A recent study has uncovered that over a third of motorists are out-of-pocket following an accident that wasn’t their fault.
A study by the RAC of 2,062 drivers carried out earlier this year showed that many of us unfortunate enough to find ourselves involved in an accident not of our making are footing the bill not only for insurance policy excesses following a ‘no-fault’ accident but often in alternative transportation, loss of earnings, and pursuing personal injury claims.
Often, drivers are unaware that a no-fault accident can cause their premiums to rise, so come time to take out another year’s motor insurance, people can be in for a nasty shock. Even if you don’t make a claim, but only tell your insurer as you’re told to do, your file will get updated with a ‘notification’, often resulting in a hike in future premiums. Are drivers being penalised for their honesty?
Paying for another’s mistake
Insurance companies class claims as ‘no-fault’ when the costs resulting from an incident get paid by a third party. Imagine you’re stationary at a junction when a car ploughs into the back of you. As long as the driver doesn’t speed off without you having any record of their number plate — and the insurance investigation finds the other driver to be at fault — you can seek payment for any damages from their insurer instead of your own.
One-fifth of the motorists questioned in the RAC survey admitted to being in a car accident within the past five years, with 69% of these people saying they weren’t at fault. Of the people who answered, 21% had to pay an insurance policy excess, with 41% of those paying out between £150 to £349. Eight percent of respondents needed to spend money on alternative transport because their car was no longer roadworthy, with the average cost being £588. A further 4% of people suffered a loss of earnings. The biggest loss of earnings recorded in the survey was £3,091. Three percent paid to make a personal injury claim with £2,036 being the average cost.
To add insult to injury, many insurance providers will raise car insurance premiums by up to 30% for one non-fault claim, and 50% for two non-fault claims. Bearing all this in mind, should drivers be adding legal expenses cover to their policies?
The cost of policy excesses, travel expenses, and claiming personal injury could get taken care of when a person has legal expenses cover, but not every driver agrees it’s necessary to have.
No-fault claimants pose a higher risk to insurers
Those involved in a no-fault accident will notice a rise in their car insurance premiums, which many motorists feel is unfair. So how is this justified? Insurance providers argue the reason they hike up premiums in these situations is that statistics show people involved in any motor accident (whether no-fault or at-fault) pose a higher risk of having another accident later.
Your ‘no-fault’ accident might bring to your insurer’s attention something they didn’t know, that they consider risky. Things such as regular parking in a crime hotspot, driving through busy junctions each day or driving to work along country roads with poor visibility and high-speed limits.
Association of British Insurers (ABI) Manager for General Insurance, Rob Cummings, said: “Insurers consider a range of factors when setting the price of a customer’s motor insurance premium, including age, type of vehicle, postcode, claims history and driving record. Insurers claims data demonstrates that if a customer makes a ‘non-fault’ claim, they are more likely to make an actual claim in the future. As such, some insurers will consider this when setting the price for customers.”
Another painful disappointment for many motorists is finding out they’ve lost their no-claims discount. Insurers may say, a no-claims discount is that — a discount for not making a claim, regardless of if the claim results from another’s fault.
The ABI says you should make your insurance company aware of any incident even if you don’t make a claim. If the incident involved another party, they could make a claim against you at a later date with symptoms of alleged injuries appearing much later.
It’s tempting to keep quiet about certain incidents, questioning why we should be forced to pay higher premiums, often for years, when an accident wasn’t our fault. However, failing to tell your insurer of something they later discover, could invalidate your policy, causing them to not pay out on any future claims.
Keeping costs down
Can motorists act to prevent a rise in future premiums when making a no-fault claim?
Although there’s little you can do to influence an insurer’s decision when making a no-fault claim, you can shop around for a provider who won’t hike up premiums for notifying them of an incident. Some insurers will ignore the first one or two no-fault notifications, while others will discount all no-fault notifications.
As well searching for the best car insurance quote (price comparison sites help make the search easier), there are other ways to reduce your car insurance costs:
- Add a named driver to your policy — having a more experienced driver on your policy, (that uses your car) could help spread the risk.
- Consider making your next car one that’s in a lower insurance group
- Decide if you need added extras on your policy — things such as a courtesy car or windscreen cover might not be necessary for you and having them can increase what you pay.
- Increase your voluntary excess — as long as you can afford to pay it should a claim arise.
- Protect your no claims discount — this may cost more, to begin with, but can save you money if you need to make a claim.
- Pay for your insurance in one lump sum — paying monthly will cost you more overall. Many insurers will charge their customers interest for paying in instalments.
- Take the Pass Plus advanced driving course — more so if you’re a new driver. Although not every insurer offers discounted rates for drivers with a Pass Plus certification, many do. I took the Pass Plus course, back in the day and it’s paid for itself.
