Premium loading due to no-faul 'incident'

[Zippy&George]

Hi all

 

Here is a bit of background as to the problem I am facing. Someone recently reversed into my car which was parked in a pay and display car park in a town centre.

 

Luckily (?) for me, he left a note on my windscreen and has admitted full responsibility. He's given me all of his details and even reported said incident to the police.

 

I've made my claim and am currently waiting for my insurance company (Admiral insurance) to contact me re getting my car picked up and repaired / loan car issued etc.

 

I have 14 years NCD which is protected and when I was speaking to the guy, I thought I would make sure that this didn't affect my renewal premium next year (I've only just renewed about 2 months ago, so it's not due for ages yet). He said he didn't know and I would need to speak to another department, so I did. They told me yes it would but said because the renewal was so far away I would have to call the New Business department and get a dummy quote (which would give me an idea based on today's figures).

 

Before I did this I told them I really wasn't happy that I was getting punished for someone elses incompetence , they told me about all the statistics and how I am now a higher risk and more likely to make a fault claim in the future because someone had backed their 4x4 into me. I asked (for about 40 minutes) various people to explain, logically, why this it. They couldn't.

 

Anyhow, I called new business and they ran through a cloned dummy quote and I was shocked to say the least. The difference was about £150 on an aprox £302 policy. Yep 50% roughly - I think the guy said renewal without the claim would be £302 and £450 with the claim.

 

Seriously - what?! Like I said I have 14 years NCD (yep, I understand this is still protected and applied but now to a much higher premium) and have no convictions or points on my licence (not to mention, I wasn't even in the car when this happened and it was legally parked).

 

Sooooo.... my question would be, how would I go about recovering this extra money they are loading me with? I've read a couple of stories where people argued with their insurers and they basically waived the increase in the end, but Admiral just seem to be reading from a script and not able to make decisions like that. Can I claim this from the other party's insurer? How long does this loading go on for? (If 5 years, then I would need to claim £750).

 

Lastly, I also know that not all insurers load premiums for No Fault Claims, does anyone who has had experiences with this kind of thing know which insurers do and which don't? (I've heard eSure do as Elephant (which I think are part of Admiral anyway)).

 

Would it be a good idea for me to speak to the financial ombudsmen? (I tried calling them but they are closed today).

 

Thanks for bearing with me, would be grateful if anyone could shed some light on my next steps and I would also be interested to hear from anyone who has experienced this kind of thing - good or bad. Thanks all!

Edited August 11, 2013 by Zippy&George
Corrected Gramma mistake

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes all Insurers will apply a loading to a non fault incident, because underwriters using statistics will tell you that you are now more likely to have further incidents in a short space of time. It is not about you or the other driver responsible for the accident. It is just the way it is and not much you can do about it. You will have heard the saying that things seem to happen in threes.

 

Anyway to the practical things you can do. Make sure that a full recovery is made from the third party. i.e the Insurers claim back their money from the third party, close off the claim as not fault and you claim back your excess, plus any costs you have experienced e.g hire car. You cannot make a claim against the third party for any loading to your Insurance. That is just the way it is, as people better legally informed have said it is a non starter, has been tried and failed before. Something to do with how you would value any loss, how you could mitigate against this and then why the third party through an accident would be liable. More complicated than you would think.

 

About 7 weeks before renewal make sure your policy is in a good position regarding the last paragraph and that you will have the correct years NCD, with the claim as a non-fault. Then start to shop around for a better premium elsewhere.

[Callcentremonkey]

Hi all

 

 

 

Here is a bit of background as to the problem I am facing. Someone recently reversed into my car which was parked in a pay and display car park in a town centre.

 

 

 

Luckily (?) for me, he left a note on my windscreen and has admitted full responsibility. He's given me all of his details and even reported said incident to the police.

 

 

 

I've made my claim and am currently waiting for my insurance company (Admiral insurance) to contact me re getting my car picked up and repaired / loan car issued etc.

 

 

 

I have 14 years NCD which is protected and when I was speaking to the guy, I thought I would make sure that this didn't affect my renewal premium next year (I've only just renewed about 2 months ago, so it's not due for ages yet). He said he didn't know and I would need to speak to another department, so I did. They told me yes it would but said because the renewal was so far away I would have to call the New Business department and get a dummy quote (which would give me an idea based on today's figures).

