of what has happened and seems like a decent bloke and signs his account as a true statement in the polices paperwork. However, 48 hours later, this bloke is reported for summons by the police as it has been established that he does not hold any valid insurance covering him for the vehicle he is driving. This is confirmed by my insurace company. Where does that leave me then? I was under the impression that if the insurance speak to the front car and he confirms that there was no damage on the first impact, and damage only occured when the second impact happened, me and him would claim of the guy at the rear. But the guy at the rear is uninsured. I have a fully comp policy witha £400 excess and my car looks like to be a write off. Any advice anyone who has been in a similar situation? I could claim off my own policy but I lose my NCD and have a "fault" claim registered on my name. As for the dual carriageway, it was closed off until Highways Agency could attend to grit the diesel and the reopened some 4 hours later. Thanks

I just had my pet cat taken to the vet today as she was not being herself. She was diagnosed with various conditions and under vet supervision for 24 hours. I took out the insurance on 19th and the claim made is on 26/03/2011 since she started undergoing treatment. They are sending me a claim for but the advisor on the phone said that it was highly likely that the claim would get accepted as it is being made with in 14 days, she says its in the terms and conditions blah blah. when i took out the cover this is the email i got which should state that i cannot claim for 14 days but on the contrary says Tily’s policy starts on 19/03/2011. where do i go from here what are my chances any help would be appreciated Your pet insurance policy reference-number: Dear Mr Thanks for choosing LV= Pet Insurance. Tily’s policy starts on 19/03/2011. Your policy documents will be sent in the post within three working days. You should read these carefully and keep them in a safe place. Pet insured Tily Level of cover Essential Policy Start date 19/03/2011 Monthly premium £5.70 Payment method Monthly Your reference number

I had an accident at the end of January. After sending all my documents in as requested, the underwriters have voided my policy. They say that I didn't tell them about 2 SP30 convictions. My position is this: I believe that I declared all accidents and convictions when applying originally online. I never received any documents at all, which I only realised at the time of the accident. I always keep the insurance certificate in my car. It wasn't there. The attending police officer at the accident informed me who I was insured with, as no contact of any kind had been received from Hastings since buying the policy. If I had received the documents I would have checked them, as I always do. I would have noticed the missing information and contacted Hastings. Their underwriters are saying that because I didn't contact them about the missing documents they are concluding that I did receive them and they have voided the policy AND cancelled my policy on the car I've had to buy in the meantime. They have informed me that there is a third party claim, and said I must complete and return a "Form of Consent and Indemnity" so that Hastings can deal with the third party claim on my behalf and then bill me for it. Is this last part a joke? I withdrew my original claim a few weeks ago, having had to contact them again after my initial request apparently was ignored. Hastings Direct are the worst insurance company I have EVER dealt with. EVER. I have told all my contacts and business associates the same to save them form the miserable experience I have had since the accident. Any advice on this would be great. I'm hanging fire at the moment, but I'm thinking that I need some legal advice. By the way, the person named by the third party (motability) as being involved in the accident is NOT the person that was driving the car. I don't know if this is relevant.

This is a deeply distressing story of what can happen when you are let down by the NHS and then the insurance you rely on when you are critical ill. We advise anyone using this company to think very carefully and to check your critical illness policies straight away to find out if you have a policy based on "work tasks". My husband and I are desperate for help dealing with Scottish Provident and their critical illness cover. The problem is the policy is work task based for example can you walk 200 metres, can you hold a pen, speak or hear all with or without the use of aids. He was critically ill in 3 hospitals for 3 months so as you can imagine our first concern was not claiming on an insurance policy. When the claim forms were finally sent to the hospitals there was up to 4 months since the consultants had seen my husband and filled out the medical forms. As the forms only asked for CURRENT restrictions on the work tasks the hospitals said should be able to do but not seen since discharge. The only person who had all his current information was his GP who confirmed he was still unable to do at least 2 tasks which would enable a valid claim. My husband also suffered medical errors in hospital including being told he had cancer and epileptic of which it took 6 weeks to find out neither was true. This led to further complications when requesting the hospitals comment further and tell Scot Prov the forms were wrong and did not take into account his restrictions whilst in hospitals. We got answers to confirm his restriction and also who was in charge of his care. This led to an admission that the form was filled out wrong by a person not in charge of his care. This now supported what his GP had always said. Now we had the evidence we thought they would pay out but this was not the case. In Scot Prov's last letter this week turning the claim down again it Scottish Provident say that yes there is confirmation of his inability to do the tasks but they were neither measured or appraised to their requirementsand therefore this evidence is not valid. At no point did Scot Prov ask on their forms that these tasks must be measured in anyway, they are yes or no answers. Its also telling that when his GP disagreed with the original hospital forms they never rang her up to ask to asses them. Our point is how when you are not in the care of the specialist anymore due to being transferred or discharged can they asses the ability to do the tasks. They clearly stated due to his underlying medical conditions the following tasks were not possible? The next point is how can a consultant who last saw my husband 4 months ago be over ruling his GP who is looking after his current care. Everything has been nightmare dealing with this and we are desperate for help. This needs highlighting to the public We are at rock bottom. For a company who starts off a claim process that is stacked against the policyholder from day one we never had a chance. Be warned... Sorry its so long