- Consider using telematics (black box insurance) – this technology records how safe a driver you are you and adjusts your premium in line with the results.
Do you think it’s fair for insurance companies to raise future premiums after a no-fault claim or notification? Has this ever happened to you? Would you risk not informing your insurer if a no-fault incident was paid for by the other driver and cost nothing to your insurers? Let us know in the comments.
It’s a complete ripoff not your fault but they class it as an incedent and raise your premium
I like how they can claim that because you were hit by some one then your more likely to crash too? Sorry total bs, it’s not like catching a cold. Look everyone new infections, c**p driveritus, only need to rub cars to catch it!
Insurance companies are just legalised con artists.
If you get hit by another vehicle and the accident is shown to have been someone else’s fault – you should not have to pay a higher premium in for the next 5 years!
A few years ago, my car was hit from behind by a van. I was in a queue of traffic stopped at a red light, when a van crashed into the back of my car. My vehicle was written off and a claim went through.
When I got the increased premium the following year and found out about this con, I was told by both his insurance company and my own that as my claim had already been settled, I was no longer able to make further claims to cover the cost of my increased premium.
What a disgusting con car insurance is!
If you make a claim at the time, you get some of your immediate costs covered and a laughably low valuation is placed on your car. But…. you can’t claim future costs in advance as you don’t know what they’ll be. You can’t just wait 5 years to make a claim though as you need your car to be repaired or replaced at the time.
I believe that the insurance industry has colluded to use the increased premiums on blameless drivers as a way to get back the money they pay out for the accident.
But YOUR insurer hasn’t lost a penny since they will recover every last penny from the other insurer.
It’s possible that the same insurance company represents both drivers, in which case you are stuck unless you lodge a small claims action against the other driver.
My son had his car written off by his insurance company due to not economical to repair. A low milage full service history and maintained. The other driver elderly driver drove on wrong side of the riad head on to my son. Police called,car recovered by police due to wanting to reopen road ( not a busy road as it was late evening. Driver of car that hit should never have been driving. His licence was revoked by DVLA next day due to his medical condution. My sons insurance stated ‘No Fault’ however he had to pay his excess £345 from his write off payment. Other drivers insurance still not admitted liability even after their insured has had his licence taken aeay,police report and 5 mins before he hit my son,he just missed crashing into a Ambulance on Blue lights.
We had dashcam evidence of the crash,still not admitting liability. My son 1 had car written off 2 lost £345 excess 3 No car for 3 weeks (we bought another car) 4 and the biggy, my sons has lost 30% of his NCD and his renewel premium is £160 more than last year.
Thankfully no physical injury but my son has Aspergers Syndrome and it effected his mental health,but his insurance say that is not an injury.
We had to do all the running around getting his car out of storage by paying upfront the cost £290 for recovery (1 mile) and 2x days storage. That was repaid by my sons insurance tho it took 10 days.
We are out of pocket (I paid costs to date but son has repaid nearly all) but he is out of pocket for no fault.
We did manage to get another insurance quate for £432. From another company by adding me as a named driver. His current insurer wanted £604.
This needs a complete change why should ‘No fault’ be penalised.
If this was recent, get some legal help to recover all these costs. Even if it means you end up going to one of these telly crooks “had an accident that wasn’t your fault…”
I had the same thing happen to me, but mine happened, with a foreign driver at the wheel and it was in a 30mph zone with a straight stretch of road, lucky if you can call it that wrote my 3yr old countryman off, I had an off duty P.C behind me,
Since your son’s insurers stated at the time he was not at fault , you have dash cam evidence and police report seems to agree , as well as other driver licence revoked then it all seems very clear cut . If your insurance legal assistance are not getting anywhere , the easiest solution would be to raise a small claims action against the other driver to recover all monies outstanding . At the end of the day the other driver is liable , not his insurers , who are only contracted to indemnify him against claims . Once the court orders him to pay , then either he or his insurer must pay up . With the evidence you have that should be straightforward . Once you recover monies paid out by your own insurer and reimburse them with monies recovered then the NCD should be restored . If there is an increase in premium because of this incident , you can also ask for reimbursement of this increase for the next five years , so be sure to factor that into the claim . Also tell the court about the impact on your son’s health and wellbeing as this can be factored into damages and the court can order payment .
Two sides to every story, love to hear the other sides before passing judgement on whether you have been screwed over as you state.
