£700 Renewal Hike Over Alleged Incident – What Can I Do?

[thewindingpathway]

A man claimed I clipped his car, but I was parked at the time. He later called asking for £300 cash to drop it—I refused, and he went to his insurer. Four months on, no evidence has been produced, yet my insurer has added £700 to my renewal and removed my NCB while it’s “pending.”
They say I must declare this to new insurers or I’m breaking the law, but comparison sites only ask about actual accidents. FSA agreed it’s poor practice but can’t help unless I file a formal complaint and wait 8 weeks. One new insurer let me log it as “notification only,” as I originally did. What should I do next?

I had this and I just sucked up the cost at renewal and they refunded me the difference when it was resolved

Have you got legal insurance?

If so get some advice to get the alleged claimant to put up or shut up

Haha, thanks for the advice! I'm not sure if legal insurance was included with my policy. I’ll check it out and see if I can go with your suggestion! 👌

That’s exactly what I was thinking I’d have to do—so I rang up the insurance company to ask, hypothetically, if two months down the line when everything gets dropped, they could reinstate my no claims bonus, adjust the premium, and refund any overpaid amount. Their answer? A resounding “no,” because apparently once the policy starts, it’s locked in like a bad haircut—you just have to live with it.

They said the only way around it would be to cancel the policy (cue the cancellation fee), then get them to re-quote and take out a new one. Even the ombudsman said they should refund it, but the insurer's stance was basically, “Well, at the time of renewal, your situation was what it was.”

Honestly, it feels pretty unfair. But thanks for sharing your experience too—it really helps to know I’m not the only one navigating this kind of nonsense!

Oh gosh, that seems really unfair. I didn’t even have to chase for my refund, it was automatic once the claim was closed. It was with Admiral

You'll probably get a reply quicker than 8 weeks if you log a complaint. 8 weeks is the time they are supposed to resolve the complaint or you can go to the Ombudsman. Most will respond much quicker so it doesn't hurt to log one.