False insurance claim

Builderfromhell

I just got my insurance renewal details and found that someone was awarded damages against my insurance without my knowledge.
The 'no claims discounts' page of my renewal notice shows that I had an accident and someone was awarded 700 euro for damages.
I rang the insurance company who told me the claimants name and I confirmed I never heard of him and had no knowledge of an accident.
The insurance company is looking into it and will phone me back.

I would be amazed to find that someone can claim you hit them and successfully make a claim without me getting an opportunity to defend myself.

biko

It's an odd process that your insurance company won't even get in touch with you.

Who are you with? Not Axa I hope

Colts

That can't be right, surely? It must be a mistake by the insurance company and they put it down to the wrong policy!

MugMugs

I've seen it before OP. I would await your insurers response and if no joy received from that then I would make a complaint to The Central Bank and report a flagrant breach of their Consumer Protection Code by one of their regulated entities.

MugMugs

Colts wrote: »

That can't be right, surely? It must be a mistake by the insurance company and they put it down to the wrong policy!

Unfortunately its a consequence of Insurers putting their staff under undue pressure and forcing them to work to unrealistic targets.

Builderfromhell

This is a great forum for getting advice and opinions. 4 replies while I was eating lunch. Very grateful

The broker will ring me back so I'll keep you all informed.

If you think about it the insurance company are effectively giving my money to the fraudulent claimer as the 700 will be added on to my premium in increments. Effectively, it doesn't cost the insurance company anything to pay out on motor insurance.

The broker did say it was a claim for reversing into a car bumper in a scenic part of Ireland I only visit in the summer.

voojeq

this is one of the disadvantages of having your insurance policy number displayed on your windscreen, anyone can write it down when you're not around and make a false claim with enough social engineering skills at hand

i hope you will get your refund promptly OP

Builderfromhell

voojeq wrote: »

this is one of the disadvantages of having your insurance policy number displayed on your windscreen, anyone can write it down when you're not around and make a false claim with enough social engineering skills at hand

i hope you will get your refund promptly OP

Thanks for that.
Not looking for refund as my insurance renewal isn't due for a few weeks. Just want my no claims bonus back.

Broker hasn't rang back yet. I'll call them tomorrow if they don't contact me today.

ants09

Happen me around 3-4 yrs ago with a insurance company. I got me insurance renewal and found out that somebody made a claim agaisnt me policy and they didnt tell me untill i found out when i got me renewal.
Long story short i kick up a rumpus and got me no claim bonus restored and well needless to say i said cya's.
I will never use them again TBH and was glad when a accountancy firm was sent in to run them.

Otis Driftwood

That does seem very strange altogether OP.

Ive been working in insurance for a few years and Ive never come across an instance where a claim was put through someones policy without the insurer at least contacting the insured,ie you in this case,first.

Sure anyone could ring up and say "well this car reversed into me,pay for my damages" if that was the case.Id be leaning towards that it was added under your own policy in error rather than a payment being made without being contacted.

Wait for your broker to get back to you anyway and please keep us posted.Im interested how this plays out.

bodonnell

Got a letter from 'first ireland' about 18 mths ago telling me I was involved in an accident & that 2 other people were claiming against my insurance , (was no longer with them). When I called & informed them I was not involved in any such incident & asked for details, they could only provide reg of one of the other cars & that it took place in Dublin and a car with my reg was involved. They then said 'they would look into it ! I checked with local gardai & they informed me there was no record of my car being involved in any accident. I let first ireland know what guards had said and heard no more from them, all seemed a bit sus at the time.

Voodoomelon

Has the OP moved address per chance?

Builderfromhell

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Has the OP moved address per chance?

I did change address but collected my mail on a regular basis for months thereafter. But it is possible that I missed a letter.
With change of address my telephone number would also have changed.
This might explain the insurance company not being able to contact me.

Pretty sure I let them have my new address though as I often transfer my insurance to other vehicles.

I will post details I get from broker tomorrow. They did not ring me back today.

Maybe they are reading this;)

voojeq

If you were speaking to an agent in a call centre then dont bother waiting for that call back, those places tend to be v busy and call back has a small chance of happening =]

coylemj

As far as I'm aware the insurance company will not pay out without some kind of report from the insured i.e. the policyholder. Otherwise as has been pointed out, any kind of fraudster could put in a false claim.

