Forgot to declare SP30 and a claim going through

[rustyuk]

I worked in a Lloyd's Claims department for over 5 years. Never saw a single claim thrown out for a SP33 or TS10 etc.

No insurance or drink driving was dealt with on merit and was usually referred to the under writer.

[oyster]

How can you forget something so recent?

There's a specific question with a drop down Yes/No option and it's a mandatory field. So the OP's friend must have consciously answered no at that point.




Edited to add:
If the form was set up to default to no, then it's possible to forget but I am 99.9999% certain forms like that aren't defaulted at any answer.

[jonamv8]

oyster said:

How can you forget something so recent?

There's a specific question with a drop down Yes/No option and it's a mandatory field. So the OP's friend must have consciously answered no at that point.

Correct I was with them when they did as they used my PC.

You are talking about somebody who is unbelievably unorganised with little administrative skills. It's just who they are, they have other qualities. Knowing my friend, I believe it is an honest mistake as they understand the severity of not declaring points, due to me advising them!!

3 points and £100 fine wouldn't have registered on their radar at the time let alone 20 months later.

They are a bit of a nightmare in this regard!!

[jonamv8]

rustyuk said:

I worked in a Lloyd's Claims department for over 5 years. Never saw a single claim thrown out for a SP33 or TS10 etc.

No insurance or drink driving was dealt with on merit and was usually referred to the under writer.

Useful to know thanks for posting

[jonamv8]

oyster said:

How can you forget something so recent?

There's a specific question with a drop down Yes/No option and it's a mandatory field. So the OP's friend must have consciously answered no at that point.




Edited to add:
If the form was set up to default to no, then it's possible to forget but I am 99.9999% certain forms like that aren't defaulted at any answer.

I agree I think they actually stated no due to honestly forgetting

[TooMany2cvs]

LeoSayer said:

ZOLLAR said:

Also, for anyone who has regular dealings with the FOS will know how unpredictable their decisions are, here are two examples.
One where pro rata isn't upheld and one where it is upheld.

As with most things insurance,it comes down to the individual case.

Not upheld.
http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx...

Upheld.
http://www.ombudsman-decisions.org.uk/viewPDF.aspx...

Interesting.

The difference is seemingly dependent on whether the ombudsman and insurance company believe the omission of penalty points was accidental or deliberate / negligent.

There's another couple of big and relevant differences, too.

The one where the adjudicator upheld the complaint was a friend as named driver who had the points. The car wasn't even in her possession, but was at the dealership, when it was stolen.
The one where they did not uphold the complaint was the policyholder themselves having the points, and her father completing the form.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Sarnie said:

The reality is that the SP30 is in no way related to the claim being made, therefore, any insurer should just deduct any loading they would have applied to the policy, from the pay out. And if they didn't, I'm sure thats how the Ombudsman would see it..............

The fact that the non disclosure is nothing to do with the claim isn't relevant. If I took out life insurance and failed to disclose my terminal illness, and was then struck by lightning, I wouldn't expect them to pay out once they found out I'd lied about the illness, just because the illness wasn't relevant to the claim.

But the rest of what you say is spot on. Unless they would have declined the risk for 1 SP30, which is very unlikely, they will likely just deduct the unpaid extra premium from the claim, given that the nature of the non disclosure is minor and unlikely to have been an attempt at fraud.

[jonamv8]

By way of UPDATE:

Just had a phonecall from my friend. They have received notification from insurers that they have validated their claim and it's being passed to another team for processing.

My friend wrote a covering letter with the documents that they requested. In it they highlighted the SP30 and put their hands up to it being an honest mistake. They also highlighted that they had failed to change their address on their driving license.

No mention of it so far so seems like the insurers are ok with the admission.

I'll update further as and when I hear they have concluded matters.

Thanks for all who posted with their experiences it has helped reassure my friend during a difficult time.

[Sheepshanks]

jonamv8 said:

3 points and £100 fine wouldn't have registered on their radar at the time let alone 20 months later.

It's not like it (the penalty itself) turns up out of the blue. If it was a camera then there would be a couple of rounds of paperwork. If he got stopped at the roadside then surely he'd remember that.

OK, you can forget to mention it, but it's a bit odd that he has no recollection of it at all. Maybe it's wrong and someone used his details, or the DVLA have screwed up (as per a recent thread where they cancelled someone's licence).

[jonamv8]

Sheepshanks said:

jonamv8 said:

3 points and £100 fine wouldn't have registered on their radar at the time let alone 20 months later.

It's not like it (the penalty itself) turns up out of the blue. If it was a camera then there would be a couple of rounds of paperwork. If he got stopped at the roadside then surely he'd remember that.

OK, you can forget to mention it, but it's a bit odd that he has no recollection of it at all. Maybe it's wrong and someone used his details, or the DVLA have screwed up (as per a recent thread where they cancelled someone's licence).

For you or I yes, I would never forget that but I work in IT in an Office running a company so I have to be good with the details.

They simply are not very good with what deem to be small details. They are not a PH'er, not into cars and don't really give a toss about stuff that the majority on here would class as important.

Names and Faces though - they'd beat me every time.

Horses/Courses. They forgot and I believe them.

[p4cks]

As per my first reply I thought it would go this way.

Glad everything sorted itself out.

[jonamv8]

p4cks said:

As per my first reply I thought it would go this way.

Glad everything sorted itself out.

Thanks mate

My friend had a call yesterday, they are loading the policy by £140 ish , about 20%, as a result of SP30

[TwigtheWonderkid]

jonamv8 said:

Thanks mate

My friend had a call yesterday, they are loading the policy by £140 ish , about 20%, as a result of SP30

But that covers the shortfall for 2 years, not just 1?

[jonamv8]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

jonamv8 said:

Thanks mate

My friend had a call yesterday, they are loading the policy by £140 ish , about 20%, as a result of SP30

But that covers the shortfall for 2 years, not just 1?

Single year. They were insured elsewhere previously and yep you guessed it that insurer wasnt told either.

Like I say tho - they have qualities as a friend but admin isnt one

[rustyuk]

Just a quick message to the chap that sent me a PM. I've been out of the insurance game for a good few years but I doubt your cu20 will be questioned unless the crash was due to an unsafe vehicle. If they ask to see your license just be honest and say you forgot.

From memory I believe that if they cancel your insurance they must give you a full refund and could still be liable under the Road Traffic Act for any third party costs. So it's not in their interest to cancel but they could apply any loading for the CU20 to the original policy.

Good luck!!