insurance claim against my daughter

[stevenalbakeeri]

my 20 year old daughter recently had her car insurance voided because i did,nt put down her criminal conviction, so third parties claimed and were paid out, now the insurance company is making a claim against my daughter in county court, she is worried she may lose her car, anyone had experience in this sort of case, plus it,s at birmingham county court and we live in middlesbrough

[citizenB]

I think you can ask for the hearing be moved to your local court. I will find someone who might be able to advise.

[raydetinu]

were the repairs to TP done prior or after the insurance co said she was not covered?

[citizenkain]

thats what they do when you dont disclose all the details

[C.G.]

Steven,

 

All convictions have to be disclosed regardless of how minor they may appear to be. If the conviction was quite a serious driving conviction such as drink driving, dangerous driving, death by dangerous etc and these were not informed to the insurer at the point the policy was taken out then then the insurer's are within their rights to recover any monies paid out.

 

Usually an insurer has a legal obligation under the Road Traffic Act to deal with any Third Party claim regardless of them revoking a policy, the Insurer then would recover costs back from the person who is the policyholder. This is often done to minimize costs for all involved however there are certain exceptions to this.

 

Unfortunately if someone has failed to declare a motoring conviction and this conviction is found out, then the Insurer are within their rights to cancel the policy and recover any costs paid out I'm afraid.

 

C.G.

[citizenkain]

He said he didnt declare his daughters criminal convictions,his daughter must have signed the form stating the details were factual,usually if insurance companies find out someone has disregarded their duty of disclosure clause,all policies have it in the small print,they always look to recover their losses in that situation,heard a few horror stories over the years where people have lost their houses in the prevailing court actions not just cars!

[steampowered]

What stage is the claim at and did you file a Defence? If you have received the Particulars of Claim, it may be worth acknowledging this to give you time to negotiate with the insurance company. Buying a little extra time to negotiate is a better idea than letting the insurance company get a CCJ automatically because your daughter did not respond to the claim.

 

How much money are we talking about here?

Edited July 9, 2013 by steampowered

[stevenalbakeeri]

the conviction was a section 20 assault,she did,nt have any motoring convictions, thats why i never disclosed it at the time because i thought it related to motoring convictions

[stevenalbakeeri]

just received the claim on the 5th july, ithink the claim is for about £2000 plus costs

[renegadeimp]

What are the particulars of claim.

[citizenkain]

I wouldnt have thought an assault charge was anything to do with car insurance either,but they do ask for any criminal convictions to be declared,just another reason to cancel the insurance on you if anything happens,they clutch at straws

[renegadeimp]

The main thing is to post up the POC's so we an see exactly what the insurer is claiming for.

[dw190]

If they are seeking to recover monies paid out, they should deduct any premiums paid from their claim. If they dont, they have not revoked it from day one.

[citizenB]

Yes simply make application N244..... LiP always has priority on venue.

 

If you wish to query the location of the court ^^^^

[citizenB]

just received the claim on the 5th july, ithink the claim is for about £2000 plus costs

 

Was this issued from Northampton bulk processing centre ?

 

You have a timeline to stick to .

 

Issue date 5th July + 5 days (if issued via Northampton) for service = 10 July + 14 days to acknowledge = 24th July + 14 days to submit a defence = 7th August. Check for sure on the days for service with the court, or it should be on the claim form I think.

 

This will be a small claims court so costs should be limited.

[raydetinu]

How did they find out about the conviction?

I would also ask for proof of their claim, repair receipts etc. not just some figure they plucked out of the air.

[stevenalbakeeri]

their are claiming for the third parties injuries , which amounts to approximately £3500, whiplash, for 3 people, also most likely costs, my daughter has no assets, has since sold her car and is on a low income because her job was made part time due to the economic situation, (its funded by the government), so i want it moved to my local county court so i can represent her and give the judge her side of the story, i fully realise they are technically in the right

[steampowered]

The Claimant should have started proceedings in the local County Court. You could file an N244 asking for a transfer. But after filing a Defence you will get a Directions Questionnaire anyway which allows you to request for the hearing to take place at your local court. This should be straightforward.

 

I think the first thing is to write a letter to the Claimants asking for details/proof of the costs they have incurred. If this is not forthcoming she will need to defend the claim on the basis that you are unable to admit or deny what loss the Claimant has suffered. As citizenB said, fill in the acknowledgement of service immediately to get more time and do NOT miss the deadlines for filing a defence!!!

 

Unfortunately the judge has to follow the technical law, he does not have discretion. It is best to try and sort this before you get to a court hearing if possible. If your daughter cannot afford to pay this claim she should write to the Claimant's solicitors informing them of her financial situation as soon as possible. It might be possible to provide a income and expenditure form and reach some arrangement, such as monthly repayments.

 

You could ask the insurer to deduct premiums paid from the claim. The law on this is quite complicated, but in brief the insurer should only retain premiums where there has been evidence of fraud. You won't get away with arguing that failure to disclose a conviction was innocent, but you might get away with arguing it was only negligent. See http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/46/46_non_disclosure_insurance.htm and http://www.peterjtyldesley.com/fos/insurance/pages/nondisclosure.html. Include in the Defence and use this as a negotiating chip when writing to the Claimant.

[raydetinu]

You may need legal advice as there maybe more technical points that could be used as well, similar to Steams advice.

[Darfyddi]

Sorry to ask but you state "section 20 assault": was your daughter convicted in a court of law or only cautioned, arrested or charged but not actually convicted and sentanced?

 

If convicted, did this happen before, during or after the insurance application and is your daughter appealing the conviction?

 

Other than that you might get some leniency if your daughter is actually unable to fill forms out or go through the insurance process on the phone/PC and you were unaware of the conviction but obviously this puts the responsibly on you.

[BazzaS]

Sorry to ask but you state "section 20 assault": was your daughter convicted in a court of law or only cautioned, arrested or charged but not actually convicted and sentanced?

 

 

It is unlikely (yet mot unheard of) that a police caution would be offered for GBH, but in general terms (since a caution involves admission of guilt) : accepting a formal caution must be declared (while not subject to Rehab of Offenders) if required to declare any cautions or convictions.

 

I accept that an arrest or charge doesn't imply guilt : but a caution or conviction can be held to do so.

 

Was the alleged offence "wounding with intent" or "GBH"?