Claims database issues
Discussion
I have had two accidents in my company car this year. The most recent was hassle free; the other driver reversed out of a space without looking and hit me. He held his hands up and his insurer wrote to me a couple of days later accepting liability.
The first was a nightmare though. I stopped at a red light and the car behind went into me. It later came out that he was uninsured. The story he gave me was very vague, but along the lines of his business partner making some sort of error. I'm not sure I believe him, but he offered to pay for the damage. As it is a lease car, I have to follow their procedure, which is to phone a helpline number, with various options. When I select 'report an accident', I am transferred to an accident management company.
I had to continuously chase the accident management company to get it resolved; my two concerns were maintaining a history of no accidents where I was at fault and also getting back my excess, which my employer deducted from my salary.
I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned.
I recently insured my own car, which had been SORN for over a year. I told them about the two accidents in my company car, saying they were not my fault and settled. When the documents arrived, however, they said the following:
Claim no. 1
Claim type: Accident
Claim status: Outstanding
NCD affected: Yes
At fault?: Yes
Costs: £1,500
Claim no. 2
Clam type: Accident
Claim status: Settled
NCD affected: No
At fault: No
Costs: £3,000
I phoned the broker and told them about the error. They told me I would need to get it in writing from the insurer. I emailed HR and asked them to obtain confirmation from the insurer and they told me to speak to the accident management company.
I contacted the accident management company, who told me to ask my broker to contact them and they would then confirm the details. I emailed the broker with the information and called them after a few days; they told me the accident management company had refused to discuss it, citing data protection reasons. I asked why all this was necessary, as they had taken my word regarding the second accident. They told me the information was from a central database, so clearly it is something I need to get to the bottom of.
I asked HR if I could contact the insurer (I have to be diplomatic here, as they are one of our major clients). I spoke to them and have now found out the other driver has not paid in full. He was sent two invoices; one from the accident management company for our uninsured losses, and one from the insurer for their outlay. He paid the accident management company but not the insurer. The outstanding amount is £423.25.
My questions are:
•What details are held on the claims database? I accept the claim is outstanding, but would it actually say I was at fault in this situation, just because payment is outstanding? Could I do anything to make them change this, so it says I was not at fault (I appreciate the claim status would still be outstanding)?
•The policy on the company car is not in my name - would it affect my personal NCD?
•If the little f
ker does not settle the invoice; how would that affect me on the future? I understand many retail insurance policies have an 'uninsured driver promise', where they do not deduct an excess or alter your NCD in these circumstances. I appreciate this is a commercial policy, but would the information placed on the database be any different for somebody with a retail policy with an uninsured driver promise?
The first was a nightmare though. I stopped at a red light and the car behind went into me. It later came out that he was uninsured. The story he gave me was very vague, but along the lines of his business partner making some sort of error. I'm not sure I believe him, but he offered to pay for the damage. As it is a lease car, I have to follow their procedure, which is to phone a helpline number, with various options. When I select 'report an accident', I am transferred to an accident management company.
I had to continuously chase the accident management company to get it resolved; my two concerns were maintaining a history of no accidents where I was at fault and also getting back my excess, which my employer deducted from my salary.
I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned.
I recently insured my own car, which had been SORN for over a year. I told them about the two accidents in my company car, saying they were not my fault and settled. When the documents arrived, however, they said the following:
Claim no. 1
Claim type: Accident
Claim status: Outstanding
NCD affected: Yes
At fault?: Yes
Costs: £1,500
Claim no. 2
Clam type: Accident
Claim status: Settled
NCD affected: No
At fault: No
Costs: £3,000
I phoned the broker and told them about the error. They told me I would need to get it in writing from the insurer. I emailed HR and asked them to obtain confirmation from the insurer and they told me to speak to the accident management company.
