No car Insurance

marksnotlost

Hi guys.

During the summer I started a company roughly 80 miles from where I live.

I started it with a shoestring budget and borrowed a business partners car to save cost for a few months. I stayed insured on my own jeep to keep things simple as i have an open policy.

I have been driving for 6 year no claims and only 2 points (2 years ago for driving in the hard shoulder (out of petrol))

In the last 6 months because of the amount of driving i have encored another 6 points.

My total is 8 now .. thats bad enough

Last week I received a summons stating that I had no insurance on one of the days when i was caught speeding.

Sure enough i was caught on the 24th and policy was out on the 23rd.



During the summer when this happened I rang my insurer and they told me that i had a few days after the time when the policy lapsed or (grace).
The problem I have now is that the insurance company is denying this and denying that the phone call ever took place (they have a record of all calls)
so they will not give me a letter of cover.

I am not a boy racer and i take these kinds of things very seriously. with a company starting up it would be to no advantage to be caught with no insurance and face a ban. I had no correspondence/reminders from the insurance company that my policy was due to lapse and the temporary car displayed current insurance etc. To be honest I had so much going on at the time with starting the company.

> I have rang a few solicitors and they dont like that its complicated and have quoted me very high, also I dont really have alot of faith in the ones I did talk to. Can anyone recommend good one?

> I would normally take the 5 points and fine but there are other people counting on me and 5 points + 8 already = 13 automatically 6 months.
the kind of job it is I will be screwed and more over the company may have to close.

> What is the most likely outcome ?


All views and opinions welcome and than you in advance

MagicSean

Did you notify the insurance company when you got the points? Did they send you a renewal notice?

marksnotlost

k_mac wrote: »

Did you notify the insurance company when you got the points? Did they send you a renewal notice?

I did not notify the insurance company, I was under the assumption that they automatically go on their system? such as when i renewed last year my previous 2 were there.

They did not send me a renewal notice, although they claim they did. its my world against theirs. also I now record all my calls with them

behan29

i had the pleasure of a similar situation, my insurance company issued me with a letter stating i was insured and then they revoked the policy. My solictor told me the letter was useless, however i was insistant that the letter be present to court, presented to court and got my case struck and judge joked that i should ve sued the insurance company. You can be fairly certain that the telephone call with your insurance company was recorded.

marksnotlost

behan29 wrote: »

presented to court and got my case struck and judge joked that i should ve sued the insurance company. You can be fairly certain that the telephone call with your insurance company was recorded.

hhm maybe I should look up my phone bill and prove that I rang that day.

They said that I rang 2 weeks later which i did (to get a better quote) I asked them to show me the recording of that (at least). Their operator said they would call me back with a senior member of staff, I havnt received any call yet.. I'll ring again tomorrow

Yawns

Via the insurance thing. It's not that hard to know when your policy ends. I can tell you when the gf's insurance policy is up and the car is currently 60 k/ms away. I really don't think a judge will grant lee way.

Of course I could be totally wrong and I wouldn't like to see your business close but 8 points is a lot to amount and I don't believe a judge would look favorably on it.

marksnotlost

Yawns wrote: »

It's not that hard to know when your policy ends.

8 points is a lot to amount and I don't believe a judge would look favorably on it.

The last 2 years my insurance automatically renewed onto direct debit so Ive really taken it for granted that im insured. Its hectic starting a company and it was over looked.

Im a very unlucky person in general. 4 of the points were in one day (2 from camera van 70km in 60km zone) and the other 2 events were on dual carriageway type roads which really should have a higher limit by right. but im not trying to justify that at all, I just want to do my most so as that the people that I currently employ have a job after this court date.

Yawns

Indeed you sound very unlucky, however I can't see a judge looking lightly at your record so to speak.

Kristopherus

Neither can I.You are legally bound to inform your insurance co if you have more than 2 penalty points. You are very likely to be hammered by a judge IMHO.

marksnotlost

Kristopherus wrote: »

Neither can I.You are legally bound to inform your insurance co if you have more than 2 penalty points. You are very likely to be hammered by a judge IMHO.

I dont see what telling the ins co. about my points has anything to do with this situation.

do you think because i was speeding when I got caught will be a highlighted in court?

What do you mean by hammered? It sounds now that I can definitely expect to get 5 points plus fine , can / will in your opinion the judge add a heavier penalty?

RangeR

Get your itemised phone bill. That will prove that you rang the insurance company. The insurance MUST have that call recorded. When you ring them, ask for a manager. Don't let one of the phone jockies fob you off.

marksnotlost

spent a half hour on the phone to the insurance company today.

They tried every avenue to disclaim what i had been told during the summer by one of their operators.

The operator today claimed that she was one of the senior staff and most able to help me. she worked against me from the start to finish.

she wouldnt tell me the dates I had rang them and wanted me to provide specific times and dates etc since i wanted to hear the recorded conversation.

I had to pay 7 euro over the phone and send a letter which I knew wouldnt reach them before the court date.

I asked why she was so un-forthright with details that could lead to my conviction. Then I told her that out conversation was being recorded by my own means and hung up.


10 minutes later I get a phone call from the same woman saying 'oh em maybe there was a clause in there somewhere 'etc etc. Basicly they are going to send out a cover note for the period I was stopped.

All I have to do now is appear in court and show them the cover letter.

Moral of the story; in future use an insurance company with good name rather than the one with lowest premium.

Our man in Havana

Moral of the story; in future use an insurance company with good name rather than the one with lowest premium.

Amen to that.

I hope it works out ok for you.