But consider the following scenario and I am not for one second implying that this is the case with the OP's situtaion....

Mr. A who is fully insured is involved in an accident, there's lots of material damage and personal injury to third parties and it's all A's fault. The other parties get A's insurance details at the scene and write to his insurance company looking for compensation for material damage and personal injuries.

Now A is a bit of a 'head in the sand' merchant and ignores all correspondence from his insurance company so my query is this: does the insurance company do nothing, let the injured parties take A to court and then pay out when a judgement is registered against him, or do they save themselves some money (mainly legal fees) by settling before it gets to court, with no input to the process from the policyholder A?

Or can the insurance company repudiate the policy on the basis that A is not fulfilling his obligations by providing them with information on the accident?

Ginny

I had a similar problem with Quinn Direct many moons ago. I was renewing and was informed I had made a claim that my car was broken into and items were stolen, and that I'd received a cheque for the items. I'd never claimed and they looked into it and realised they'd made a mistake logging someone elses claim and the report ended up on my record.
I can't recall if I had any issues after that, but this was at the time when Quinn were the only insurance company that would cover first time drivers without asking for your first born

L1011

coylemj wrote: »

As far as I'm aware the insurance company will not pay out without some kind of report from the insured i.e. the policyholder. Otherwise as has been pointed out, any kind of fraudster could put in a false claim.

Zurich paid out to my father a few years ago when the policyholder spent three weeks not replying to phone calls and registered letters from them.

He'd admitted liability at the scene, had done a fair bit of damage to his own car, and there was CCTV footage if need be but he didn't even report it to Zurich.

wyrn

Same happened a relation of mine. He was in car park waiting and some lady reversed into him, even though he was parked. She admitted liability and he checked the cars, there was no damage except for a small scrap. He was just happy that the kids in the back weren't hurt.

Roll on several months for his renewal policy and it has shot up. Turns out his insurance paid out a sizeable sum because she said he reversed into her!! He was never notified. She even drove to the guards to lodge a complaint and they never contacted him either. He tried to fight it but didn't get anywhere and lost his ncb.

My aunt was chatting to the branch manager of another insurance firm (they are friends) and she said this kind of thing happens quite regularly esp in car parks. She had a term for it, something like car park holiday. One car rolls into another without damage so both parties leave but one party then puts in a claim, nothing too much to be noticeable, enough for a short holiday.

I vaguely remember Gerry Ryan saying the same thing happened him.

gpjordanf1

wyrn wrote: »

Same happened a relation of mine. He was in car park waiting and some lady reversed into him, even though he was parked. She admitted liability and he checked the cars, there was no damage except for a small scrap. He was just happy that the kids in the back weren't hurt.

Roll on several months for his renewal policy and it has shot up. Turns out his insurance paid out a sizeable sum because she said he reversed into her!! He was never notified. She even drove to the guards to lodge a complaint and they never contacted him either. He tried to fight it but didn't get anywhere and lost his ncb.

My aunt was chatting to the branch manager of another insurance firm (they are friends) and she said this kind of thing happens quite regularly esp in car parks. She had a term for it, something like car park holiday. One car rolls into another without damage so both parties leave but one party then puts in a claim, nothing too much to be noticeable, enough for a short holiday.

I vaguely remember Gerry Ryan saying the same thing happened him.

Fork that, I'm masking my policy number from now on!

CiniO

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

Fork that, I'm masking my policy number from now on!

Heh few days ago I had my windscreen changed, and since then I didn't put up my discs at all.
So far so good

MugMugs

CiniO wrote: »

Heh few days ago I had my windscreen changed, and since then I didn't put up my discs at all.
So far so good

That would be an offence under the Road Traffic Act.

Eddy 15

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I did change address but collected my mail on a regular basis for months thereafter. But it is possible that I missed a letter.
With change of address my telephone number would also have changed.
This might explain the insurance company not being able to contact me.

Pretty sure I let them have my new address though as I often transfer my insurance to other vehicles.

I will post details I get from broker tomorrow. They did not ring me back today.

