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Original poster

DS17 has crashed his car, then cancelled his insurance help please !!

239 replies

iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 08:03

He only passed a few weeks ago and yesterday was driving home from school and he went into the back of the car in front of him. This was due to someone pulling out on the driver in front and my son braked hard but unfortunately did not stop in time and has bumped the back of the car in front

Luckily no one was hurt and the other driver was reasonable and exchanged numbers and agreed DS (aka me!) would pay for the damage rather than going through insurance . The other chap is going to get a quote for the damage and contact us today to sort

However in his panic my son decided he doesn't want to drive for a while and so went onto his car insurance app and cancelled his own policy 🤦‍♀️ (he has pay as u go with Veygo and it's still insured because I've got my own insurance on the car which you have to have when insured with Veygo)

But now I'm panicking in case the damage is not affordable / the car is a write off and the chap has no choice to go through his insurance. My son now isn't insured - although he was at the time of the accident - so what will happen ?? And it's not like we can just reinstate the insurance as he's now had an accident, Altho not reported

It sounds daft but in all my years driving I've never had an accident and never had to claim so I'm not even sure how it all works !!

OP posts:
Aworldofmyown · 20/03/2024 09:31

Ultimately he was too close to the car in front so was unable to stop. Its his fault (I have done this and a rear end is always the person behinds fault) call the insurance and explain, maybe don't mention he was planning on avoiding getting insurance involved.

NewGirlinClass · 20/03/2024 09:57

A 17 yr old made a mistake, nobody dead. Felt overwhelmed reacted badly.
Parents take deep breathe and help sort it. Step by step. It's the job and we will not make that easier for them by calling anyone stupid or irresponsible.

silkythecat · 20/03/2024 10:03

@Toomuch44 surely not a credible argument?! He would have been driving too close to the car in front? If he had enough stopping distance, he'd have had enough time to react and stop safely without hitting the car in front?

MumblesParty · 20/03/2024 10:09

As an aside OP, how on earth did you get insurance for a 17 year old without a black box, it must have cost thousands! I had a nightmare trying to insure my son - ended up having to use Marmalade where you pay for an block of miles, and have an obligatory black box. I might look into Veygo.

I think all you can do now is wait and hope the other driver gets an affordable quote. How bad was the damage? Presume he took photos?

Original poster
iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 10:16

NewGirlinClass · 20/03/2024 09:57

A 17 yr old made a mistake, nobody dead. Felt overwhelmed reacted badly.
Parents take deep breathe and help sort it. Step by step. It's the job and we will not make that easier for them by calling anyone stupid or irresponsible.

Thank you

I've been in such a panic since it happened

😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

OP posts:
silkythecat · 20/03/2024 10:18

We had a situation where we were hit by a new driver. She had passed her test the previous day. We were parked in a marked bay, within the lines in a car park. She reversed into the back of our vehicle at speed. It caused quite a bit of damage (our vehicle is a motorhome... so quite lucky it wasn't written off!! - imagine what they are made of above the bumpers!!). Her parents wanted to settle outside of insurers. We were satisfied with that. However, we did inform our insurer of the incident, witness details and her details. We told them we were settling privately outside of insurance. We simply couldn't risk the insurance on the van being null and void at a later date because our insurers found out and we hadn't informed them! Our insurer documented it and closed the case. It transpired her insurer was notified, it sounds like they then cancelled her policy, we don't know why, but you can only assume it was because she hadn't notified them. I guess the message here is to be wary, it could make the situation worse, if,like his insurer were to find out. For example the other party notifies their insurer (like we did) but advises them they are settling outside of insurance (like we did). Clearly it would then have a huge impact on his ability to get car insurance in the future. Is it worth that risk?

Original poster
iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 10:18

MumblesParty · 20/03/2024 10:09

As an aside OP, how on earth did you get insurance for a 17 year old without a black box, it must have cost thousands! I had a nightmare trying to insure my son - ended up having to use Marmalade where you pay for an block of miles, and have an obligatory black box. I might look into Veygo.

I think all you can do now is wait and hope the other driver gets an affordable quote. How bad was the damage? Presume he took photos?

Try Veygo they're great

My son pays £240 a month but it's pay as you go, no contract . No black box.

So just renew every month

I've had a call from the guy he went into and he's just been to the body shop and is awaiting a quote 🙏 . His car is a 20 year old mini so only worth a grand or so. And tbh I'd be happy to just cover the cost of what it's worth to make it go away 🤦‍♀️

OP posts:
rwalker · 20/03/2024 10:18

MaloneMeadow · 20/03/2024 08:09

Realistically OP if your son has been stupid enough to cancel his insurance straight after having an accident then he isn’t mature enough to be driving a car, end of

Struggling to see how this is remotely helpful

Smokeysgirl · 20/03/2024 10:25

If you also insure the car then why can't the claim be done through your insurance?