I have asperger’s syndrome too – btw you do realise that with aspergers you have to tell the DVLA (it is a case of DVLA – No Restrictions) – but also when you get insurance it asks you to disclose this as a disability and the insurance companies charge extra on the premium even though DVLA say there is no restrictions which I’m quite sure is a breach of the equality act. Then again as insurance premiums aren’t itemised it’s so hard to find out exactly what they are charging for, and different insurers have so many different prices. Insurers are able to just totally pluck imaginary numbers out of thin air with no justification as to where they get these numbers from – we found it funny one year when we got static caravan insurance and we had two different insurers, both were using Legal and General for their insurance and yet there was a £100 price difference and the one we went with which was cheaper also included cover for contents when renting the caravan out – we were like that makes no sense – both were using the same insurer!
I hope your son is able to get over this accident, btw if it’s less than about £5,000 the costs you could look into taking the person to a small claims court to get the money back as the driver of the other car is at fault she has caused you these financial problems, and then see how quickly the insurance will start to move once they are aware they could end up in court.
Unfortunately there are a lot of silly people out there on the road but you just have to keep going and not let it discourage you. I still remember the first accident I ever had was quite scary as it involved a single decker bus. At the time I was on a national speed limit A road in Cheshire. I was going up hill and the road split so it formed what appeared to be a crawler lane, the bus was in the crawler lane and I went into the second lane to overtake (as is normal when going up hill). As I got just over the top of the hill the lane that I was in suddenly ended without warning and become a right hand turning lane. As the road paint to tell people it was a right hand turning lane was just over the brow of the hill you couldn’t see it as you were going up and so it appeared just like the lanes had split to create a crawler lane for buses going up the hill. I did point this hazard out to the council who sent me a letter back telling me they couldn’t understand why I was doing 60mph on that road anyway (erm because it had a national speed limit sign on it – and generally national speed limit is 60mph!!) but they did admit that the arrow would have only been visible at a 20mph stopping distance (which yeah for a 60mph road is far less than adequate). They refused to admit liability even though clearly they’d made some mistakes, but they have since painted an extra arrow at the bottom of the hill now to inform motorists it’s not an overtaking lane, and they’ve reduced the speed of that road now to 40mph. However as the council wouldn’t admit liability for their errors it did go on my insurance – this is now about 10 years ago). But initially I was quite scared after what happened and even now I’m still a bit dubious of trusting road signs, and overtaking vehicles. But I did keep going, and after the accident the first thing I did was called my dad up who came out to see me and encouraged me to just get behind the wheel again and drive the vehicle home (luckily despite the accident the car was still drive-able – a 57 plate Nissan Note is surprisingly strong – and my current car a 55 plate Zafira appears even stronger). I think actually getting back behind the wheel immediately afterwards helped me get over the accident so much. In addition to this I work doing traffic management at festivals for SEP Events, and doing this helps me increase my knowledge of vehicles, road signs, what to watch out for, etc because when your working on the road even in a high viz vest you’ve got to constantly be aware of anything around you!
Also have a look at a company called Driver Guardian as they offer a service you can join that helps sort out the legalities if you are involved in an accident and they are independent from either insurer. I know it’s too late now as you need to be a member of Driver Guardian before the accident for their help, but it might be worth looking into them for future instances.
What a load of rubbish. I did all the checks when I was diagnosed and it does not need to be reported to either as it has no impact of your fitness to drive. The same applied to asthma and diabetes as long as the latter is not treated with insulin and you comply with the little check list.
You should have told us which insurance company your son was insured with. Name and Shame them, so others can avoid bad insures like your sons.
My classic car was hit by a third party, it was parked and I was not at home. I dealt directly with the TP ins company, mine (Hagerty) didn’t get involved and were very helpful and understanding. I had a completely separate multi car policy with Admiral who, come renewal , hiked my premium from £1700 to over £3000. Needless to say I deserted Admiral.
My daughter was a new driver with a high cost policy already. Her car was stationary and in a proper marked parking area. Another car hit her car and caused extensive damage to her car resulting in it being written off. Despite the other driver admitting full liability and the cost settled fully when my daughter got another car that was a less insurance group her insurance company wanted an additional £600 for the insurance. This was with Admiral. We shopped around and got another quote with Direct line for £700 less
This has happened to me just this week.I used a comparison website to make a choice and was surprised that the chosen site raised the quoted price by almost £100 so I just accepted this as I made an own-fault claim this year.
I paid by card but the company ( advertised as older driver friendly) splits the payment by taking an arrangement fee of £25 which is allegedly non-refundable. I read carefully through the documents to discover that I had lost Protected-Bonus.
I immediately contacted the company where the agent explained they would not allow that at any price as I had informed of three incidents.
One of these was when parked in a white-lined council parking bay at the road-side where the driver following the reckless driver even waited 40 minutes to kindly tell me he saw what had happened but noted the make but not the number. I reported it to Somerset Police but they held little hope.
My insurance paid out but although I had protected bonus the premium went up.