 

 

 

Before I did this I told them I really wasn't happy that I was getting punished for someone elses incompetence , they told me about all the statistics and how I am now a higher risk and more likely to make a fault claim in the future because someone had backed their 4x4 into me. I asked (for about 40 minutes) various people to explain, logically, why this it. They couldn't.

 

 

 

Anyhow, I called new business and they ran through a cloned dummy quote and I was shocked to say the least. The difference was about £150 on an aprox £302 policy. Yep 50% roughly - I think the guy said renewal without the claim would be £302 and £450 with the claim.

 

 

 

Seriously - what?! Like I said I have 14 years NCD (yep, I understand this is still protected and applied but now to a much higher premium) and have no convictions or points on my licence (not to mention, I wasn't even in the car when this happened and it was legally parked).

 

 

 

Sooooo.... my question would be, how would I go about recovering this extra money they are loading me with? I've read a couple of stories where people argued with their insurers and they basically waived the increase in the end, but Admiral just seem to be reading from a script and not able to make decisions like that. Can I claim this from the other party's insurer? How long does this loading go on for? (If 5 years, then I would need to claim £750).

 

 

 

Lastly, I also know that not all insurers load premiums for No Fault Claims, does anyone who has had experiences with this kind of thing know which insurers do and which don't? (I've heard eSure do as Elephant (which I think are part of Admiral anyway)).

 

 

 

Would it be a good idea for me to speak to the financial ombudsmen? (I tried calling them but they are closed today).

 

 

 

Thanks for bearing with me, would be grateful if anyone could shed some light on my next steps and I would also be interested to hear from anyone who has experienced this kind of thing - good or bad. Thanks all!

 

 

 

 

I think you have to wait for your insurer to go through the process of claiming the cost of the claim back from the other insurer. The key thing is not so much fault, it's whether the costs are recovered. Or you could try dealing direct with the other insurer, or using a claims management company who may provide you a service eg car hire and repair and then claim back off other insurer. Even then you may need to inform your insurer you were in accident, for ' info only' check the policy terms to see whether they require this.

 

Regards

 

Callcentremonkey

[Zippy&George]

Thanks for the reply unclebulgaria much appreciated.

 

Do you know how long this loading lasts for? Does it reduce a little each year? I was pretty shocked at the percentage increase as most of the accounts I've read have been increases of between 5% - 10% so was taken aback a bit lol. I am guessing just based on logic that this reduces back to zero loading within a 5 year period or does it generally stay the same and then disappear after 5 years (as you would no longer have to declare it, because they normally ask you for your claim history 'in the last 5 years') - you seem to be more clued up on this that me! Cheers

 

Callcentermonkey - thanks, I am actually going through a company that is arranging my car hire / repair etc but it's all done through my insurers so there's no up-front cost to me. It was just the loading next time around that I was really unhappy with.

Edited August 11, 2013 by Zippy&George

[unclebulgaria67]

It varies, but I think it lasts about 2 years normally, with the 2nd years loading a bit less.

[Ganymede]

Insurance companies are [edited].

 

However, as UB has said you need to mitigate your loss so use a comparison site when your insurance is up and you will get a much better deal. Renewing is a con and always costs more than switching insurers in my experience.

 

Have you tried a comparison site recently to see what quotes you get after the accident?

Edited August 12, 2013 by honeybee13
Pejorative term.

[Conniff]

...but Admiral just seem to be reading from a script...

 

They are reading from a script which is why you shouldn't be talking to them on the phone, exchange correspondence by letter.

[Zippy&George]

Yeah, I will definately be looking around come renewal time, last time Admiral were definately the cheapest.

 

I've not actually tried getting any quotes to see how it compares with renewal, but I will definitely give that a go, hopefully some of them will come up cheaper.

[Conniff]

In November 2012 Admiral were criticised by the Police and the BBC for penalising vehicle drivers who had opted to take an educational course on Speed awareness in place of receiving penalty points on their licence. Whilst the Police did not treat these courses as a conviction, Admiral group companies had chosen to treat in as a conviction and raise vehicle insurance premiums for these drivers by between £80 and £300.

 

Why not drop the CEO Henry Engelhardt a line and ask him why you are being penalised.

 

ADMIRAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED

CAPITAL TOWER 22ND FLOOR

GREYFRIARS ROAD

CARDIFF

GLAMORGAN

CF10 3AZ

 

If you do, mark it 'Personal' and send it by recorded delivery, you are more likely to get a response.

 

[Zippy&George]

Awesome - thanks for that @conniff, just written the letter and will send it tomorrow.