Being honest with your insurers
Discussion
Apologies for what is essentially a pointless b
hy moan about cold hard statistics - before anyone says it, I know I now fall into the 'statistically more likely to have another accident' group and I just have to suck it up - but I fancied a moan anyways.
I was rear ended in my works van last week. No injuries, the third party admitted fault, and the third party insurers have already agreed to settle for damage to/inspection of van. In fact the van is practically unmarked, but the Safe-T-Bar on the back has written off his car.
Over the past few days I've had 4 calls from different 'personal injury' solicitors on both sides of the coin, either hinting at an 'immediate settlement' or offering to pursue a no-win no-fee case on my behalf. Now I can't fking stand aholes that try on a fake whiplash claim just to make a bit of dosh and have declined every one of these purely on the principle that they only serve to push my own premiums higher every year. I'm not even fking injured but still they push the "are you sure? Nothing minor at all?" line on the phone until I mention I've been out fking rock climbing every second night since the bump, which shuts them up quickly enough.
On the same principle, I'm scrupulously honest with my own car insurers - all mods declared, full business use, reasonable mileage estimate etc. So I phoned them to let them know that I had been involved in an accident - a material fact, according to my policy booklet. Sure it was off-policy, in a different vehicle, and not my fault - but nevertheless I now have to answer 'Yes' to the "Have you had any accidents/claims in the past X years?" question.
Seventy fking Five fking quid the bds want off me, for the privilege of being crashed into. Almost feel stupid for not putting in a fake compo claim - seems like every other bd does. 
hy moan about cold hard statistics - before anyone says it, I know I now fall into the 'statistically more likely to have another accident' group and I just have to suck it up - but I fancied a moan anyways.I was rear ended in my works van last week. No injuries, the third party admitted fault, and the third party insurers have already agreed to settle for damage to/inspection of van. In fact the van is practically unmarked, but the Safe-T-Bar on the back has written off his car.
Over the past few days I've had 4 calls from different 'personal injury' solicitors on both sides of the coin, either hinting at an 'immediate settlement' or offering to pursue a no-win no-fee case on my behalf. Now I can't f
king stand aholes that try on a fake whiplash claim just to make a bit of dosh and have declined every one of these purely on the principle that they only serve to push my own premiums higher every year. I'm not even fking injured but still they push the "are you sure? Nothing minor at all?" line on the phone until I mention I've been out fking rock climbing every second night since the bump, which shuts them up quickly enough.On the same principle, I'm scrupulously honest with my own car insurers - all mods declared, full business use, reasonable mileage estimate etc. So I phoned them to let them know that I had been involved in an accident - a material fact, according to my policy booklet. Sure it was off-policy, in a different vehicle, and not my fault - but nevertheless I now have to answer 'Yes' to the "Have you had any accidents/claims in the past X years?" question.
Seventy f
king Five fking quid the bds want off me, for the privilege of being crashed into. Almost feel stupid for not putting in a fake compo claim - seems like every other bd does. I believe this falls into some statistics that state that anyone who has had an accident, through fault from themselves or a third party, is more likely to have another accident.
I remember reading on here about someone who's car was stolen from a Honda dealer. Which hiked his insurance the following year. Even though not his address.
I remember reading on here about someone who's car was stolen from a Honda dealer. Which hiked his insurance the following year. Even though not his address.
Aizletree said:
I believe this falls into some statistics that state that anyone who has had an accident, through fault from themselves or a third party, is more likely to have another accident.
I remember reading on here about someone who's car was stolen from a Honda dealer. Which hiked his insurance the following year. Even though not his address.
Surely you would tell the honda garage to claim off their insurance and not even inform yours except telling them about your new car?I remember reading on here about someone who's car was stolen from a Honda dealer. Which hiked his insurance the following year. Even though not his address.
MAD!
gareth.e said:
Surely you would tell the honda garage to claim off their insurance and not even inform yours except telling them about your new car?
I'm fairly sure Honda would claim on their insurance but you have suffered a total loss through theft. You need to say yes when asked the question. Otherwise it's a lie and they can choose to not pay out down the line if you need them. I'm not saying it's a good thing in any way, just the facts.
geeteeaye said:
If OP hadn't and they somehow got wind of it, good luck on them trying to press a case of non-disclosure against OP.
