Are there any car insurance experts on here. Help!!

[Londongirl888]

Thanks in advance

Due to renew ins for Sunday. Been shopping around found a good deal. Tried to pay and didn't go through. Called new insurer. Upped by a few hundred quid appears my present insurer has decided I have a claim.

I do not someone scratched my car in a car park a while back I called my insurer for advice and as was so small I was not making a claim they have registered a claim there was no claim!! Was assured this would not affect anything.

No one to speak to at ins co till Mon.

Do I go to new insurer and get ins at high price until the original insurer resolves the issue.

Do I renew with original insurer and hope they reduce / refund.

Need to resolve soonest thanks.

Work in travel insurance claims but this is technically a claim. We have to log all queries or claims when you call to access your policy and as it isn’t a theoretical incident but something you’ve actually done/has occurred it’s not a query.

Can you get a week’s temporary insurance somewhere until you get the claim closed down?

One handed. Thanks I was told the opposite. There was no claim. But to let them know if I wanted to claim. I can see why insurance has a negative reputation

More sliding doors. Great idea will try that. Thanks

Does your insurance with your current insurer auto renew? Let it renew, so you are insured, then call them tomorrow. Insurance can be lapsed.
I'm confused why your new insurance went up by so much for one claim though. One of the questions you should have been asked when getting the quote was 'have you had any claims, accidents or incidents in the last 5 (I think) years, if you answered yes then you can give details and advise there was no claim.

I worked in insurance.

Your price should not increase if you didn't claim - as the insurance company haven't paid anything out.

all they have to do is remove the claim and change it to 'for information only' which categorically will not change your price.

You can not say that for every insurer. Some load for the incident, claim or not.

Straight talker thanks. I agree if I had claimed I would expect it to increase. Great idea re cooling off period. I think I may try a higher rated insurer and while this is sorted out. Understood re temp insurance. 

More sliding doors thanks they should tell you though right and not keep it a secret 

straighttalker33 that is not correct for all insurers. Some will load the premium for a reported incident, some won't. Also on an auto renew policy your cooling off period and charges may be slightly different, as an example, my policy was 7 days with a £25 admin fee.
I work for a broker and all insurance companies impose different terms

Thanks for the correction guys, it's been a while Apologies for a hasty post! Just wanted to try and help as I know how confusing it all can be. I would suggest then asking the questions re cooling off, loading for non-claim etc. Then you can make a more informed decision on what to do. Good luck

Thanks thiscouldbe and straight talker. It is a minefield with no apparent industry standard. I feel it shouldn't be this complicated. If I renew there is a non refundable set up of £50 plus cancellation. Will shop around. 

I would suggest then asking the questions re cooling off, loading for non-claim etc. Then you can make a more informed decision on what to do. Good luck

Except they aren’t there to ask until after renewal is due.

Why did you leave this so late to sort out, OP? You must have had the renewal notice for at least a fortnight.

Yes, Dh had similar before. Insurer increased premiums for him being hit while parked even though other driver paid cash and didn’t go through insurance. But dh let them know. They said because he’d been involved in an incident he was statistically more likely to be involved in another so was therefore a higher risk.

If you shop around you will also have to declare it as there will be a question along the lines of “have you been involved in an accident in the last 5 years”. And this will count as one. If you don’t disclose it they will either find out themselves and put your premium up. Or if they don’t find out initially if you make a claim on this policy chances are they will dig deep, find out then and declare your insurance void and not pay anything out to you.

This is why no matter what people on here advise I don’t tell my insurance company anything unless claiming.

Boobili been on hols 😊. Normally done online no problems.

SleepyKat. Thanks with this experience I totally agree. Penalised for being honest

. Well banks and PPI I hope insurance companies are made to be transparent.

Happened to dh.
He was run into by a newly qualified driver ( totally other driver’s fault)
Informed his insurer.

No insurance claim was actually made but they massively loaded his premium. They are a bunch of robbing bastards

Shortfleet thanks that was the word I was looking for!! I really hope insurance is ripped to shreds like the banks long overdue. Unfortunately it seems the lawful honest people take the hit. Big lesson learned. All I can share with my many friends is the name of my particular insurer and my situation. Their choice what they do. Sorry about your husband. It sucks.

It's classed as a claim as the incident still happened