Car Insurance - Incident or Claim?

General Discussion Forums Life, The Universe and (almost) Everything!
1

Just under 2 months ago, I was filling up my daily at a petrol station. Having paid, as I returned to the car, was getting in, a gust of wind caught the door, and before I could get a firmer grip on, it had swung and made an audible rap against the door of the SUV at the opposite pumps. The driver was annoyed… " … Second time in two days…". She demanded my details. Must admit, I was rather silenced by the velocity of her comments. She pointed to a spot on the side of her vehicle, and said look at that. I did, and could see nothing. There was nothing. She repeated it several times, and there was still nothing. She then said, loudly, “Oh, don’t bother about it…”. Got in and drove off. I noted the registration.

Later that day, unsure about how this was going to transpire, I reported the incident to my insurance company. They took the details of the incident. Later, I received an email from them, confirming that they’d recorded the matter, a claim, and if I had any more information about the driver and scenario, to let them know. [ No details had been exchanged ].

I’ve heard nothing more. However, their wording is that it is a ‘claim’, whereas I view it as an incident, and that it’s only a claim when, and if, the driver of the other vehicle makes a claim. I only reported this, as I felt it was the right thing to do.
I have very long No Claims Discount, and it’s protected for 2 claims. However, their renewal quote, for early December, has come through and shows about a hundred pounds increase at a time when, I understand, car insurance in general is decreasing.

Is there sharp practice going on about this, in terms of an incident being converted into a claim ? Insurance company is Hastings.

Would appreciate others’ advice or experiences. I did acknowledge in my call to the insurer that yes, the incident didn’t happen because the other car leapt at my door. However, something doesn’t seem quite right here.

2

Have a read through the policy ts and cs , and look for the definition of ‘claim’ . It may be in a clause headed ‘definitions’ or in a separate clause relating to making claims . That will give your answer . .

Insurance policies do demand an absolute duty of disclosure, where required , but from what you have said , you only gave notice of circumstances which might have given rise to a claim , but in the event did not do so. . But the definitive answer is in the wording of the policy , or should be .

1 Like
3

As I understand it, if you telephone to discuss whether you should make a claim for something or not and decide not to, you are still likely to get a consequent rise in your premium

1 Like
4

As John said, it is a circumstance which might give rise to a claim. Whether or not there is a claim is entirely down to the third party. Your actions have exposed the insurance company to a potential claim and therefore you are a greater risk than previously.

3 Likes
5

Thanks all. Looks like I should just have accepted at face value the parting words of the other party, and said nought to the insurance co. Lesson learned.

6

Once you have said anything to an insurer, you cannot take it back! One of our driver’s vans got broken into, nothing was taken and decided to repair at their cost after they found out it wouldn’t be much more their insurance excess, but as they’d already told the insurer it affected their renwal just like a claim would, even though it cost the insurer nothing. If you’re unsure a claim is going to arise or you’re going to repair at your expense, I have found you are not penalised for keeping quiet for a few days and playing dumb just to see what transpires, whereas if you do the correct and proper thing they’ll have you for years to come!

And a protected No Claims Discount (NCD) protects your discount but not base premium that is calculated from risk factors including claims history. So 5 year NCD might net you 50% off, but the starting figure the discount is applied to is now higher because you’re considered a higher risk, and that can impact for 5 years with all insurers if it’s been entered into MID (Motor Insurers Database), as you’ll have to declare it on quotes even though it’s a zero value “claim”, otherwise they can say you’ve misled and put your premium up after the policy has started, based on information on MID.

I once did a comparison quote where I said I’d claimed (I hadn’t) just to see if it was worth paying extra to protect my NCD (it wasn’t, the rise in quote was hardly any more than the cost to protect). So I started a policy with Admiral who subequently accused me of “quote massaging” because of that quotes with the hypothetical claim and helped themselves to extra money from my bank without any warning! Had to call Admiral to sort it and get refunded and not so much as an apology, what if they had sent me overdrawn?! So I now get all my quotes under fake but similar details (where I can see the premium impact of additional drivers, if I had claimed, if I chose to use my garage etc) before putting together a truthfully valid one with my genuine details.

1 Like
7

You’ll never ever win with car insurers. I’m sure they make up the rules as they go on.
Take it on the chin and move on…

1 Like
8

I am not sure I’d be as cynical. They don’t , and can’t 'make up the rules as they go along '. Your deal is calculated on risk , and if you accept it , both sides are bound by the contract of insurance . If you dont read it , dull as it is , you can’t complain about what it says .

Given the fake claims industry. the complexity of the modern car , young drivers’ propensity for crashing at speed and the potentially ruinous cost of some personal injury claims (which can run to many millions for catastrophic injury) I am surprised we get it so cheap sometimes . I paid £250 pa for a fully comp on a 500bhp/tonne Seven

1 Like
9

If you call up and tell them something, you have cost them money, maybe only five minutes labour on handling the call, but there is still a minor cost.

If that call translates to an entry on a computer system, then all future calculations will use the fact that there was an incident/claim/whatever in the algorithm that calculates risk, costs, and likely margin to be applied before giving you a quote.

Loyalty is punished by these algorithms as the margin can be increased on those deemed likely not to switch insurers.

I just saved my 88 year old father £400 by using a comparison Web site for his renewal. You would be better putting energy into seeking alternative quotes than arguing semantics with a call centre operator.

1 Like
10

Just to say just renewed the MX5 and the family car this last month and both premiums have gone up by £50/60 on premiums that where less than £200 last year,so obviously left and shopped around.

Think others have had sharp increases in renewals on here recently.

1 Like
11

Think it was £20 increase this year, and all of the increase was the tax they have to charge.

Also, when I reported an incident of damage to my vehicle a few years ago, but never pushed it through as an actual claim, my premiums never changed so maybe it depends on the insurance/underwriter (or if it was your fault or not - though I don’t believe the other persons’ (family member) insurance went up either).