A "claim" on my insurance I was not aware of

[AJL308]

Ok, weird story.

Girlfriend is renewing her car insurance, get's a great quote from Admiral for several hundred quid cheaper than her current one. Goes to accept quote and gets the oop's something's gone wrong screen which also said something in the details supplied isn't right, you need to ring us. She rang and asks what the apparent discrepancy is. Turns out that it's something to do with me as I'm an additional driver - apparently there is a note on the insurance database that I had a claim in the middle of June 2019 and it's going to put 25% on her premium. Thing is though I didn't.

It gets weirder; apparently this isn't actually a claim. It was a contact by me to my insurers to notify them of a minor bump in a car park where someone had driven into my vehicle causing minor damage. My car was identified by its correct number plate. Thing is I have absolutely zero recollection of making this report or of any incident along those lines ever happening. My call records show no calls to my insurers, no sent emails - nothing. I do though have an email dated two days after the alleged incident date acknowledging my contact and that I was not making a claim and was just providing the details as information only.

Now, I'll admit that it's possible that it may have happened and that I've completely forgotten about it (worrying, quite honestly) but it would seem bizarre that I'd even tell my insurers if it was that minor and my car was a crappy ancient Vectra worth about 500 quid.

I'd considered the possibility that it was a car with a similar reg number and an insurance company somewhere had noted it on their system wrongly but why would I have an email saying I'd reported it?

It doesn't seem to fit in with any scam that I can think of because there obviously hasn't been any claim or anything.

Moreover, even if I did report it as having happened in the event that I'd need to claim and I've forgotten about then how on earth does a non-fault, non-claim ramp up an insurance quote for someone else by 25%??

This is all very weird.

[Shuvi McTupya]

AJL308 said:

Moreover, even if I did report it as having happened in the event that I'd need to claim and I've forgotten about then how on earth does a non-fault, non-claim ramp up an insurance quote for someone else by 25%??

This is all very weird.

Insurance is a bloody racket, that's why

[akirk]

AJL308 said:

Moreover, even if I did report it as having happened in the event that I'd need to claim and I've forgotten about then how on earth does a non-fault, non-claim ramp up an insurance quote for someone else by 25%??

That is the easy bit - notification that there might be a forthcoming claim means that you ( / someone else) have triggered a flag in the system that says there may be a claim in the future - Insurance sets out to never lose, so they will now increase premiums to offset their risk until that information is completed / removed from the system. In theory it means that you could have a claim incoming any time now, so they will process quotes based on their worst-case scenario, of your claiming -> price increase

[Cheeky Jim]

I made a similar mistake.

I had a tiny bump.. my fault completely - my front bumper was slightly dislodged and the car in front's rear bumper was slightly dislodged.

I gave them my details and I called the insurance to say there might be a claim, or may not. I didn't make any claim.

The insurers never got called, there was never any claim by anyone, police weren't involved, but the following year my insurance went up as I'd declared an 'accident'.

I suspect the other car was un-insured anyway... they had a slightly dodgy look about them.

Hope you can get it resolved - depends if you did actually have a bump or not.

[PistonBroker]

Not sure if I've misunderstood, but it's perfectly feasible for someone to have tapped your car, reported it to their insurer, and for their insurer to have contacted yours via the MID. Eventually the file would get closed - for instance, if you didn't make a claim for damage.

[AJL308]

PistonBroker said:

Not sure if I've misunderstood, but it's perfectly feasible for someone to have tapped your car, reported it to their insurer, and for their insurer to have contacted yours via the MID. Eventually the file would get closed - for instance, if you didn't make a claim for damage.

The issue is though that I have an email which reads as though I had made the report to my insurers. If it was made by someone else then why doesn't it state that "...we have been contacted to notify you of an ancient involving your vehicle", or similar. The chap from Admiral called my insurer to check the score and he was adamant that its recorded as a report by me. I can't ever recall making such a report or the incident even happening and there is no evidence as regards phone calls or emails of me doing so.

Surely after a year with no response from me it would be closed or at least chased up with me?

The thing is that now, given that it is on the database, if that information is causing me loss then I just might have to claim from the other driver in any event.

Edited by AJL308 on Monday 20th July 18:15

[NickCQ]

AJL308 said:

I do though have an email dated two days after the alleged incident date acknowledging my contact and that I was not making a claim and was just providing the details as information only.

This was the time to ring them and query what was going on, not a year later.

[AJL308]

NickCQ said:

AJL308 said:

I do though have an email dated two days after the alleged incident date acknowledging my contact and that I was not making a claim and was just providing the details as information only.

This was the time to ring them and query what was going on, not a year later.

Clearly. Had I have noticed the email I would have done.