I contacted the accident management company, who told me to ask my broker to contact them and they would then confirm the details. I emailed the broker with the information and called them after a few days; they told me the accident management company had refused to discuss it, citing data protection reasons. I asked why all this was necessary, as they had taken my word regarding the second accident. They told me the information was from a central database, so clearly it is something I need to get to the bottom of.
I asked HR if I could contact the insurer (I have to be diplomatic here, as they are one of our major clients). I spoke to them and have now found out the other driver has not paid in full. He was sent two invoices; one from the accident management company for our uninsured losses, and one from the insurer for their outlay. He paid the accident management company but not the insurer. The outstanding amount is £423.25.
My questions are:
•What details are held on the claims database? I accept the claim is outstanding, but would it actually say I was at fault in this situation, just because payment is outstanding? Could I do anything to make them change this, so it says I was not at fault (I appreciate the claim status would still be outstanding)?
•The policy on the company car is not in my name - would it affect my personal NCD?
•If the little f
ker does not settle the invoice; how would that affect me on the future? I understand many retail insurance policies have an 'uninsured driver promise', where they do not deduct an excess or alter your NCD in these circumstances. I appreciate this is a commercial policy, but would the information placed on the database be any different for somebody with a retail policy with an uninsured driver promise?Ganglandboss said:
I have had two accidents in my company car this year. The most recent was hassle free; the other driver reversed out of a space without looking and hit me. He held his hands up and his insurer wrote to me a couple of days later accepting liability.
The first was a nightmare though. I stopped at a red light and the car behind went into me. It later came out that he was uninsured. The story he gave me was very vague, but along the lines of his business partner making some sort of error. I'm not sure I believe him, but he offered to pay for the damage. As it is a lease car, I have to follow their procedure, which is to phone a helpline number, with various options. When I select 'report an accident', I am transferred to an accident management company.
I had to continuously chase the accident management company to get it resolved; my two concerns were maintaining a history of no accidents where I was at fault and also getting back my excess, which my employer deducted from my salary.
I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned.
I recently insured my own car, which had been SORN for over a year. I told them about the two accidents in my company car, saying they were not my fault and settled. When the documents arrived, however, they said the following:
Claim no. 1
Claim type: Accident
Claim status: Outstanding
NCD affected: Yes
At fault?: Yes
Costs: £1,500
Claim no. 2
Clam type: Accident
Claim status: Settled
NCD affected: No
At fault: No
Costs: £3,000
I phoned the broker and told them about the error. They told me I would need to get it in writing from the insurer. I emailed HR and asked them to obtain confirmation from the insurer and they told me to speak to the accident management company.
I contacted the accident management company, who told me to ask my broker to contact them and they would then confirm the details. I emailed the broker with the information and called them after a few days; they told me the accident management company had refused to discuss it, citing data protection reasons. I asked why all this was necessary, as they had taken my word regarding the second accident. They told me the information was from a central database, so clearly it is something I need to get to the bottom of.
I asked HR if I could contact the insurer (I have to be diplomatic here, as they are one of our major clients). I spoke to them and have now found out the other driver has not paid in full. He was sent two invoices; one from the accident management company for our uninsured losses, and one from the insurer for their outlay. He paid the accident management company but not the insurer. The outstanding amount is £423.25.
My questions are:
•What details are held on the claims database? I accept the claim is outstanding, but would it actually say I was at fault in this situation, just because payment is outstanding? Could I do anything to make them change this, so it says I was not at fault (I appreciate the claim status would still be outstanding)?
•The policy on the company car is not in my name - would it affect my personal NCD?
•If the little fker does not settle the invoice; how would that affect me on the future? I understand many retail insurance policies have an 'uninsured driver promise', where they do not deduct an excess or alter your NCD in these circumstances. I appreciate this is a commercial policy, but would the information placed on the database be any different for somebody with a retail policy with an uninsured driver promise?