Maybe they are reading this;)

Right there is your problem, You changed address and by the looks of it you have not changed your address with your company (May be your fault or companies fault)

They would have tired to contact you by both phone and mail, they also would have sent someone out to your house to try contact you, When they were unable to contact you then they would have sent out a final letter stating if you didn't contact them within a certain amoutn of days they would have left with no other option but to settle the claim as simply they had no defence and would have been laughted out of court and had to pay well over €5,000 in costs

Also in most if not all policy books it also states that the company have the right to take over the claim on your behalf and settle it if they see fit

Yes I work in insurance claims so know what seems to have happened here

Also I would advise EVERYONE to always notify your insurance company if your in an accident even if your not at fault as things like that car park comment happen all the time and its always the at fault person who does the sly things

Guy:Incognito

MugMugs wrote: »

Unfortunately its a consequence of Insurers putting their staff under undue pressure and forcing them to work to unrealistic targets.

Or just plain old human error?

MugMugs

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

Or just plain old human error?

And when did that become a justification for anything with the Law?

Get the wrong Traffic Garda at the wrong time on the wrong day and you'll find yourself done for not displaying.

monkeypants

gpjordanf1 wrote: »

Fork that, I'm masking my policy number from now on!

I know that the insurance and disc needs to be displayed, but if this leaves you open to fraud, can some of the disc be covered, leaving the date part visible?

MugMugs

monkeypants wrote: »

I know that the insurance and disc needs to be displayed, but if this leaves you open to fraud, can some of the disc be covered, leaving the date part visible?

How is it subject to fraud?

A competent Insurer will contact the Policyholder and investigate any incident that may or may not have occured before settling the Third Parties claim.

In this instance and instances noted by other posters, The Insurers do not appear to been competent but this would not be to the detrement of the Customer.

Anan1

monkeypants wrote: »

I know that the insurance and disc needs to be displayed, but if this leaves you open to fraud, can some of the disc be covered, leaving the date part visible?

What do you think? There are very good reasons why your insurance details need to be visible.

monkeypants

Anan1 wrote: »

What do you think? There are very good reasons why your insurance details need to be visible.

That's what I thought, but then again I haven't had any dealings with insurance companies beyond paying premiums. This thread was interesting though.

marketty

Of course insurance companies will gladly pay out without notifying you if the claim is only a couple of hundred/thousand euro, it's in their interest for you to lose your NCB!

MugMugs

marketty wrote: »

Of course insurance companies will gladly pay out without notifying you if the claim is only a couple of hundred/thousand euro, it's in their interest for you to lose your NCB!

That really is a silly response to make.

Would you consider educating yourself before making inane comments?

Our man in Havana

Had the same problem with RSA before. They paid out to someone for a car park ding in a car park I have never been in my life. They never bothered to contact me or the broker with the first knowledge being on renewal.

It was only after a complaint to the FSO that they reinstated my NCB and refunded me the increase in premiums.

djimi

Do you not need to sign something when a claim is made against you? I find it really odd that at a claim can be made on your behalf without your knowing.

Our man in Havana

djimi wrote: »

Do you not need to sign something when a claim is made against you? I find it really odd that at a claim can be made on your behalf without your knowing.

Nope. They will just pay out.

djimi

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Nope. They will just pay out.

That seems incredible to me; considering you are paying them to work on your behalf surely they cannot carry out any operation without your consent or at least a signature to at least say you are aware of it?

Our man in Havana

Well, it happened to me.

ChillC

Eddy 15 wrote: »

Right there is your problem, You changed address and by the looks of it you have not changed your address with your company (May be your fault or companies fault)

They would have tired to contact you by both phone and mail, they also would have sent someone out to your house to try contact you, When they were unable to contact you then they would have sent out a final letter stating if you didn't contact them within a certain amoutn of days they would have left with no other option but to settle the claim as simply they had no defence and would have been laughted out of court and had to pay well over €5,000 in costs

Also in most if not all policy books it also states that the company have the right to take over the claim on your behalf and settle it if they see fit

Yes I work in insurance claims so know what seems to have happened here

Also I would advise EVERYONE to always notify your insurance company if your in an accident even if your not at fault as things like that car park comment happen all the time and its always the at fault person who does the sly things

Completely agree with the above comments. If your not smart enough to advise your insurance company that you have changed address or your contact number than you deserve to have a claim made against you. Time after time people on here blame their insurance company but when they actually explain the situation they found themselves in it's their own fault. I wonder how many people actully read their policy booklets when they receive it?

Eddy 15

djimi wrote: »

That seems incredible to me; considering you are paying them to work on your behalf surely they cannot carry out any operation without your consent or at least a signature to at least say you are aware of it?