My car is insured with Elephant - the car which hit my van is insured with Admiral. They're the same company. 
He gave them my full details and I've spoken with them multiple times since the accident. Would you want to take the chance that your name isn't now "on the system" somewhere? BonzoG said:
geeteeaye said:
If OP hadn't and they somehow got wind of it, good luck on them trying to press a case of non-disclosure against OP.
My car is insured with Elephant - the car which hit my van is insured with Admiral. They're the same company. He gave them my full details and I've spoken with them multiple times since the accident. Would you want to take the chance that your name isn't now "on the system" somewhere? Would be interested to know if the insurer cross-references the names of third party claimees(sp?) against the database and if they do, do they pass the info on to other insurers. My experience has been that they don't, but unsure about practice now. In any event I would not be voluntarily telling them and if it became an issue at some point, act dumb like 95% of the population would be WRT the small print. As a 21yr old I had a non fault accident which wrote my car off, never even thought of informing my insurer and I imagine the same happens every day.
Insurers will rip you off every way possible once you have commenced the policy, don't give them excuses to do so.
PS - Don't believe the hype (ZOLLAR & R1Loon)
BonzoG said:
My car is insured with Elephant - the car which hit my van is insured with Admiral. They're the same company. He gave them my full details and I've spoken with them multiple times since the accident. Would you want to take the chance that your name isn't now "on the system" somewhere?
that's a bloody good point well put. He gave them my full details and I've spoken with them multiple times since the accident. Would you want to take the chance that your name isn't now "on the system" somewhere? Seeing as most of these 'companies' all fly under very few banners there IS a very strong chance that it'll be connected.
It's s*itty, but you did the right thing, for the right reasons. And yet you still got f**ked over. Insurance companies? I wouldn't p*ss on them if they were on fire. Unless I could p*ss petrol. In whichcase I'd be SERIOUSLY rich!
You think that's bad! When I worked for the council someone clipped my S2000 while it was parked (legally and correctly) in the Council car park. The numpty had a lease car and the council's insurance paid for the very minor repairs to my car. However, I had to provide them with my insurance details and inform them of the accident. My insurance company said it would negatively affect my premiums as I am now statistically more likely to have another accident.
To recap. Car parked legally and correctly in council car park. I'm busy doing my job 200m away when a 3rd party clips it. THAT makes me more likely to crash. Uh-huh?
To recap. Car parked legally and correctly in council car park. I'm busy doing my job 200m away when a 3rd party clips it. THAT makes me more likely to crash. Uh-huh?
Fair enough - maybe I'm just naive! I've seen distant family members have high-value theft claims declined due to seemingly minor issues with where the car was kept vs. where they told the insurers it was kept, and "friends" have total losses not covered because they were found to be fronting. Thus I've always been of the "don't dick about with insurance" mind set.
Amusingly, I'm going for my DAS just now and have told prospective bike insurers the same information. Increase in premium due to non-fault car claim? Square root of fk all! 
Amusingly, I'm going for my DAS just now and have told prospective bike insurers the same information. Increase in premium due to non-fault car claim? Square root of f
k all! Splats said:
To recap. Car parked legally and correctly in council car park. I'm busy doing my job 200m away when a 3rd party clips it. THAT makes me more likely to crash. Uh-huh?
It's down to the fact that although you have done nothing wrong, that person drove that road and hit you, they are more likely to drive that road again/every day and do it again. A bit like living somewhere dodgy and having wing mirrors snapped off or worse, not your fault, your asleep and someone else does something. Granted this isn't an insurance claim but merely an example.
geeteeaye said:
Absolutely.
Would be interested to know if the insurer cross-references the names of third party claimees(sp?) against the database and if they do, do they pass the info on to other insurers. My experience has been that they don't, but unsure about practice now. In any event I would not be voluntarily telling them and if it became an issue at some point, act dumb like 95% of the population would be WRT the small print. As a 21yr old I had a non fault accident which wrote my car off, never even thought of informing my insurer and I imagine the same happens every day.
