Refund/transfer of car insurance after car written off and not at fault.

[nightkid]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm speaking on behalf of my mother who recently was involved in a car accident which she was not at fault. Our insurance (Shelia Wheels) has written the car off and offered a payout which was reasonable and have accepted. Waiting for the cheque through the post. No excess was paid because the third party insurance has accepted liability very early on. We are in the process of buying a replacement car and assumed the insurance will transfer the policy to the new car plus whatever the price difference. From my understanding over the phone, they will cancel the policy by the end of this month with no offer of refund or policy transfer. Considering the third party has accepted liability very early on, I don't understand why my mother has to pay for a new annual insurance. All cost from our insurance is reclaimed back from the third party. She's only been with Sheila wheels for last then a month. Can someone clarify this?

 

Thanks in advance for any advise given.

[poppasmurf]

It's always been accepted that a car insurance policy is finished when a car is written off, as the contract between the policyholder and the insurance company has ended with the car no longer being in existence.

 

If your mother is out of pocket, she should include this in her claim against the other driver.

[nightkid]

poppasmurf

I understand what you mean.

I did speak to the claims department and they said that we wouldn't be able to claim financial loss from policy cancellation, only personal injuries or possession loss.

My mother had the same no fault incident on her previous insurance (not good to have two people driving into you and writing off two cars within 12 months) and they were happy to transfer her policy to another car, hence why I expect the same to happen here. At the very least, I assume the insurance will either refund the policy via third party expense or transfer the remaining of the policy to a new car. This way you're not out of pocket from a not at fault incident.

 

Regards,