Working in claims for 6 years, Still waiting to have a policy holder who thinks they are at fault

Honestly check your policy book, It will have some part in it which will state the company can take over dealing with the claim if they see fit (meaning if they think your at fault they will settle it as cheap as possible)

djimi

Eddy 15 wrote: »

Working in claims for 6 years, Still waiting to have a policy holder who thinks they are at fault

Honestly check your policy book, It will have some part in it which will state the company can take over dealing with the claim if they see fit (meaning if they think your at fault they will settle it as cheap as possible)

Im disputing the fact that they can take over the claim; I just find it astonishing and frankly extremely worrying that they can do so and process an entire claim against you without you being made aware of it. That to me is very wrong and should never be allowed to happen.

MugMugs

djimi wrote: »

Im disputing the fact that they can take over the claim;

Dispute away. They can. What if you were a Policyholder and had an accident and refused to co operate with your Insurer? They have to mitigate their losses and as such, can do as they see fit. They can even take legal proceedings in your name.

djimi wrote: »

I just find it astonishing and frankly extremely worrying that they can do so and process an entire claim against you without you being made aware of it. That to me is very wrong and should never be allowed to happen.

That shouldn't happen and it's not right and it's not allowed to happen. If you have a claim put against you and they don't make you aware then they can be repremanded. In saying that, If you move address and your phone number no longer works, what would you expect them to do?

ChillC

An Insurance company will do their up most to get in contact with you regarding an accident you have been involved in. If a certain amount of time passes without any contact from the you, the insurer is left with no opition but to settle the claim on the best possible terms or they could face the possibility of legal proceedings especially if the third party has instructed a solicitor to act on their behalf.

If the insurance company did pay a claim out without actually trying to make contact with you to obtain an accident report form or a statement than i suggest you write to them and make a complaint or contact http://financialombudsman.ie/ and informed them of what happened. If you haven't already made a complaint to the insurance company or contacted the ombudsman i don't think your telling us the full story.

Our man in Havana

Make a complaint to the FSO.

They can and do process claims without reference to the policyholder.

djimi

MugMugs wrote: »

Dispute away. They can. What if you were a Policyholder and had an accident and refused to co operate with your Insurer? They have to mitigate their losses and as such, can do as they see fit. They can even take legal proceedings in your name.

Sorry I meant to say Im not disputing that they can take over a claim

ChillC

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Make a complaint to the FSO.

They can and do process claims without reference to the policyholder.

What type of claim was it?

djimi

MugMugs wrote: »

That shouldn't happen and it's not right and it's not allowed to happen. If you have a claim put against you and they don't make you aware then they can be repremanded. In saying that, If you move address and your phone number no longer works, what would you expect them to do?

True; so long as they make every effort to get in touch its not a problem. If they cant find you then so be it.

Our man in Havana

Some one claimed I had backed into their car. I was not even in the country and my car was parked in Dublin airport all the time I was away.

First I knew was when my renewal was twice what it should have been.

Eddy 15

Our man in Havana wrote: »

Some one claimed I had backed into their car. I was not even in the country and my car was parked in Dublin airport all the time I was away.

First I knew was when my renewal was twice what it should have been.

I had a claim like this, I was able to contact the Policy Holder who basicly said the same as you did, Photos were taken of their car to show no damage and I got them to send me on a copy of the check in card, Claim was withdrawan

Get back onto them and they can sort that for you if they havent already

ChillC

Sorry mate i don't believe you. The http://financialombudsman.ie/ would have been all over that, your insurance company would have sent you a letter & tried to make contact with you to confirm the accident took place, did you not make a compliant or report it to the Gardai? surely your insurance company would of had your vehicle assessed to confirm if their was any damage to your vehicle and if it was consistent with the damage to the vehicle you allegedly hit.

Our man in Havana

You obviously didn't read my previous posts. I did complain to the FSO and then RSA backed down and reinstated the NCB.

The bastards sent me nothing.

I am not your mate and this is not the east end of London.

ChillC

So your complaint was upheld & the insurance company reinstated your NCB. Meaning they realised they made a mistake and put you back in the same finiancial situation as you were in with regards your insurance payments before the accident.

Our man in Havana

Correct.

ChillC

Therefore i was right when i confirmed if they did that they would have to correct their decision & reinstate your NCB for not contacting you. Meaning insurance companies can't just pay out on claims.