The third incident was when a driver shot through a gap where the obstruction was on HIS side and clipped my mirror. He turned immediately right to escape but it was a cul-de-sac I waited for him to return and he agreed to pay for my damage. I got the estimate but he refused to pay so I claimed against his Insurer. They sent me a cheque to clear the estimate so my insurance company was not involved at all but I still had to declare an incident.
So 2 accidents not my fault have caused a lot of work as yesterday I spent ALL DAY arranging cover to replace the cancelled policy.
I hope to receive the non-refundable arrangement fee of £25.
Sorry, but with 3 incidents under your belt, I would consider you higher risk
Even though 2 of these incidents were not his fault? Why should anyone be penalised because they just happened to be in the wrong place?
NHP, your policy should outline what happens to your protected bonus, I have over 30-odd years incident free but they only count the last 9. I’m with LV and they say that I won’t lose any NCD irrespective of the number of accidents/claims. However, premiums will increase even with non-fault claims. And this is where I ring up my free legal service that comes with my breakdown policy. My insurer will be able to calculate the increase over the next 5yrs, assuming no more claims & the legal service will claim this back for me – plus all my other out of pocket expenses.
Well you can be very unlucky some days. A few years back I was in my arctic an a range rover ran it my trailer on a t junction. Less than an hour later on the m6 heard a load of skiding tyres an a bang, oh another range rover sticking out of my a**e! I’d not had any bumps for 8 years even with all the miles I do.
It would seem to be the way of this world, cause an accident and you get away with it and let others pay for your mistakes. It makes me sick!!!
No I don,t. But insurance firms are like the Mafia when it comes to extorting money out of people. They are like the Banks. They know how to take but don,t give anything back. They,ve all been ripping of , not just motorist , but everyone that has to deal with them. They know you have to have insurance on your car or house, so take advantage of that fact . Whether you believe in conspiracies or not I believe the government and these big companies conspire to get as much money as possible out of people regardless of whether your rich or poor. Of course its going to hurt the poor more. But they don,t give a damn. All they care about is making money for them.
Things can only get (worse )
My insurance increased at last renewal, by £43 after I reversed into a low steel bollard damaging the bumper. No one else involved, just did not see it. I had no claims protection, and had never claimed on an car insurance before at all. I was not given any real explanation as to why it increased, and was told that my bonus was still at maximum. The previous year the insurance actually decreased by £5. Found it a bit suspicious.
Absolutely not! Insures want everything I their favour. Time to re balance in favour of the driver
I was hit whilst stationary and front of the queue at a roundabout access. Vehicle effectively written off as uneconomical to repair most probably because of the extortionate prices charged by repairers for ‘insurance jobs’ (easy pickings).
So in reality, careless driver of Chelsea Tractor makes one call, admits responsibility and that’s it for her … all finished and an increased premium perhaps?
Me… no vehicle, paltry offer of settlement in relation to exorbitant quoted repair costs, 3 months of hassle with letters n phone calls and having to deprive wife of second vehicle until I (not either of the insurance companies) can resolve.
In the event, vehicle was put back on the road at a fraction of the cost quoted by the insurance authorised repair centre and was in a perfectly safe and presentable condition afterwards.
4 issues here:
Why do I have to resolve someone else’s carelessness? Insurers on both sides completely unable to find an authorised repair centre in my local area ( I lived in between Portsmouth and Southampton so hardly the back of beyond).
How can repair centres get away with such riciculous over charging JUST because they know the insurance companies will pay? Government should intervene on this one.
Why are insurance companies not BUYING insurance repair businesses/premises of their own to conduct their own economical repairs – cutting out the middle men and reducing costs all round?
Why should the at fault party have it so easy in such preventable cases when I had so much cr*p to endure for so long?
I believe the Insurance Repairer’s price is driven down to very low levels (almost to uneconomic), a fraction of the cost you or I would pay, so where are these high prices coming from? INSURANCE COMPANIES so there’s another profit stream somewhere.
Usually between £28 and £40. Dependant on the work provider.
When my ageing parked car was damaged and declared uneconomic to repair, I was told by the repair company that however slight the damage they automatically replaced the damaged panel with a new one, irrespective of the age of the car. I received the value of the car (£1,000) from the insurance company then bought the ‘wreck’ for £175 from the insurance company and had the damage repaired for £250. Why couldn’t the insurance company have done the same? Four years later I’m still paying higher premiums as a result.
It would be more just if the at fault party was made , by default , to provide a replacement vehicle for the injured party , at their cost , until such time as the matter was resolved .
Most Insurance companies do have their own repair facilities and an extensive range of authorised repairers.
Most insurance approved repairs use an industry standard estimating system which if the job is done correctly and safely utilises manufacturers repair techniques. NOT bodged jobs.
These repair methods and associated coatings are then scrutinised by the ‘paying insurance company’ ie the liability stands with them. They won’t pay more than they need to !!