Insurers will rip you off every way possible once you have commenced the policy, don't give them excuses to do so.
PS - Don't believe the hype (ZOLLAR & R1Loon)
I once called churchill to get my details taken off their system (was getting junk from them), they said they couldn't because there was a claim pending (Never been insured with, or had anything to do with churchill other than a quote 3 years previous), after a bit of "wtf are you talking about" and being put on hold, it transpired that because I was insured with Direct Line, my details were added to Churchills advertising campaign, and I couldn't be removed because it's a central database!Would be interested to know if the insurer cross-references the names of third party claimees(sp?) against the database and if they do, do they pass the info on to other insurers. My experience has been that they don't, but unsure about practice now. In any event I would not be voluntarily telling them and if it became an issue at some point, act dumb like 95% of the population would be WRT the small print. As a 21yr old I had a non fault accident which wrote my car off, never even thought of informing my insurer and I imagine the same happens every day.
Insurers will rip you off every way possible once you have commenced the policy, don't give them excuses to do so.
PS - Don't believe the hype (ZOLLAR & R1Loon)
So yes, lot's of info shared, not worth the risk!!
Back on topic, I'm reasonably honest, but reasonably vague:
"I don't think there are any mods" = no mods, but arse covered if there is a claim and they say it has some mods
"Well work is an 80 mile round trip, plus a bit of personal use and a bit of business use, How many miles do you think I will do?" = I know damn well I'm gonna put mega miles on it, but I'll let you suggest a figure and let you know if I go drastically over it
I had someone run a stop sign and hit me. I rang Accident Exchange, a company that deals with all your insurance claims for you if you have a none fault accident, and I was advised to ring my insurance company and tell them about the accident even though AE would be dealing with everything. I rang and spoke to a guy in a call centre in India and he seemed vague about what I was actually ringing him for and started processing a claim, giving me a claim number. I thought no more about it, the other guy accepted liability for the accident and my car was repaired without a hitch. A couple of months later I got my renewal form and three years no claims bonus had been taken off me. I rang up and spoke to another woman in India who told me that because of my claim for a non fault accident I'd lost no claims bonus. The other guy had logged a claim I never intended to make and as that was on the system the no claims bonus had been automatically adjusted. I had to keep calling back until I got through to someone who spoke good enough English for me to explain the situation to and get it corrected.
General rule for automated call centre systems where they have offshore call agents...don't press the option you want, press the "I want to leave/cancel my policy/account" option.
Most of the time these 'save' teams are uk based and will still be able to do whatever your query really was and with a lot less explaining needed.
Most of the time these 'save' teams are uk based and will still be able to do whatever your query really was and with a lot less explaining needed.
I received many similar calls following an insurance claim for repairs to my car last year.
The calls never lasted long once I pointed out that I was 18 miles from the car when it was hit by the third party, but despite there being no possible reason for a personnel injury case the calls still came, and I'd love to know who sold my details to so many accident management agencies.
The calls never lasted long once I pointed out that I was 18 miles from the car when it was hit by the third party, but despite there being no possible reason for a personnel injury case the calls still came, and I'd love to know who sold my details to so many accident management agencies.
Had simillar with one of mine. Few years ago my mum was side impacted, 2wheels, central reservation the job lot. Car was totalled, she had genuine whiplash including a new found case of paranoia for any form of T junction coming onto an A road....... All settled as it was NOT her fault.
Fast forward 3years, and me and her share 1x car as I use it 3 or 4days, she uses it same, and I'm easier to insure being 23 with points and in temp work than she is at 55years old, 8 years NCB, no points and a license for about 35 years.......... WHY?
because there's a no fault no claim record of an accident with her being involved because she was honest and told a previous insurer.
Motto of the story, admit NOTHING!
Fast forward 3years, and me and her share 1x car as I use it 3 or 4days, she uses it same, and I'm easier to insure being 23 with points and in temp work than she is at 55years old, 8 years NCB, no points and a license for about 35 years.......... WHY?
because there's a no fault no claim record of an accident with her being involved because she was honest and told a previous insurer.
Motto of the story, admit NOTHING!
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