MagicSean

Moral of the story is to keep records of dealings with any company. You don't necessarily have to go to court. Contact the Garda beforehand.

coylemj

marksnotlost wrote: »

During the summer when this happened I rang my insurer and they told me that i had a few days after the time when the policy lapsed or (grace).
The problem I have now is that the insurance company is denying this

Sorry but I find this very hard to believe, there are no 'days of grace' with motor insurance. There is with certain types of other insurance but there is not and never has been any grace period with motor insurance.

McCrack

At the end of the day insurance cos are not obliged to write out to policy holders when their policy is due to lapse, they do to ensure continuity of business.

It's the policy holders responsibility to ensure their vehicle is insured, nobody else is responsible.

OP if you get out of this you are lucky in my opinion.

pirelli

marksnotlost wrote: »

Hi guys.

During the summer I started a company roughly 80 miles from where I live.

I started it with a shoestring budget and borrowed a business partners car to save cost for a few months. I stayed insured on my own jeep to keep things simple as i have an open policy.

I have been driving for 6 year no claims and only 2 points (2 years ago for driving in the hard shoulder (out of petrol))

In the last 6 months because of the amount of driving i have encored another 6 points.

My total is 8 now .. thats bad enough

Last week I received a summons stating that I had no insurance on one of the days when i was caught speeding.

Sure enough i was caught on the 24th and policy was out on the 23rd.



During the summer when this happened I rang my insurer and they told me that i had a few days after the time when the policy lapsed or (grace).
The problem I have now is that the insurance company is denying this and denying that the phone call ever took place (they have a record of all calls)
so they will not give me a letter of cover.

I am not a boy racer and i take these kinds of things very seriously. with a company starting up it would be to no advantage to be caught with no insurance and face a ban. I had no correspondence/reminders from the insurance company that my policy was due to lapse and the temporary car displayed current insurance etc. To be honest I had so much going on at the time with starting the company.

> I have rang a few solicitors and they dont like that its complicated and have quoted me very high, also I dont really have alot of faith in the ones I did talk to. Can anyone recommend good one?

> I would normally take the 5 points and fine but there are other people counting on me and 5 points + 8 already = 13 automatically 6 months.
the kind of job it is I will be screwed and more over the company may have to close.

> What is the most likely outcome ?


All views and opinions welcome and than you in advance

Go to the insurance ombudsman and lodge a complaint. Then go to court and explain that the insurance company and yourself are in dispute over the situation and it is in the hands of the ombudsman. Explain your business is depending on you and your transport is essential.

I find the insurance companies provide an eccentric form of service. everything is fine until something goes wrong and then your suddenly on your own and they become very disagreeable. What are you paying them for?

I wouldn't see it as fair that a small busines suffers because of another companies quality of service. While the rule is that there are no excuses under the law and the court might take that view i think they will allow the ombudsman to investigate.

So get your complaint in as soon as is possible. Seek information and records etc.

MagicSean

coylemj wrote: »

Sorry but I find this very hard to believe, there are no 'days of grace' with motor insurance. There is with certain types of other insurance but there is not and never has been any grace period with motor insurance.

Actually some insurance companies do provide temporary backdated cover if a policy is subsequently renewed.

pirelli wrote: »

Go to the insurance ombudsman and lodge a complaint. Then go to court and explain that the insurance company and yourself are in dispute over the situation and it is in the hands of the ombudsman. Explain your business is depending on you and your transport is essential.

I find the insurance companies provide an eccentric form of service. everything is fine until something goes wrong and then your suddenly on your own and they become very disagreeable. What are you paying them for?

I wouldn't see it as fair that a small busines suffers because of another companies quality of service. While the rule is that there are no excuses under the law and the court might take that view i think they will allow the ombudsman to investigate.

So get your complaint in as soon as is possible. Seek information and records etc.

The op has his cover so he should try and contact the Garda before the court to see if he will strike the matter out. i wonder could a request under the data protection act provide him with copies of all calls?

Cgoodie

If the letter of cover doesn't arrive before the Court date you can get your solicitor to look for an adjournment and have it put back for a few weeks. Also if you haven't any previous convictions in court you may be able to look for the probation act (i'm not 100% sure on that though) but it would mean pleading guilty to the offence. I think your better off getting a solicitor anyway and get one that is always in that court - they usually know the guards and the matter may be dealt with beforehand. Also if you do receive the conviction you can appeal it and once your appeal is lodged within a certain time you can still drive until the appeal hearing.

Good luck with it.

Our man in Havana

k_mac wrote: »

Actually some insurance companies do provide temporary backdated cover if a policy is subsequently renewed.



The op has his cover so he should try and contact the Garda before the court to see if he will strike the matter out. i wonder could a request under the data protection act provide him with copies of all calls?

It would.

pirelli

k_mac wrote: »

The op has his cover so he should try and contact the Garda before the court to see if he will strike the matter out. i wonder could a request under the data protection act provide him with copies of all calls?

They do. They are not covered by the freedom of information but are covred by the data act. He will get a series of computerised print outs. They should detail every communciation he has had with the company. However in reality not every telephone contact is noted on his computer file.

problemchimp

If your insurance was up for renewal, did you not get a new disc in the post? I know with AXA I get mine for wifes private car and my company car.

behan29

If your insurance company proceed to be difficult, you can summons youre insurance company and make sure you get the covering letter with headed paper, my solictor advised me of the same and they may summons the company. Ask them for the new insurance disc, i know for certain one insurance company offers you 10 days grace and if you get stopped and decide to get youre insurance elsewhere they charge you 50 euro.