Hi I wonder if someone can advise me on what I can do about More Than who have now been delaying any settlement to my claim. Several months ago my van was stolen from our property and ever since More Than have been saying that they need to sit down and talk to us about the events of that day, even though we have told them all the details and sent them all the proof they need to help the claim. They say a Sarah will call to discuss our claim and that we will need to sit down and speak to her in person. We was advised to ring her and when we did there was no answer. We rang and sent email's to this Sarah but nobody got back to us. Due to our business we got very busy around Christmas Season and was only able to call More Than to say that this Sarah has not got back to us. They apologised and said that they will send a letter to us to arrange all this again. However have not heard from them since. I would like to a put a end to all this as we need the money to pay for a new van. How can I move this claim forward? Is there any final letters I can send? Any advice will be much appreciated. Kindest Regards

Hello I would welcome advice for my problem. Last month, someone ran into my Land Rover Discovery which was parked outside my house, my insurance company Churchill insisted that the repairs were carried out by a company in Spalding. The car took quite a while to be repaired and I was given various dates as to when the car would be ready, it was finally delivered to my home on Tuesday afternoon after three weeks. The next day, I drove the vehicle and loud rumbling noise was heard and didn't drive properly, I rang the insurance who contacted the garage this morning. The garage claim that they must have the right to assess whether I have have damaged the car between Tuesday afternoon - which I have not. I asked our local garage to look at the vehicle, who found three faults, two of which relate to repairs not being carried out correctly and another due to damage in the initial accident which was not repaired. Issues involve the handbrake and bearings, which is worrying as I use the vehicle to tow every weekend. In short, the car is unsafe to drive, which I feel particularly distressing as I had been driving my children to and from school along country lanes with deep ditches. The garage are refusing to provide a courtosy car until they confirm that I have not damaged the car (!) and Churchill have offered a hirecar over the weekend, however this car has not yet arrived. Has anyone else encountered any problems similar to this? I only want my car to be repaired to a suitable standard for it to be road worthy and safe for myself and my daughters. Due to my circumstances, I require a replacement car whilst mine is off the road (ideally with a tow bar). Any ideas how I can resolve this issue with both the garage and Churchill? How can I ensure that my car is returned in a roadworthy state?

Hi, I had an minor accident some time back which turned out to be my fault even though the other driver was very fast. i agreed and paid for his repairs as he wanted, and at that time he seems happy with it. To close the case my insurance company had sent numerous letters for him to sign but he hasn't responded to any. now my insurance renewal is due and because he has not yet signed i have to pay additional premium for my renewal. Please can somebody advice is there is way i can sue him/ or legally ask him to pay any additional money i pay because of his negligence? many thanks BTW: i have pictures and all the repair bills from garage. and SMS confirmation of him accepting the repair is done to his satisfaction.

Hi, i am a named driver on my step dads car and I had an accident back in january of this year at a junction, the accident happened on a 20mph at about 10mph or less. there was very little damage to either car just some scratches due to my broken headlight and some paint transfer. the person driving the other car had no apparent injuries, as had either myself, my 3 year old or my ex. i gave my insurance details and thought that would be the end of it However several months later my step farther recieved a solicitors letter stating he was being sued for personal injury as a result of the accident. he expained that it was not him driving the car and had arranged for me to give a statement. Yesterday he recieved a second letter stating that he was being sued for the Injury and that the insurance company will not pay out, and it is best to settle out of court or face further legal costs. Not only should this be in my name but also the date listed as being the accident is incorrect. what should i do?

My car was stolen at the weekend. I was going through my paperwork and my insurance policy and log book address are different. I forgot to update my address on the log book. Will this cause any problems with my claim?

