Insurance claim question- named driver
Discussion
Possibly an obvious one but this isn’t clear to me currently!
My wife and I each have a car insured in our names with the other as a named driver. My wife unfortunately had a fault accident in my car last year which we put a claim in for. This was obviously claimed on my policy.
Both mine and my wife’s car insurances are now up for renewal. When you get asked for any claims or accidents in the last five years do I need to answer “yes” for both of us? Given my wife had the accident but the claim was on my policy?
I appreciate the premiums are going to increase but it feels like if I answer yes for both of us we’re going to get hit twice on both policies? Or is that just how it works?
Not trying to get out of anything, just wanting to make sure I understand it correctly. Cheers!
My wife and I each have a car insured in our names with the other as a named driver. My wife unfortunately had a fault accident in my car last year which we put a claim in for. This was obviously claimed on my policy.
Both mine and my wife’s car insurances are now up for renewal. When you get asked for any claims or accidents in the last five years do I need to answer “yes” for both of us? Given my wife had the accident but the claim was on my policy?
I appreciate the premiums are going to increase but it feels like if I answer yes for both of us we’re going to get hit twice on both policies? Or is that just how it works?
Not trying to get out of anything, just wanting to make sure I understand it correctly. Cheers!
Have YOU had any claims in the last 5 years? No.
Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
Jordie Barretts sock said:
Have YOU had any claims in the last 5 years? No.
Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
You need to think about it a bit more than you have, as you're wrong.Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
As said in the previous post, Has OP had any accidents or claims, yes he has. He claimed on his policy following his wife's accident. Only the policyholder can claim. In the olden days when we filled in claim forms, it had to be signed by the policyholder, not the driver. He claims on his policy asking his insurers to deal with an accident the additional driver has had.
Has OP's wife had and accidents or claims, yes she has. She had an accident whilst driving her husband's car.
He's made a claim, she's had an accident so they both need to disclose it.
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Wednesday 15th May 19:10
Unfortunately, having checked precisely the same point but with my son having had a prang in my car, I can confirm that Twig is correct (as he usually is with insurance stuff anyway). 
Except if your insurer is NFU Mutual. I fully disclosed the accident my son had in my car and the consequent claim on my policy, but they decided that they weren't interested in that claim and so their premium was far lower than everyone else! I have kept the email chain as my proof. On the downside, NFU are usually quite expensive and this anomaly only occured because the cost of insuring Range Rovers of all ages went through the roof, so I'm still paying a hefty chunk more than I was a couple of years ago...
Except if your insurer is NFU Mutual. I fully disclosed the accident my son had in my car and the consequent claim on my policy, but they decided that they weren't interested in that claim and so their premium was far lower than everyone else! I have kept the email chain as my proof. On the downside, NFU are usually quite expensive and this anomaly only occured because the cost of insuring Range Rovers of all ages went through the roof, so I'm still paying a hefty chunk more than I was a couple of years ago...
If you haven't already done so, I suggest you talk to your insurer first, and make it crystal clear that it's one accident, had by your wife as named driver on your policy.
I know it is not fashionable to make calls these days on your "phone", but actually speaking to a real person may well make a difference to your renewal quote.
They may have effectively got the accident down twice, and also they want to keep you as a customer, so may be able to reduce the quoted premium.
I know it is not fashionable to make calls these days on your "phone", but actually speaking to a real person may well make a difference to your renewal quote.
They may have effectively got the accident down twice, and also they want to keep you as a customer, so may be able to reduce the quoted premium.
Usually it asks for any incidents, regardless of fault or any claims, per named driver.
The OP has a claim on his policy, but has not had any incidents.
Ugh, it's really inconsistent on the wording and definition, Aviva say you don't need to include incidents from named drivers, gocompare say you do need to include incidents from named drivers, even if they are no longer named drivers, comparethemarket is vague but seems to suggest only your incidents and claims.
The OP has a claim on his policy, but has not had any incidents.
Ugh, it's really inconsistent on the wording and definition, Aviva say you don't need to include incidents from named drivers, gocompare say you do need to include incidents from named drivers, even if they are no longer named drivers, comparethemarket is vague but seems to suggest only your incidents and claims.
Edited by .:ian:. on Thursday 16th May 07:53
TwigtheWonderkid said:
Jordie Barretts sock said:
Have YOU had any claims in the last 5 years? No.
Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
You need to think about it a bit more than you have, as you're wrong.Has your wife had ....5 years? Yes. Enter details of claim.
Otherwise you are both admitting to the same claim. Your policy is not you. A driver on the policy that you were the policyholder of, made a claim.
Similarly on her insurance, she will have to admit the claim. When it asks did it affect NCD, her answer will be no, because (presumably) she will have answered yes on your policy proposal. It didn't affect her NCD, but she is making them aware she had a fault claim on another policy.
Try not to over think it.
As said in the previous post, Has OP had any accidents or claims, yes he has. He claimed on his policy following his wife's accident. Only the policyholder can claim. In the olden days when we filled in claim forms, it had to be signed by the policyholder, not the driver. He claims on his policy asking his insurers to deal with an accident the additional driver has had.
Has OP's wife had and accidents or claims, yes she has. She had an accident whilst driving her husband's car.
He's made a claim, she's had an accident so they both need to disclose it.
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Wednesday 15th May 19:10
I had exactly the same issue recently where I was the primary policyholder across a multi car policy. My wife had an accident and ergo a claim.
At a later date I was taking out insurance (with another company) and it was knocked back at the point of payment because the information I had given (mine) didn't match the information the insurer was given on the CUE database. I called them and they said that the claim was in my name. When I explained that it was my wife driving and she was the insured for that accident and claim, they basically said computer says no and it would need to be changed if I wanted it marked correctly.