Original poster
iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 10:28

Smokeysgirl · 20/03/2024 10:25

If you also insure the car then why can't the claim be done through your insurance?

My insurance is just for me

The pay as you go insurance that my son has is conditional on an experienced adult driver also having insurance on the car

OP posts:
MarkSloaneComeBack · 20/03/2024 10:29

Seems suspicious that his first thought was to cancel his insurance. Are you sure he hadn't cancelled it before and panicked after crash and told you this tale?

pinkyredrose · 20/03/2024 10:32

This was due to someone pulling out on the driver in front and my son braked hard but unfortunately did not stop in time

No it was due to your son being too close to the car in front.

Why would you need to pay, surely your son should be paying?

Smokeysgirl · 20/03/2024 10:40

@iloveshetlandponies Just another thought, (I have a similar minded son so am sympathetic), if it's a pay monthly type policy has he paid up to the end of the month? If so, then, unless he's had a refund, surely he's covered up till the date his next payment would be due to go out? Also, and I will probably get flamed for this but, can't he say that he cancelled the insurance by mistake when he was looking through his policy details whilst panicking after the accident?

cestlavielife · 20/03/2024 10:41

Go thru insurance
Damage even minor can cost 1000
Also is mandatory to report any incident

Rosiiee · 20/03/2024 10:46

I think you’ll be ok re being able to pay for the damage. I had damage at the back of my car, 2 headlights broken, scratches and dents and bumper broken- the quote was a bit over 2.5k to get it fixed (large SUV too). Hope it’s good news for you and the quote isn’t too high!

Original poster
iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 10:50

MarkSloaneComeBack · 20/03/2024 10:29

Seems suspicious that his first thought was to cancel his insurance. Are you sure he hadn't cancelled it before and panicked after crash and told you this tale?

No as I get the emails

He had the accident at approx 1pm, car insurance was cancelled around 3/4 hours later

OP posts:
Original poster
iloveshetlandponies · 20/03/2024 10:51

Smokeysgirl · 20/03/2024 10:40

@iloveshetlandponies Just another thought, (I have a similar minded son so am sympathetic), if it's a pay monthly type policy has he paid up to the end of the month? If so, then, unless he's had a refund, surely he's covered up till the date his next payment would be due to go out? Also, and I will probably get flamed for this but, can't he say that he cancelled the insurance by mistake when he was looking through his policy details whilst panicking after the accident?

No it's cancelled ...he's already got a small refund processing 😫😫

OP posts:
Smokeysgirl · 20/03/2024 10:56

Oh dear, well, fingers crossed, the costs are affordable to you.

Kwasi · 20/03/2024 10:56

He was insured at the time of the accident but he will probably have to pay the rest of his premium to be able to make a claim. I am assuming his insurance contract is for one year and he’s been paying it in monthly instalments.

Wonkypictureframe · 20/03/2024 10:57

Just to emphasise as a general point that you need to declare any accident to your insurers asap whether or not you intend to claim. If they find out after the event that the car was involved in any sort of incident and you didn’t declare it, they will cancel the insurance immediately.

charliefair · 20/03/2024 11:02

The accident must be reported to the insurance company even if there is not going to be a claim. Also watch your backs as this type of accident is very common for personal injury claims months down the line. Not notifying the insurer could bite him in the arse irrespective of the cancellation and I'm surprised as a parent you have not encouraged him to do the right thing but tried to buy your way out of it.

whoscoatsthatjacket2012 · 20/03/2024 11:03

Idideridest · 20/03/2024 08:20

If the other person makes a claim then DS will have to pay the full year’s insurance (if he hasn’t paid up front).

All part of growing up.

Not on these policies. They are pay as you go

Bumblebeeinatree · 20/03/2024 11:03

It sounds like the guy in front stopped OK and didn't hit the car that pulled out, so the one behind him should have been able to stop.

Check with the guy if he has reported the accident to his insurance, and if he has given your son's details to them. If so it may be prudent for you to report it also, you could say your son didn't realise he had to report it hence the delay. It may increase his future insurance costs as he will have to declare a previous accident when applying.

whoscoatsthatjacket2012 · 20/03/2024 11:08

OP. I am
An insurance claims handler. Please go not panic. He was covered at the time of the accident so no need to worry.
If the quote is too much for you just ring Veygo to report it and say yin we're going to pay. It's no big deal
Admiral handle all the Veygo claims and won't be dicks about it.
On another note get him driving again to make sure he doesn't lose confidence.
My SS bumped a parked car the day after his test and we encouraged him to carry on driving which really helped.

DoubleOuch · 20/03/2024 11:15

Don't people make things complicated? Look, he's paying £2880 a year insurance (I know its monthly PAYG), to give him peace of mind if (or unfortunately in this case, when) there's an accident. So make use of it! All the doubts and uncertainties about who reported what, what it may or may not cost, it all goes away. A tough lesson, but hey. Then reinstate the insurance and get himback out in the car.

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