FULLY agree with all comments that as a result of your non fault accident you should not be penalised with your own increased premium. There does need to be a government task force looking into this. As a last resort, claim through a solicitor who specialises in non fault accidents for ALL your losses including an increased premium at renewal time. Also injury, loss of value/indemnity report, any costs including calls/emails/time off work/medication/hospital car parking/etc etc
Totally agree. When an idiot drove into the side of my car which was 9 years old at the time, the insurance company deemed the car to be a right off due repair cost, because they insisted on a new door and bumper despite the door only being dented and small piece of the bumper being missing. Total cost at the time about 8K. After fighting with them I got them to pay for the repair done my way. Second hand door which I sourced on ebay and a second hand bumper sourced from a used parts dealer. Assembly and painting was done by a local car repair shop that does insurance work as well. All for 20% of the initial quote. I even of my costs for sourcing the parts reimbursed. Sadly its a case of saying FU to the insurance company. You should not have to do it but thats life.
No it’s not fair and should not legally be allowed I suffered a no fault claim Four years ago
The cost of repairs £400 my vehicle a classic jaguar is only insured for 3.000 mile a year as over winter it’s not on the road
It’s costing me £50/£60 for 5years
How can that be fair
A mechanic smashed up my van while taking it for a service. He spent all day doing a bodged up repair to the van on returning the van he took payment for the service and said nothing of the accident. Two weeks later I got a letter from one of the insurers about the accident so gave them the details of the mechanic and told them to ask for his insurance details and I would be claiming off his insurer as well. Turned out he was insured with the same insurer I was but had a business policy. This was a 9-year-old van with only 30,000 miles from new. I later learned that both the cars involved in the accident were written off as uneconomical for repair, that’s what the bars on the front of vans were capable of.
Nearly 12 months later I sent the insurance company CEO an email and got no reply so sent it again, but added that in 14 days legal action would be started, boy did that get them moving. it was picked up and returned looking like a new van minus the bars on the front, they were now illegal to be fitted on the vehicle.
That’s what it needs sometimes.
Also complaining to the FSI/FSA makes them react. It costs money and time as all documented complaints HAVE to be dealt with in line with guidelines. And if they’re found at fault………..expensive consequences
I notified my insurance when a third party went into the back of me at a roundabout i.e. I was not at fault. They have done exactly the above and increased my AND my boyfriends premiums, along with my blood pressure! Utter rage!
It is theft by deceipt and no one protects us from these modern highway robbers.
Yes this happened to me. I was hit from the side by another car. They were found to be at fault and their insurance paid for my damage, less than £1000. I also got my excess back but on renewal I got a price before they knew about the accident and when I declared it they increased my premium by 10 per cent.
Disgusting!
I haven’t taken a “Pass Plus” course, but in my job as a driving instructor, from which I retired some years ago, I used to teach the course. I wonder if that counts.
Just not fair at all. Touch wood, not happened to me. It’s digusting to think of anyone being penalised for being just plain unlucky by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. INSURANCE COMPANIES, STOP RIPPING US OFF.
Welcome to rip off Britain – it’s good that the insurance companies can screw you, isn’t it?
Wake up and smell the coffeee. This is no new revelation,it has been the case for the last 20+years.
Insurance has got to be the biggest rip-off next to fuel pricing and servicing cost since the motor car was first developed.
The notion of ‘knock for knock’ when a perpetrator has clearly reversed into the side of my car whilst having a mobile phone clamped to the side of his empty head whilst in a petrol station is clearly an absolute insult to my intelligence never mind my ability to not accept the decision by the underwriters of my policy.
I was stationary and parked perfectly correctly with the car in Park and with the handbrake applied when the offending driver reversed more than 30 meters and rammed the passenger door of my immaculate 1997 Rover 825i Automatic.
I had a no-fault accident, in fact the car was parked and empty (no one in it!) and the other driver’s insurance company paid out but still my premium went up when I renewed my insurance. How can that be fair?
Only in the UK can rip-off insurance have extra add on levies for an accident which is not your fault, even when the other insider and person admits liability. Madness of the legal system running insurance behind so that they make big money out of insuranced customers. And if the other party is uninsured, the legal customer still has to claim on their own insurance with the claim levy pf up to £400 to start the claim repairs off. Is it little wonder so many drive around with no insurance.
The bloke that hit my stationary car (and admitted his error) was later adjudged to be 80% guilty and I was 20% responsible because IF II HADDEN’T BEEN THERE HE COULDN’T HAVE HIT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Write to your MP, insurance ombudsman and CEO of your insurance company. Another good one is to write to the daily papers.
Insurance companies often have a facebook presence, tell your story on there – when they see negative comments, they might change their way!
