Non fault accident in hire car - effects?

[Chebble]

Good Morning,

I've searched the Internet and can't seem to find a definitive answer.

Back in November, the company I work for hired a car for me to use. To cut a long story short, when I returned to the car in the morning, it had a sizeable dent in the bootlid and some damage to the bumper - looks as though someone reversed into it. Having checked with the hotel, there was no CCTV. Reported it to the fleet operator and the hire company, and was recorded as a non fault incident.

Fast forward to today, and I've an email in my inbox asking me for my personal details, licence details etc. from the insurance company. I'm wondering if anyone knows:

- is this just normal procedure?
- will this affect my personal insurance premium?
- I'm assuming that I'll have to declare it when I renew my insurance - is that right?

The policy holder is listed as the company I work for.

Apologies if this has been covered before, I've just never been in this position.

Thanks for the advice.

[Grunt Futtock]

Chebble said:

Good Morning,

I've searched the Internet and can't seem to find a definitive answer.

Back in November, the company I work for hired a car for me to use. To cut a long story short, when I returned to the car in the morning, it had a sizeable dent in the bootlid and some damage to the bumper - looks as though someone reversed into it. Having checked with the hotel, there was no CCTV. Reported it to the fleet operator and the hire company, and was recorded as a non fault incident.

Fast forward to today, and I've an email in my inbox asking me for my personal details, licence details etc. from the insurance company. I'm wondering if anyone knows:

- is this just normal procedure?
- will this affect my personal insurance premium?
- I'm assuming that I'll have to declare it when I renew my insurance - is that right?

- Yes, they need to establish you were eligible for insurance cover (i.e. not DQ'd etc.)
- You'll have to declare it when they ask 'Any accidents/claims/losses last 5 years...' so potentially yes but being a non-fault unlikely to change things much.

[S11Steve]

Speak to your fleet manager, or whoever orders the vehicles. It may well be going through your fleet policy, in which case they will be just asking the standard questions about you but will likely ask the policyholder (your company) to pay the excess.

The hire company will likely keep the vehicle on hire if your company is arranging the repairs, but I've yet to find a fleet policy that will reimburse the extra rental charges in this situation.

As for declaring it at your personal renewal, that's up to you and depends on how it is interpreted, or how you interpret it...
Have you had any accidents? Strictly speaking, it wasn't an accident that you were involved in. You werent in the car at the time..
Have you had any claims? Your company has, but you personally haven't.

I was rear-ended in my company car last year, and mentioned it when I made the renewal on my TVR - the response was, "was it a claim you or your company made?" My company, "Ok - that's not an issue". Other policies may vary though.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Yes, you should disclose it to your personal insurers, as it will be logged against you on the claims database, as you were in charge of the vehicle at the time. And in insurance terms, it's a fault claim, because it was a claim where the money paid out by the insurers could not be recovered from a third party.

Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Wednesday 18th January 13:18

[Chebble]

Thanks all. I've tried to get hold of the fleet operator but to no avail. I would have thought that since the claim is on behalf of the company I work for that any effect on my insurance would be negligible - but perhaps not.

It's so frustrating. I've never been involved in an accident before now, so to have this happen when I wasn't even in the car, with no note left, is bloody infuriating.

I'll definitely declare it though - it just isn't worth the risk.