To wonder why I'm paying hundreds for car insurance

[SEmyarse]

I have an expensive specific car insurance policy because I do delivery work and need to be covered for multi drop. Some of the people who I work with don't think this is necessary and just deliver on SDP policies.

On 7th Jan, one of the other couriers accidentally reversed into my car at the depot. He is one of the people without a specific policy. He is trying to claim it was 50/50 but I'm not happy with that since I was not moving at the time. I reported the incident and obtained a quote for repair within an hour of it happening.

I phone the insurance company about once a week to see what's happening, but they just say permanently that they're waiting for a response from the 3rd party. They did at one point say the third party was going to contact me directly, but that didn't happen. When I next phoned they said that the third party had disputed liability so they couldn't do anything else, basically accepting their account. Why are they not trying to argue my case when they originally said the onus was on the person reversing?

So they reluctantly said I should send in a diagram (which I offered to do at the beginning, but they said they didn't need). I sent this in.

i have just received a letter from them saying they are closing the file since they have not had any response from me since the incident!! What?? I've just phoned them up and told them how many times I've tried to chase it up. They said they'd not received anything from me and then 10 seconds later claimed to spot it all on a colleagues desk!! So now they've apparently reopened the file and we are now again waiting on a response from the 3rd party. What exactly is it that i'm paying the insurance company to do each year??

[lacksdirection]

Is this a fully comprehensive policy or a 3rd party?

[financialwizard]

I hate to say this but my husband was involved with a disputed insurance claim and it took 2 years to sort out. I hope to god someone will be along shortly to say it is not the norm.

[NineteenForever]

Are you fully comp or third party?
Sounds like a classic dispute. Without evidence no one will get very far.

Your insurer can only recover money they spend on your repairs (eg if you are comp,) WHEN they've paid it and if they have any evidence to pursue. So if you wait for them to get an answer from the other party before you repair, this type of thing can happen.

Is there cctv where the accident happened? Find out and ask them to release two copies if they have it. One for your insurers, one to disclose to to the other side. Act quickly because places delete cctv in around a month, typically. Were there any independent witnesses?

Lots of people deny liability even when it's their fault. Dashboard cameras are coming into action solving what you have just described, and starting at 60-80 quid possibly a good investment.

If you are third party, find out if you have legal help in your policy and use it. You can pursue the other side by writing to their insurer but your evidence will have to be more compelling than theirs eg cctv, independent witnesses.

[Collaborate]

Name and shame them.

[NineteenForever]

Sorry I missed that the other person reversed into your car. Mostly the reversing party would be considered undertaking the more hazardous manoeuvre and at fault but cctv might help you out.

[benefoots]

Happened to me a long time ago. If I remember correctly I spoke to the other drivers insurance company.
Threatened them with the small claims court and insurance ombudsman.
Chq arrived 5 days later
Maybe worthwhile threatening your insurance company with the ombudsman too.
Good luck

[VivaLeBeaver]

Fight it all the way.

I was in a similar situation where a car went into my stationary car and my insurance said I might have to settle 50/50 if the other party disputed it which he did at first. I went up the wall. Have you paid extra for legal advice as part of your insurance? If so see if you can speak to someone.

And I hate to say it but if you have developed any injuries such as whiplash and can start a personal injury claim the PI lawyers are better than your insurance company at battering the other side down. I'd never normally condone it but after been £300 excess out of pocket plus the risk of higher premiums after another driver refused to admit that they were even involved I did this. I did truly have a slightly sprained wrist which if the other driver had been honest I wouldn't have bothered about. My insurance weren't interested in chasing it at all but the PI firm took the other driver to court! He folded rather than lie in court. I got my excess back, I got my no Claims bonus back and 1k compensation.

[treaclesoda]

I also had an accident where the third party (who was fully responsible) disputed liability. I'm afraid to say mine also dragged on for around three years and was only settled a few hours before we were due in court to sort it out. When the other driver realised that I wouldn't be intimidated into changing my account of what happened, he eventually admitted what had happened. It took nerves of steel though.

[SEmyarse]

Fully comp, with aviva. No proper witnesses or evidence but he reversed into the front wheel arch of my car i.e. the side really, so how could I have hit him? His defence is that he wasn't expecting me to be there.

Tbh I can deal with the wrangling, even to the point that I may lose, but I'm furious that they keep trying to fob me off and now try to close the case. Surely they're supposed to be doing something for the policy I pay for?

[treaclesoda]

What I meant to say, rather than just adding my wee story was continue to push it, don't back down. If you don't fight your corner, no one else will.