Oh how I wish this discussion had taken place a number of years ago. For when I tried pointing out these increases to the solicitors (IRWIN MITCHELL) Who were handling my claim for “out of pocket” costs against a third party. Was simply told insurances premiums increase yearly!, and would not accept that the increase was not at least “in part” due to the no fault claim in hand.
I also tried explaining that it was not just the insurance on that vehicle which had a premium hike, but all insurances which I held (car, motorhome, and motorbike) Also on those where I was a named driver (Wife’s and both sons) AND FOR 5 YEARS.
A complete waste of time.
I found out the hard way after a non fault collision. The whole thing was clear to see on my dashcam as well. I now, always make sure I have some legal cover – either included in the policy or as an add on. A huge plus is that my recovery company include free legal services as a part of the policy, saving me around £25 come car insurance renewal time.
This legal service is used to recover ALL uninsured losses – ie, despite you paying your insurer up front to cover ever eventuality (for that is the very definition of fully & comprehensive – although not according to the industry!), you are later charged for them having to do a teensy bit of extra work on your behalf.
So I can now claim back the hike in premiums for the next 5 years, the additional cost of a hire car more like my own (the policy says similar but their idea is to give you a micro car whilst your people carrier is off the road!) and any other expenses – I always drop camera footage onto a couple of DVDs – 20p each plus a couple of hours’ work (as well as the form filling) plus the cost of sending my claim (plus DVDs) in a padded envelope as signed for. Hopefully, all these extras will make the idiot think harder about their cr***y driving?
One of the downsides of driving for a living is that all those additional miles on the road increases your chances of meeting an idiot. If they do crash into you (I’m averaging 2 per year), you are legally obliged to report said event to your insurer – even non fault. So, again, accessing the legal service is essential.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I read “statistics show people involved in any motor accident (whether no-fault or at-fault) pose a higher risk of having another accident later.”
Absolute bull. The chances of having AN accident have increased due to a number of factors – drivers who feel they are OK to drink all day long & still drive, people who think it’s fine to drink/smoke funny stuff/take drugs then go for a drive, people who think they are perfectly safe reading, eating, chatting or texting etc whilst driving.
All these things seem worse nowadays – despite the law clamping down. Statistics can be massaged to prove anything, in this case, they are being used to extort money from cash-strapped motorist & the insurance ombudsman should put a stop to it.
It is far from fair that insurance companies can penalise drivers who are not at fault. As others have said in this comment string the insurance companies can currently get away with all sorts of unfair behaviour.
Perhaps it is time for legal minimum standards for a policy and the way it is interpreted and handled in the event of a claim or notification; but it will never happen as governments run scared of upsetting those who control large amounts of money.
Had the same sort of accident as given in the report. Sat stationary at a roundabout access and was rear-ended by a van. Injured my neck and still suffering the effects over 20 years later. Damage to the car was minimal, but renewal premiums went up for the next three years, and if this drivel of a report is to believed, the increased premiums are because I’m likely to be involved in another accident where I’m rear-ended at a junction!
I never take out legal aid protection.My reason is this.Over 30 years ago I was involved ina an acident.the othr driver wa at fault. The insurance than tld me I ahd lost ome no cliams becuase of this and demanded i pay the difference they would have charged had i not had the no claims in the forst place .They then told me that they could not fignt my claim as the other driver was also insured with them
I’ve had 2 non-fault accidents. The first one resulted my car being written off. Replaced it and continued driving . A few weeks after advising DVLA Swansea that MY car had been written off , and receiving a letter advising that I was no longer the recorded keeper of the car, I received a speeding ticket for it!!! The police sorted that out but I became even more convinced that writing-off cars is nothing more than a scam and some people are making a lot of money out of it !!
above is correct
I was vandalised TWICE whilst parked at home… a very low risk area
direct line paid up and reduced my no claims DESPITE saying they don’t……. then they nearly doubled my premium
One or two idiots and a lying insurer………. my only claim in 26yrs… and none since
Admiral here I come (but I suspect some of you have terrible stories about them as well)
It has never happened to me but I think it is ridiculous that Insurance Companies increase the premiums after a no-fault claim. They will do anything to grab a bit more money!
I had a transit smash into me in 2015. Even though the police attended, the driver refused he was there. I gave the solicitors for the insurance company all the details, including his facebook company page with his photo on, and still the said not worth proceeding with the case. They paid me out for my car (alot less than it was worth), and my partners injuries were paid out recently by the insurance ombudsman.
As long as this happens, people will get away with it…
I got screwed also when my car was written off. Ended up having to add more money to replace my car with a similar make and model. A total rip-off.
