Friend had an Accident, Insurance won’t Pay
Discussion
Last week a friend of mine had an Accident, she went into the back of a stationary car and pushed the car she hit into the 2nd car ahead.
She had only had the insurance policy one week and passed her test a month ago....
The car she hit has a broken rear bumper and damage seemed very minimal from the pictures (the lad drove off after exchanging numbers). However her car came off much worse (airbags etc) and has been written off and has been taken by the insurance company on a flatbed .
The guy she hit then calls a week later claiming whiplash and £3000.
She really doesn’t know much about cars or insurance to be honest, but she says the insurance company are refusing to replace her car or pay out, they are just covering the car she hit. Now I thought Comprehensive insurance Covered both the car she hit and HER car, the strange thing is the insurance company sent her an automated email earlier with some kind of a car broker offering her a replacement car! Is this correct or are they just pulling a fast one?
The next thing is, will she still be insured by the company for the rest of the year now she’s had the accident? She paid 1k+ just 1 week ago. I’ve already told her there’s no chance of renewal at the end of the year!
Any help appreciated.
She had only had the insurance policy one week and passed her test a month ago....
The car she hit has a broken rear bumper and damage seemed very minimal from the pictures (the lad drove off after exchanging numbers). However her car came off much worse (airbags etc) and has been written off and has been taken by the insurance company on a flatbed .
The guy she hit then calls a week later claiming whiplash and £3000.
She really doesn’t know much about cars or insurance to be honest, but she says the insurance company are refusing to replace her car or pay out, they are just covering the car she hit. Now I thought Comprehensive insurance Covered both the car she hit and HER car, the strange thing is the insurance company sent her an automated email earlier with some kind of a car broker offering her a replacement car! Is this correct or are they just pulling a fast one?
The next thing is, will she still be insured by the company for the rest of the year now she’s had the accident? She paid 1k+ just 1 week ago. I’ve already told her there’s no chance of renewal at the end of the year!
Any help appreciated.
charltjr said:
Doesn’t add up, there is no way this would happen with a fully comp policy. Someone along the line is confused, leaving out information or just plain making stuff up.
I’m leaving her personal information out, that’s why it may seem a bit strangely written!But basically it’s her fault, she crashed into someone, but the insurance won’t cover her, Just the person she hit.
I agree with you I was very surprised when she said they wouldn’t cover her. They have just basically said as it’s your fault you aren’t covered!
xjay1337 said:
Can you redact her personal information and upload a copy of the insurance certificate?
What is the broker / underwriter ?
Have you perhaps spoken to the insurance company on her behalf?
From the info provided it sounds so undeniably wrong that some huge piece of information is missing.
Wrongly set up insurance/license state?
Modified car?
Car was a completely unmodified, standard Punto 1.2. What is the broker / underwriter ?
Have you perhaps spoken to the insurance company on her behalf?
From the info provided it sounds so undeniably wrong that some huge piece of information is missing.
Wrongly set up insurance/license state?
Modified car?
I will speak with her tomorrow in more depth about it, and whether she’s happy with me posting a copy of it. Il be honest she really is clueless about all this kind of stuff! From what I can see it seems to be a fairly standard FC policy.
So after going through everything with her today we are a bit further forwards. It looks like the pre accident market value of the car is actually less than the excess (£750). The car was a £650 13 year old Punto.
They called her today while I was with her and listened on speaker phone, it sounds as though they are yet to determine her car a complete write off so she will not know exactly what’s going on until next week, but looking at the pictures it will most definitely be written off (crumpled bonnet and Airbags deployed). However I think they are trying to help her out now.
Whether or not the current insurance policy keeps on rolling after this accident is unknown yet, although it seems a little unfair she paid £1.2k a week ago and the damage in total is probably worth £650 (replacement car). As for the guy she hit claiming £3000, while she was walking to the station this morning he drove past her in the same car on his way to work! She has told her insurance not to accept any claims on his behalf.
The damage to his car was so minimal, a replacement rear bumper is all it needs. Everything else is still perfectly intact, it just comes down to his “whiplash” claim now...
Will update you all soon when it’s all figured out, thanks for all your help
They called her today while I was with her and listened on speaker phone, it sounds as though they are yet to determine her car a complete write off so she will not know exactly what’s going on until next week, but looking at the pictures it will most definitely be written off (crumpled bonnet and Airbags deployed). However I think they are trying to help her out now.
Whether or not the current insurance policy keeps on rolling after this accident is unknown yet, although it seems a little unfair she paid £1.2k a week ago and the damage in total is probably worth £650 (replacement car). As for the guy she hit claiming £3000, while she was walking to the station this morning he drove past her in the same car on his way to work! She has told her insurance not to accept any claims on his behalf.
The damage to his car was so minimal, a replacement rear bumper is all it needs. Everything else is still perfectly intact, it just comes down to his “whiplash” claim now...
Will update you all soon when it’s all figured out, thanks for all your help
deckster said:
You seem to be implying that he is obviously committing fraud by claiming for whiplash, but if the impact was hard enough to set off both of her airbags and seriously damage the front of her car then it could very easily have caused injury to the other driver.
Your friend should simply put it in the hands of her insurance company and let them deal with it; that is, after all, why she pays £1200 insurance for a £650 car.
He may very well have whiplash, however the fact he left the scene before an ambulance arrived and said he was completely fine, and then went straight to work after that seems a bit odd, and now only a week later after she calls to check up on him is he angry and claiming whiplash. She just wants proof from a doctor that he has what he claims. Your friend should simply put it in the hands of her insurance company and let them deal with it; that is, after all, why she pays £1200 insurance for a £650 car.
From the gov. website:
“Whiplash claims are 50% higher than a decade ago, despite the UK having some of the safest roads in Europe and a fall in the number of accidents. This has been fuelled by a predatory claims industry that encourages minor, exaggerated and fraudulent claims, driving up the costs of insurance premiums for ordinary motorists.”
She just wants to be certain.
PorkInsider said:
She doesn’t need proof of him being injured or ‘to be certain’.
The insurance company will deal with it as they see fit. Whether she thinks he’s genuinely injured or not doesn’t matter.
What is she expecting to happen if she tells the insurer she doesn’t believe him?
I agree with you, she’s just a bit worried. (She is all very new to this stuff).The insurance company will deal with it as they see fit. Whether she thinks he’s genuinely injured or not doesn’t matter.
What is she expecting to happen if she tells the insurer she doesn’t believe him?
I have told her to leave it with the insurance company.
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