Hi, i am a named driver on my step dads car and I had an accident back in january of this year at a junction, the accident happened on a 20mph at about 10mph or less. there was very little damage to either car just some scratches due to my broken headlight and some paint transfer. the person driving the other car had no apparent injuries, as had either myself, my 3 year old or my ex. i gave my insurance details and thought that would be the end of it However several months later my step farther recieved a solicitors letter stating he was being sued for personal injury as a result of the accident. he expained that it was not him driving the car and had arranged for me to give a statement. Yesterday he recieved a second letter stating that he was being sued for the Injury and that the insurance company will not pay out, and it is best to settle out of court or face further legal costs. Not only should this be in my name but also the date listed as being the accident is incorrect. what should i do?

I recently purchased a new phone with a new contract, which came with the pretty standard 1st month insurance free. As most consumers would, I wanted to take advantage of the free month but then shop around to find a better policy (in this case my bank). So I didn't forget to cancel the policy I rang the premierplan just over a week into the policy (who Dial a Phone had put me with) and told them I wish to cancel the payment for the end of the month. I was then unfortunate enough to have to claim for the 1st time ever on insurance a few days later after my phone was stolen. I reported this to the police and then contacted the company to find their policy is when you ring in to cancel it starts with immediate effect. I wasn't told this over the phone originally and although it makes sense as I havn't paid them a penny that it would be unfair to them, but at the same time they gave me a month free which I am still very much within. Although I assume the lesson here is cancel the the free insurance at the last possible moment, I can't see why I still don't have that free month that came with the contact I signed. Does anybody know of any ground I have to stand on with them or had a similar situation and won? They have said they will listen to the call I made to cancel, but will only pay out if the call operator stated I was still insured to the end of the month... but doesn't matter if she didn't need to say it was with immediate effect though.

I was involved in an accident where my 3 year-old Audi was written off. It transpired that my rear tyres were well below the legal limit. I had fitted 4 new, high quality, tyres 9 months previously, and the car had only travelled 11000 miles. The car was front-wheel drive and the 2 front tyres were only half worn. The tyres had never been swapped around. Previous to the accident I had noticed that the front tyres were OK and just assumed the rear were OK (Yes, I should have checked them all more often). The insurance company have accepted, after consultation with the police, that the condition of the tyres had no bearing on the cause or outcome of the accident. At first, they had offered me close to the top book price of the car. (It was in excellent condition). Then they told me that they would be reducing the offer to deduct the value of the worn tyres. However, when they made the revised offer, they told me that because the car was unroadworthy at the time of the accident, they were now going to base the value on the mid book price and then deduct the value of the tyres. It seems reasonable to reduce the value by the cost of 2 new tyres. However, it does not seem reasonable to change the whole basis of the valuation. I have spoken to the Financial Ombudman's office, who have told me that it seems that the insurance company may be acting unfairly. However, I know that it would take several months to settlement if I go down that route. Any suggestions how I should approach the insurance company. Is it within their rights to change the basis of the valuation by saying (correctly) that the car was unroadworthy?

What to do??? My 10 day old Panasonic GF1 camera was got water damage due to a flood from the flat above, (something in tank broke) this was just an accident however, I had to claim on my own insurance (Allianz) for replacement. I had to send the camera of for tem to inspect. They now say they can repair it but the agony I have is the it was purchased on the 15th Jan with a 3 year warranty, this will now be void due to the water damage, the repairers says they will fit original parts but then only guarantee their work for 30 days. I sent it to them to confirm that this was a genuine claim I did not expect them to take it apart and repair it. I have read various reports of water damage being repaired to electrical items and then other faults occurring. Am I worrying about nothing or is there a way I can request an exact replacement? Looking forward to you thoughts. DO I go ahead with authorising a repair as I was

What to do??? My 10 day old Panasonic GF1 camera was got water damage due to a flood from the flat above, (something in tank broke) this was just an accident however, I had to claim on my own insurance (Allianz) for replacement. I had to send the camera of for them to inspect. They now say they can repair it but the agony I have is the it was purchased on the 15th Jan with a 3 year warranty, this will now be void due to the water damage, the repairers says they will fit original parts but then only guarantee their work for 30 days. I sent it to them to confirm that this was a genuine claim I did not expect them to take it apart and repair it. I have read various reports of water damage being repaired to electrical items and then other faults occurring. Am I worrying about nothing or is there a way I can request an exact replacement? Looking forward to your thoughts. Do I go ahead with authorising a repair as I was