This is daylight robbery, no wonder insurance CEO are living it up in Miami…
After a non-fault accident I informed my insurance company 3 days after the accident as I had heard nothing from the insurance company of the car that hit me. I was very surprised when they told me my vehicle was unsafe to drive and they would supply a hire vehicle. Since the accident I had driven 300 miles on urban, country and motorways and found their statement gobsmacking. After 3 weeks they got a date for me to go to a local garage to get it fixed. The time estimate was 3 days. After calling the garage all the names under the sun my insurance company supplied a hire car for the period I would be without. Got the car back on day 4 and all done and dusted.
I forgot to say….. The Accident……. A broken drivers rear view mirror. This had happened before in a car park as a hit and run. Total cost to replace £200 and that includes 2 hours labour. God knows how much the third party insurance paid out but it was probably closer to 4 figures. Then we wonder why insurance premiums are so high.
Although this is a stain on my record I was lucky that I lost none of my No Claims Bonus.
Slightly off topic but shows the sheer greed of insurance companies. I rang mine to tell them my job had finished and I was now unemployed, at least in the short term. They said that my premium was to increase- from £250 to £3000!!!!!!!!!!!! on the basis that I now had more time to drive. Thieving b**tards. I pointed out that I was now unemployed and couldn’t afford the bloody petrol to drive, so bye bye. Found another insurance company, with minimal research, that saved me £25 over the previous price.
Whilst the above article illustrates just how much duress law abiding drivers can find themselves under at least it is minimised if both parties, in an RTC, are insured.
I had a recent RTC which was with an uninsured driver. I had a dashcam on board which clearly showed the third party was responsible. The third party absconded without giving ay credible details and before the police arrived (knowing they were on their way). The camera memory card and third party vehicle registration was given to the police who attended and witness details taken at the scene. I was taken to hospital. This was in February 2018.
I notified my insurance company who recorded it as a “no fault” claim but would not comment on any future premium increase.
I had a premium excess of £250. I have legal cover and the solicitor was given instructions to recoup this from the MIB again in February.
The DVLA is aware of every vehicle’s insurance status and ownership and yet does not appear to actively inform the police, unless a specific request is made by a specific police force (logically, this is usually after the event).
The insurance company is aware of the details of this incident as well.
Why does the insurance via its vast network, expertise and wealth sue the uninsured? I am told there would be no point because if a driver has no insurance the odds are that s/he will have no money to answer a law suit. However, I suggest s/he will have goods and chattels which can be confiscated, the value of which can go some way to mitigating against the trauma of such an event.
I have asked the police but they will not give me details of the driver or owner.
In the event of a speeding fine or parking fine, ultimately it is the owner who carries responsibility and pays if the offender cannot be traced. In the above case the owner is known to both the police and the DVLA.
On reading the above article i am reminded of just how vulnerable the law abiding motorist has become. Indeed, I am still waiting communication from both police and solicitor some 5 months on – or do they, like insurance companies, assume I will accept things and go away?
When is insurance not insurance? I hit a badger on a long motorway exit slip road. I was still traveling at speed when a badger ran straight out in front of my car. There was absolutely no time whatsoever to brake or take any evasive action. The badger took the full force, was killed instantly and caused around £1,000 damage to my Volvo C30. It turned out that the badger wasn’t insured ( ! ). So because there is no one else for the insurance company to claim against it gets logged as a ‘fault’ claim. Within a couple of years I will have paid off the cost of the repairs in higher premiums. Changing insurers makes no difference. The premiums are up and no doubt will stay up. This is nothing to do with protecting your no claim bonus. Mine was protected and I still get the bonus but my premiums are 33% to 50% higher. Complete scam!
Myself and My wife were unlucky enough to be hit by another driver, who promptly sped off, on providing the details of the vehicle to the police and insurance ; police did nothing as “on their matrix their was little chance of progressing” and then the insurance took so long, the other driver SCRAPPED his car and claimed he wasn’t there….. No car to check, and believing him we were done over royally!
Guess whose insurance double and is only just dropping to normal levels again 4 years later?!
This happened to me also, stationery at a junction and hit from the front no less. I had already received a renewal quote from Admiral as my policy was expiring 14 days after the collision I then received another with a £180 price hike!!. That’s with fully comprehensive insurance, protected no claims and legal protection. My vehicle was written off and i disagreed with their valuation, it took a phone call at my cost to get that valuation increased by £700. I also had home insurance with the same provider and after scouring the Internet i managed to save over a £100 for better cover. I fully intend lodging a complaint to the ombudsman when it is all concluded as the treatment I’ve received is shocking considering that i have never claimed before.
