Insurance guys, advice please. Jealous scum content.

[Big E 118]

Well some jealous loser keyed both my M3 and the gf's Range Rover while in our drive last night.

I've just had my renewal through from my insurer which is due 4th August and it's very competitive. After a bit of "compare the market" investigation it appears that a lot of insurers don't want to insure BMW's at the moment so my renewal is HALF the price of the best quote I got. Some of the major insurers declined to quote me!

My question is this, if I contact the police and get a crime ref. number then advise my insurer is it going to make my renewal go up even if I actually get the work done after the renewal date?

I want to be honest about this and not pretend it didn't happen until after my renewal date but what is the best way to play this as far as claims/renewals go?

Thanks for any advice.

[FisiP1]

If you are doing online quotes, move your birthday by one day on the form or you wont get quotes from certain insurers while your current policy is still valid. Then you can call them and they usually will do it at whatever price comes out.

Not sure regarding the incident.

[r11co]

Did your insurance company send someone round to key both the cars?!

[Toro Rosso]

Firstly, sorry to hear about the damage. It really annoys me that people think it is ok to pointlessly damage others people's possesions.

In terms of the insurance, if you do not tell them until after the renewal then the price will not go up as there would not be a claim on the policy at the point of renewal. However, you are supposed to let them know straight away if you want to claim and they may even refuse to pay out if you do not.

Another thing to consider is whether it is worth claiming. I have not seen the extent of the damage but if it could be repaired for an amount similar to your excess I would just pay to fix it outside of insurance as combined with the increase in premium it may actually prove more expensive!

[Big E 118]

Toro Rosso said:

Firstly, sorry to hear about the damage. It really annoys me that people think it is ok to pointlessly damage others people's possesions.

In terms of the insurance, if you do not tell them until after the renewal then the price will not go up as there would not be a claim on the policy at the point of renewal. However, you are supposed to let them know straight away if you want to claim and they may even refuse to pay out if you do not.

Another thing to consider is whether it is worth claiming. I have not seen the extent of the damage but if it could be repaired for an amount similar to your excess I would just pay to fix it outside of insurance as combined with the increase in premium it may actually prove more expensive!

So to clarify a claim is determined as the date when the claim is made, not when the claim is settled?

Only a £250 excess and will probably be a good £1k I would think to repair, quick snaps below.

[Mr GrimNasty]

You know the answer I'm afraid. If you don't declare beforehand, it is fraud.

The least dishonest/problematic approach is to not report/claim and pay for the repairs yourself. It is still technically declarable for insurance purposes, but they would never know.

[KevinA3DSG32]

There are some silly suggestions on here. Changing date of birth may be OK for getting comparitive quotes, but then using that information to get cheaper quotes would be in the realms of deception. Not telling them is to leave yourself open to having your insurance invalidated through not telling them of any material facts.

[Big E 118]

r11co said:

Did your insurance company send someone round to key both the cars?!

Ha,ha. maybe they realised they'd undercharged and needed to bump up my premium!

[frosted]

So what will happen next year when your renewal is up ? Do people actually go and claim 1000 quid off the insurers ?

It would be cheaper to get your credit card out and pu it iover 12 payments instead of 3-4 years of increased premiums

[Big E 118]

Mr GrimNasty said:

You know the answer I'm afraid. If you don't declare beforehand, it is fraud.

The least dishonest/problematic approach is to not report/claim and pay for the repairs yourself. It is still technically declarable for insurance purposes, but they would never know.

Like I said in my original post, I want to/will be honest. I just didn't know whether there is a specific way I could deal with this that would hit my premiums the least. i.e. Tell the insurer now but then wait until after my renewal to get the work done so they only pay out in my new insured year.

Hence me asking for advice

[Big E 118]

frosted said:

So what will happen next year when your renewal is up ? Do people actually go and claim 1000 quid off the insurers ?

It would be cheaper to get your credit card out and pu it iover 12 payments instead of 3-4 years of increased premiums

Good point actually, I may just pay it myself. I think this whole "BMW's being stolen without keys" thing has really affected premiums.

May be a silly question, if I pay for repairs myself do I still have to declare it to the insurer?