To answer the questionsThe first was a nightmare though. I stopped at a red light and the car behind went into me. It later came out that he was uninsured. The story he gave me was very vague, but along the lines of his business partner making some sort of error. I'm not sure I believe him, but he offered to pay for the damage. As it is a lease car, I have to follow their procedure, which is to phone a helpline number, with various options. When I select 'report an accident', I am transferred to an accident management company.
I had to continuously chase the accident management company to get it resolved; my two concerns were maintaining a history of no accidents where I was at fault and also getting back my excess, which my employer deducted from my salary.
I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned.
I recently insured my own car, which had been SORN for over a year. I told them about the two accidents in my company car, saying they were not my fault and settled. When the documents arrived, however, they said the following:
Claim no. 1
Claim type: Accident
Claim status: Outstanding
NCD affected: Yes
At fault?: Yes
Costs: £1,500
Claim no. 2
Clam type: Accident
Claim status: Settled
NCD affected: No
At fault: No
Costs: £3,000
I phoned the broker and told them about the error. They told me I would need to get it in writing from the insurer. I emailed HR and asked them to obtain confirmation from the insurer and they told me to speak to the accident management company.
I contacted the accident management company, who told me to ask my broker to contact them and they would then confirm the details. I emailed the broker with the information and called them after a few days; they told me the accident management company had refused to discuss it, citing data protection reasons. I asked why all this was necessary, as they had taken my word regarding the second accident. They told me the information was from a central database, so clearly it is something I need to get to the bottom of.
I asked HR if I could contact the insurer (I have to be diplomatic here, as they are one of our major clients). I spoke to them and have now found out the other driver has not paid in full. He was sent two invoices; one from the accident management company for our uninsured losses, and one from the insurer for their outlay. He paid the accident management company but not the insurer. The outstanding amount is £423.25.
My questions are:
•What details are held on the claims database? I accept the claim is outstanding, but would it actually say I was at fault in this situation, just because payment is outstanding? Could I do anything to make them change this, so it says I was not at fault (I appreciate the claim status would still be outstanding)?
•The policy on the company car is not in my name - would it affect my personal NCD?
•If the little f
ker does not settle the invoice; how would that affect me on the future? I understand many retail insurance policies have an 'uninsured driver promise', where they do not deduct an excess or alter your NCD in these circumstances. I appreciate this is a commercial policy, but would the information placed on the database be any different for somebody with a retail policy with an uninsured driver promise?1. You can write to the Claims Underwriting Exchange (CUE) here amd request all details held on you. It'll cost you £10 and there's a standard form for you to complete and some requirements to evidence your identity.
http://www.insurancedatabases.co.uk
You can't force them to change anything. Only an insurer or broker can update this. The claim will often be shown as fault and open until such time as all outlay has been recovered. If it isn't then it remains fault
2. Your personal NCD is not affected by any claim on any vehicle where the NCD is not used. However, you should declare a claim on any vehicle (within the timeframes asked) when insuring any vehicle, irrespective of ownership.
3. It's not "many" that have the uninsured driver promise, it's some and they are all quite different and cover very different things. For example AXA seem to say that you will not have anything bad at all recorded, whereas Direct Line (amd brands) still log the claim and charge you your excess. The impact if he doesn't settle is that you will have an effective fault claim logged against you, much like anyone who is the victim of a hit and run type incident. Non fault is not non fault. It is where the insurer has no outlay, or recovers it in full.
Some other points. The specific details that you've provided are formatted and contain the exact data in the exact way it would be provided via CUE. I'm not sure what th ever all point here is, other than you've been shafted by an uninsured driver.
Loon, maybe his point is that during discussion with his insurance company "I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned."
He is now being told that the claim is not settled and until it is he is regarded as at fault. This despite the third party accepting responsibilty and his excess being returned.
He is now being told that the claim is not settled and until it is he is regarded as at fault. This despite the third party accepting responsibilty and his excess being returned.
DocJock said:
Loon, maybe his point is that during discussion with his insurance company "I was told the other driver had accepted liability, and later that he had been invoiced. Eventually I was told he had paid, the claim was now settled, and my excess was returned."