I had a no fault claim. My car was hit on a car park whilst I was not present. The driver leaf his name and address. The other parties insurer agreed with my insurer that I was not at fault. But, I noticed when renewing my insurancethat my insurer (RSA), had me as at fault. I queried this and was told that until the other insurer paid the bill I was still classed as at fault. This went on for two and a half years during which time my premiums were inflated. I put in a written complaint with RSA, as phone calls had no effect. Within two weeks of my formal complaint they miraculously were paid out with the no fault back dated to the time of the accident. This lead me to claim a refund on my two previous premiums to which I was refunded approx £150.
this is totally unfair that innocent motorists are penalised like this, I suffered one of these no fault claims when I returned to my car in a car park and found that some kind soul had crunched my front wing and driven off without leaving any contact details, when I came to renew my insurance they told me it was a no fault claim as there was nobody else to claim against, luckily I had protected bonus but it still shows up on my history as a claim against me which really hacks me off as how can it be my fault if I was nowhere near the car.
This practice is absolutely disgraceful. The government must address this malpractice, what possible logic says that you should be punished (financially) for something you did not cause? Would they put you in jail if someone attacked you through no fault of your own?
This is without doubt a cartel between insurers and companies should be severely punished when they do it. The other favourite practice is the famous “Knock for Knock” agreement between companies.
My wife’s car was recently hit by another car (foreign driver) at a very low speed, resulting in a 2 inch scratch to her bumper. The other party did not want to swap details but my wife insisted. They both agreed the damage was not worth reporting or claiming for but several weeks later, the other party claimed against her for whiplash!
When the engineer came to inspect her car, he said there was no way the other party could have sustained whiplash from the extremely minor accident, but often the insurers will pay up if it is cheaper than taking it to court! How outrageous is that?
John M
4am fast asleep in bed. My car gets written off outside my house. Min payout. Higher insurance
Don’t involve them if possible, and don’t let ‘nagging doubt’ persuade you otherwise. Settle privately if you can and use commonsense when assessing the 3rd party. If they look like they’ll do you for whiplash, inform your insurer straightaway.
My car was vandalized when parked with very bad scratches on every panel except the roof’.
I have nine years no claim bonus, but my premium went up double to eleven hundred pounds when I renewed it, with no explanation as to why it had increased from M&S. As the claim was going through at same time as the renewal , I decided to stay with M&S who are agents for AA. I will try my luck next time with another company.
jrc
A long story but bear with me…
My wife’s 2002 Audi TT while stationary was reversed into by a bloke in a Volvo XC60 (despite her sounding the horn). She couldn’t take evasive action as it was a narrow one-way road and would have meant her reversing out onto a main road. At the time we had no dashcam and the only witness heard her horn but did not see the cars. Damage to hers was relatively minor and the Volvo only had a broken rear reflector. They swapped insurance details and she reported it to her insurers, to discover that Mr Volvo had told his insurers she had driven into him, but was not making a claim! We decided not to claim, for all the consequent financial reasons people have stated, and Aviva agreed to log it as a no-fault no-claim incident. We couldn’t rule out Mr Volvo playing silly games in the future, so this seemed an ok outcome.
Come renewal time I went on to Confused.com as usual, never trusting Insurers to treat existing customers fairly, but found that there was no way to record a no-claim incident. The system wouldn’t accept a £0 claim value, so I could only input “no claims” – which was true. We selected an Admiral Policy but when the online transaction failed at the very final stage I phoned them up to discover that the Volvo incident logged on MID meant their system had rejected our application (after I had provided credit card details, by the way!) The call centre agent then said we could proceed, but at an increase (from memory) of about £60 over the original quote. My reply was fairly predictable…
I then tried GoCompare and found that their website DID allow you input a no claim incident. With quotes duly sourced we selected a Churchill policy comparable with the Admiral quote. I then rang Churchill to make sure that everything was in order, they were happy with all the data provided and confirmed they had not applied any loading to the premium because of the incident.
Moral of the story…shop around, and don’t just use one comparison site. And get a dashcam! But also, I guess, never give an insurer any opportunity to reject a future claim by omitting any relevant history.
I have a different version of being ripped off. 2015 my insurance for a 2ltr diesel was £235, 2016 £420, 2017 £625, 2018 was going to be £780 but I changed to a smaller car before renewal and 2018 is now £560. Accidents? None since I got my license in 1947, no points either, so what’s my crime? AGE. I am 89 this year and older drivers get discriminated against regardless of driving record. I do agree though that a lot of oldies should not be on the road but I am not one of them. It has been suggested that after a certain age oldies should be re-tested and I agree. I am willing to be tested any time so bring it on. Added to this I have had to give up caravaning which I have been doing since the 1970’s as my small car is not able to tow a ‘van so my retirement pleasures have also been affected. What will they take next I wonder?
Insurers are a law unto themselves which is no wonder why so many drive without
Modern technology should have reduced premiums and shown this to be a lie but the regulator is asleep at the wheel