I was fortunate enough to then speak with the underwriters of the policy that had the original claim. They explained that this is a common occurance and that the front end and back end of most insurance companies don't understand how to use the reporting system very well. He explained that an accident and claim is always logged using a single name and that *should* be the insured, not the policyholder if they were not the insured at the time.
They confirmed that my wife was not listed on the CUE database and someone had simply been lazy and just cut and pasted the policyholder details. They corrected it there and then and also sent me a letter showing the correction.
I asked them if I should have declared it and they told me that of course not, because the claim was now logged correctly against the insured driver (my wife) and no longer incorrectly marked in my name.
I went back to my new insurer explained the CUE database had been corrected and got them to run it through again and there were no problems.
At a later date I was taking out insurance (with another company) and it was knocked back at the point of payment because the information I had given (mine) didn't match the information the insurer was given on the CUE database. I called them and they said that the claim was in my name. When I explained that it was my wife driving and she was the insured for that accident and claim, they basically said computer says no and it would need to be changed if I wanted it marked correctly.
I was fortunate enough to then speak with the underwriters of the policy that had the original claim. They explained that this is a common occurance and that the front end and back end of most insurance companies don't understand how to use the reporting system very well. He explained that an accident and claim is always logged using a single name and that *should* be the insured, not the policyholder if they were not the insured at the time.
They confirmed that my wife was not listed on the CUE database and someone had simply been lazy and just cut and pasted the policyholder details. They corrected it there and then and also sent me a letter showing the correction.
I asked them if I should have declared it and they told me that of course not, because the claim was now logged correctly against the insured driver (my wife) and no longer incorrectly marked in my name.
I went back to my new insurer explained the CUE database had been corrected and got them to run it through again and there were no problems.
The "insured" and the "policyholder" are the same thing. The insured is the policyholder. Then there's the driver, who might be the insured/policyholder, or might just be an additional driver on the insured's/policyholder's policy.
Only the policyholder can make a claim on their policy. Because the policyholder and the insurance co are the only two parties involved in the contract. When an additional driver crashes and makes a claim on the policy, legally what is happening is that the policyholder is claiming on their policy, asking the insurer to provide indemnity for the additional driver. Of course, if the policyholder is the vehicle owner, which is often the case, and the claim involves own damage, then the policyholder is claiming for him/herself. "The additional driver has damaged my car and I'd like you, my insurance company, to compensate me".
That's why, if an additional driver has an accident on your policy, you, the policyholder, have made a claim. And if you get asked in the future if you've made any claims, the answer is YES.
The person who had the accident needs to answer YES if they are asked if they've had any accidents.
Only the policyholder can make a claim on their policy. Because the policyholder and the insurance co are the only two parties involved in the contract. When an additional driver crashes and makes a claim on the policy, legally what is happening is that the policyholder is claiming on their policy, asking the insurer to provide indemnity for the additional driver. Of course, if the policyholder is the vehicle owner, which is often the case, and the claim involves own damage, then the policyholder is claiming for him/herself. "The additional driver has damaged my car and I'd like you, my insurance company, to compensate me".
That's why, if an additional driver has an accident on your policy, you, the policyholder, have made a claim. And if you get asked in the future if you've made any claims, the answer is YES.
The person who had the accident needs to answer YES if they are asked if they've had any accidents.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The "insured" and the "policyholder" are the same thing. The insured is the policyholder. Then there's the driver, who might be the insured/policyholder, or might just be an additional driver on the insured's/policyholder's policy.
Only the policyholder can make a claim on their policy. Because the policyholder and the insurance co are the only two parties involved in the contract. When an additional driver crashes and makes a claim on the policy, legally what is happening is that the policyholder is claiming on their policy, asking the insurer to provide indemnity for the additional driver. Of course, if the policyholder is the vehicle owner, which is often the case, and the claim involves own damage, then the policyholder is claiming for him/herself. "The additional driver has damaged my car and I'd like you, my insurance company, to compensate me".
That's why, if an additional driver has an accident on your policy, you, the policyholder, have made a claim. And if you get asked in the future if you've made any claims, the answer is YES.
The person who had the accident needs to answer YES if they are asked if they've had any accidents.
Like Twig (who is an insurance expert!) Says, the Policyholder claims.Only the policyholder can make a claim on their policy. Because the policyholder and the insurance co are the only two parties involved in the contract. When an additional driver crashes and makes a claim on the policy, legally what is happening is that the policyholder is claiming on their policy, asking the insurer to provide indemnity for the additional driver. Of course, if the policyholder is the vehicle owner, which is often the case, and the claim involves own damage, then the policyholder is claiming for him/herself. "The additional driver has damaged my car and I'd like you, my insurance company, to compensate me".
That's why, if an additional driver has an accident on your policy, you, the policyholder, have made a claim. And if you get asked in the future if you've made any claims, the answer is YES.
The person who had the accident needs to answer YES if they are asked if they've had any accidents.
On my driving tuition policy, I am the policyholder. When my insurance renews, the broker and insurer makes it clear I must declare any accidents or claims I've had (plus my wife as a named driver), plus any accidents any driver has had whilst in my car. Because the insurer indemnifies me for the damage even if it was a pupil whilst on their test or someone driving it for SDP without me.
My aunt had an accident in a car insured by my niece (so aunts daughter). I discouraged my aunt from claiming because the insurer said the claim would've gone against my niece who was 17 at the time (superficial damage anyway).
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