Car insurance after a no-fault crash?

nlj

Well-Known Member
Anyone had experience of trying to get car insurance renewal after an accident that wasn't their fault? A few weeks ago I was in a bad car crash when the other driver went through a red light and into the side of my car. Amazingly no-one was seriously injured although both cars were written off. Now the insurance company tells me that my car insurance premium will more than double, even though the crash wasn't my fault. When I queried this, they sent me a letter saying they couldn't provide me with a quote for a renewal at all and I'd have to find insurance somewhere else. I could really do without this at the moment as I have a load of bruises and anxiety and I'm not sleeping very well. I thought insurance companies were supposed to support their customers in the event of a crash. They tell us all this when they're first trying to get our business! The claim will be all on the other driver's policy, although I appreciate that this sort of thing can take a long time to be settled. Isn't it bad how life can be sailing along and then all of a sudden you're hit (literally!) out of the blue, with something that drags you down again.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
I agree, sounds VERY squirrely. The other insurance company should have paid for everything. Unless they had no insurance in which case, did you have uninsured driver insurance?
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
The other driver had insurance and he's admitted liability. Despite that, my insurance company has told me that they assume worst-case scenario until the case is finally closed. That sometimes takes years. Worst-case scenario means that they attach a full fault, high cost claim to my name until the case is finally settled. There is an insurance ombudsman in the UK but I've been looking into this and have read loads of other horror stories:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...osts-soar-no-fault-accidents-don-t-claim.html

It's like a huge scam that no-one's aware of until they find themselves in this situation, and then they seem to be powerless to do anything about it. Apparently insurance companies have statistical 'proof' that someone who's been in an accident is at far greater risk of having more accidents, even if it wasn't their fault.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
I don't know about in the UK but here in the US that would be reason to sue the company. Granted, still doesn't help you right now if you can sue.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Can you contact your member of parliament? This might take a political solution - as in, legislation restricting the insurance companies.
 

RN0441

100% better than I was but not at 100% yet
Sorry to hear this and glad you are mostly ok. We switched to Progressive insurance for a time when we had insurance problems after our son had too many tickets. We just switched back to State Farm recently after things fell off the radar.
 

ksm

Well-Known Member
I would call an attorney and see if you have any rights...against the driver that caused it, or your insurance company. KSM
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
Thanks for your replies. We have a Financial Services Ombudsman here in the UK and I think I will put together all the facts and write to them.

I'm feeling like a victim twice, once as a victim of a car crash and once as a victim of bullying by the insurance company! That's surely not acceptable.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
nlj, my husband and i had this happen back in the 90s. When he got out of the Army, we went with Geico ins because they had phenomenal discounts for veterans and disabled vets.

Over a period of 3 years, we managed to get hit 3 times. All 3 times we were hit by drunken, uninsured drivers, while we were stopped.

Geico paid out under our uninsured driver coverage, but when the time came to renew our policy for the next 6 months, we received a letter from Geico telling us that they had done a "risk assessment" and could no longer insure us.

Even though we hadn't been at fault in ANY of the accidents, Geico dropped us.

Not only that, once you've been dropped by an ins co, at least in the US, it makes it much harder and much more expensive to get insurance through another carrier, no matter the reason you were dropped.

We wound up going with Progressive as well, and paying half again what we'd been paying Geico. We carried Progressive for several years, and then, shortly after husband's death, I switched to a different company and had no problem as the "drop" had dropped off my record.

Interestingly, when I moved to Milwaukee metro, I insured my car with Allstate and promptly got my car hit in a parking lot. I have no idea "who, what, or when.

I went to pick up my car and the driver's side rear quarter panel was crushed. So, a month after I signed up with Allstate, I had a claim. They not only didn't drop me, they didn't even raise my rates.

Check with your ombudsman, and shop various companies as well. I know that in the US, the laws vary state-by-state and I assume that's the same in the UK.
 

nlj

Well-Known Member
Thanks GoingNorth. It's so unfair isn't it? I've been shopping around and found an insurance company that only insures over 50s and their rates and terms seem fair. The laws don't vary here from county to county, but there are loads of different insurance companies and they can't all be inhuman.
 
Top