He is now being told that the claim is not settled and until it is he is regarded as at fault. This despite the third party accepting responsibilty and his excess being returned.
He also states that the AMC said this, not the insurer. The AMC have recovered his excess and their outlay, but not the amount that the insurer paid out. There is quite possibly some miscommunication here, but it's not the insurer who has let this break down, it's the AMC. He is now being told that the claim is not settled and until it is he is regarded as at fault. This despite the third party accepting responsibilty and his excess being returned.
Thanks for the advice, Loon.
Doc, it wasn't the insurer who told me it was settled, it was the accident management company. As it is a company car, we have a helpline for any car related issues (For replacement tyres, press 1. For servicing, or to report a fault, press 2. If you require breakdown assistance...). When I select the option to report an accident, it puts me through to an accident management company.
All contact I would have normally is with the accident management company. Normally I would have no contact with the insurer, or even my employer on the matter. The accident management company work for my employer to manage the claim and recover our uninsured losses. As the other driver paid their invoice, they returned my excess and told me it was settled.
My concern is that my claims history seemed to be inaccurate, but Loon has cleared that up. My concern now is ensuring the other driver settles the outstanding invoice, so the insurer can amend the database. The other driver isn't your typical scally - he has his own business. He is quite young and his business partner is his uncle; I suspect he relied on his uncle to sort out the insurance and he did not do it.
I have had a little chat with him; he is aware that he is causing me grief now, and has promised to pay up.
Doc, it wasn't the insurer who told me it was settled, it was the accident management company. As it is a company car, we have a helpline for any car related issues (For replacement tyres, press 1. For servicing, or to report a fault, press 2. If you require breakdown assistance...). When I select the option to report an accident, it puts me through to an accident management company.
All contact I would have normally is with the accident management company. Normally I would have no contact with the insurer, or even my employer on the matter. The accident management company work for my employer to manage the claim and recover our uninsured losses. As the other driver paid their invoice, they returned my excess and told me it was settled.
My concern is that my claims history seemed to be inaccurate, but Loon has cleared that up. My concern now is ensuring the other driver settles the outstanding invoice, so the insurer can amend the database. The other driver isn't your typical scally - he has his own business. He is quite young and his business partner is his uncle; I suspect he relied on his uncle to sort out the insurance and he did not do it.
I have had a little chat with him; he is aware that he is causing me grief now, and has promised to pay up.
Result! 
My company car insurer have been writing to him, and had just passed it onto solicitors. I rang him again, asking him why he had still not made a payment, and informing him that the insurer had commenced legal proceedings.
Again, he promised to pay up, but payment was not forthcoming. I rang him again and he fobbed me off, saying he would call me back. Naturally he didn't, and subsequent calls were ringing out. I called him the following day, this time at his restaurant.
He told me he couldn't pay, saying some utter b*ll*cks about the insurer not providing payment details. I exploded at him, and told him if payment was not made, I would visit him at his restaurant and ensure all his customers hear our conversation.
He sent payment to me personally on the following Monday. I have forwarded this to the insurer and they have just advised me the file has been closed, the accident recorded as non-fault and the CUE database is being updated.
My company car insurer have been writing to him, and had just passed it onto solicitors. I rang him again, asking him why he had still not made a payment, and informing him that the insurer had commenced legal proceedings.
Again, he promised to pay up, but payment was not forthcoming. I rang him again and he fobbed me off, saying he would call me back. Naturally he didn't, and subsequent calls were ringing out. I called him the following day, this time at his restaurant.
He told me he couldn't pay, saying some utter b*ll*cks about the insurer not providing payment details. I exploded at him, and told him if payment was not made, I would visit him at his restaurant and ensure all his customers hear our conversation.
He sent payment to me personally on the following Monday. I have forwarded this to the insurer and they have just advised me the file has been closed, the accident recorded as non-fault and the CUE database is being updated.
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