[StottyZr]

KevinA3DSG32 said:

There are some silly suggestions on here. Changing date of birth may be OK for getting comparitive quotes, but then using that information to get cheaper quotes would be in the realms of deception. Not telling them is to leave yourself open to having your insurance invalidated through not telling them of any material facts.

I don't think you understood what he meant. You change your D.O.B by 1 day so the company will quote you, then when you ring up you tell them your correct D.O.B and they give you the same quote.

If you try and get a quote online with you actual D.O.B you sometimes find they don't quote you at all, as your already with them.

[Toro Rosso]

You should let them know about any potential claim as soon as possible (even if later settled by you) but as someone said above, they would not know if you dealt with it yourself.

When we have claimed in the past it has not affected our premium until the next renewal. However it was not anywhere near renewal time and we let them know straight away (not much choice as the car was a write off on the motorway!).

[redgriff500]

Big E 118 said:

Good point actually, I may just pay it myself. I think this whole "BMW's being stolen without keys" thing has really affected premiums.

May be a silly question, if I pay for repairs myself do I still have to declare it to the insurer?

Technically yes you should (no I wouldn't)

If you get a crime no. then I'd guess the insurers could find out about it if they were trying to wriggle out of a later claim.

BTW no one randomly wanders up your drive to key your cars - someone has a grudge.

[frosted]

I wouldnt tell the insurance, just get it fixed

[Mr GrimNasty]

Big E 118 said:

Mr GrimNasty said:

You know the answer I'm afraid. If you don't declare beforehand, it is fraud.

The least dishonest/problematic approach is to not report/claim and pay for the repairs yourself. It is still technically declarable for insurance purposes, but they would never know.

Like I said in my original post, I want to/will be honest. I just didn't know whether there is a specific way I could deal with this that would hit my premiums the least. i.e. Tell the insurer now but then wait until after my renewal to get the work done so they only pay out in my new insured year.

Hence me asking for advice

You have to declare any outstanding incidents at the time you invoke the policy, so no honest way around it.

[Dog Star]

Mr GrimNasty said:

It is still technically declarable for insurance purposes, but they would never know.

Why? They ask about accidents, convictions or claims.

[Carlton Banks]

Sorry to see your cars looking like that.

I would suggest the following course of action:

1) Do not contact your insurance company just yet

2) Take the car to someone like KDS to see what can be machined out

3) If this doesnt improve it sufficiently, then get a quote for paint.

I don't understand why you need to even involve insurance at this stage - unless you have the culprit locked up in your house.

[irocfan]

Big E 118 said:

frosted said:

So what will happen next year when your renewal is up ? Do people actually go and claim 1000 quid off the insurers ?

It would be cheaper to get your credit card out and pu it iover 12 payments instead of 3-4 years of increased premiums

Good point actually, I may just pay it myself. I think this whole "BMW's being stolen without keys" thing has really affected premiums.

May be a silly question, if I pay for repairs myself do I still have to declare it to the insurer?

In theory yes as the vandalism technically puts you in a higher risk area which could/should affect your premiums

[Vee]

StottyZr said:

KevinA3DSG32 said:

There are some silly suggestions on here. Changing date of birth may be OK for getting comparitive quotes, but then using that information to get cheaper quotes would be in the realms of deception. Not telling them is to leave yourself open to having your insurance invalidated through not telling them of any material facts.

I don't think you understood what he meant. You change your D.O.B by 1 day so the company will quote you, then when you ring up you tell them your correct D.O.B and they give you the same quote.

If you try and get a quote online with you actual D.O.B you sometimes find they don't quote you at all, as your already with them.

I had this just last week with Direct Line.
I assumed based on previous years that I wouldn't be able to get a quote as I was already a customer. So, changed by DOB by 1 day and went ahead an produced a quote for £996 v the £1523 renewal.
I called renewals and questioned why I could get a cheaper quote online with only the DOB 1 day different. The guy I spoke to said they'd match the online figure but the details had to be exactly the same. Apparently the system WILL let you do this. So off I went and carried out a 2nd online quote with correct details and hey presto, £996.
PITA though - took an hour all in.