[SEmyarse]

Definitely no injuries I could use. i wasn't moving and he was only doing about 2 miles an hour, but it's a large van so did significant damage.

I'm just furious that my own insurance company seem to be against me. This latest letter is very abruptly worded, berating me for not responding, and saying the file will be closed and under no circumstances reopened.

[IsItIorAreTheOthersCrazy]

I work for an insurance company, in claims. Firstly, please ignore advice to claim for injury - that is exactly the reason insurance costs so much in the first place!

Your insurance is being rubbish, but they have no costs to chase which is why they're not being proactive. If you know who the third party insurance is, I would contact them and give them your account. Make it clear you feel 100% non fault and ask for their drivers version of events.

Unfortunately, if you haven't claimed yet, they are waiting for the repair bill before deciding whether to pay or dispute it, which presumably means you would pay your excess. If they feel that there driver is at fault, they can deal with your claim and save you that cost. Don't trust your insurance to chase this - them saying that they saw something on a colleagues desk is nonsense - post is scanned directly into a system and people in claims won't be opening the post! A complaint about them not chasing things up or being honest may also help you

[Momagain1]

I think you need to take your conversations with your company up to the next level. The basic claims handlers have mucked things up, possibly not been in any more contact with the 3rd party than they have with you and are trying to cover their error by carrying on as if you caused the problem. You need somebody's supervisor.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Sounds like my first accident. I pulled in behind someone and parked. He reversed his van into the side of my car as trying to do a reverse three point turn. He tried to claim I shouldn't have parked there and that I must have parked in between him checking no one was there and reversing!!

It's no defence, saying he wasn't expecting you to be there. Tjats why you look, use your mirrors, etc. so if he's already said that I think he's shot himself in the foot.

I got whiplash even though I was parked. I was still shunted quite badly.

[SEmyarse]

that's sounds almost identical to my accident viva. I can imagine someone getting whiplash in that way, but I definitely didn't, and certainly won't make anything up.

I'm a bit worried considering my previous experience with them that they're going to shut the case regardless and claim I didn't contact them again. what do i do if that happens? The damage to my car is over £800, and I definitely want it sorted, my car is less than a year old. His van, however, had not a scratch on it.

[VivaLeBeaver]

My brother reckoned that they can't agree to 50/50 or shut the case without you agreeing to it. Not sure how true it is. Did you pay the £20 extra or whatever it is for legal assistance?

[AyeAmarok]

OP, raise an official complaint with them for closing the case when you'd sent in correspondence that they hadn't read yet, they are obviously behind with their incoming mail.

You will get compensation and you'll also get someone to take on your case more proactively.

[SEmyarse]

Resurrecting this one. I'm still getting nowhere.

I'm phoning every other day, and they're insisting they're onto it and will phone me back the next morning. They never do.

I have tried to escalate it in a phone call just now. I have insisted that there must be something they can do to get the third party moving. Surely there is a legal requirement to respond? But they just said all they can do is write on a daily basis and hope they reply. I said what, we could still be in here in 2 years time? and they said yes, in fact if it was still going in 15 years time they would still write on a daily basis. Which sounds ludicrous to me.

I asked to speak to the manager. The call handler denied me this. I asked for his name so I could complain since he had started to be very rude to me and he refused this. He kept apologising to Mrs Dwyer, which is nothing like my name, when I pointed this out he said 'Oh I'm really very sorry Mrs Grisham' which is possibly even less like my name.

But there, they have decided to just write to the third party for eternity, and if the third party continue to ignore them then they won't do anything about it!

[icclemunchy]

There will be a complaints procedure somewhere in your policy documents, you need to start following this. At the end of it you can complain to the insurance ombudsmen but usually the company buck their ideas up pretty quick once you start down that route

[DisappointedOne]

Claim directly from his insurance. They'll pay out then chase him for the money.

[LurkingHusband]

FCA will take complaints seriously. They may try and fob you off (saying you have to exhaust the insurers process first) but you need to point out the insurer isn't processing.

Or Facebook/Twitter ....

[DisappointedOne]

FFS. Just call the other insurer and make the claim directly!

[SEmyarse]

Thanks for all advice.

I'm struggling to get any information I need. The third party has personal insurance with one company, and work insurance with another. He is trying to use the work insurance policy. The work policy refuse to speak to individuals since its a group policy and will only converse with the main company. they just won't speak to me at all.

I had the worst call handler yesterday at MY insurance company who refused to let me speak to the manager, and also refused to give his name so I could complain about him.