Open Claim. Insurers won't quote

goz83

I was rear ended in April. My car was written off and the other drivers insurer has accepted liability. The property damage was settled, but I have a serious back injury, requiring surgery. My insurance is up next month and I have rang around a few insurers and have been told each time that they can't quote, because there is an open claim, even though the other insurer has accepted liability.

The PI claim could take years to settle and being stuck with the one insurer is not my idea of a picnic; I like to shop around and hammer my insurance down each year. I am 31 with 8 years NCB and Full Irish license. Driving a bog standard Mondeo.

Here is where it gets a bit complicated. I have been thinking about letting my policy expire, because I have been unable to drive for the past couple of months. I hadn't decided, but was weighing up my options and thought I would maybe let it expire and get new insurance when I was able to drive again. A friend had been driving me around on his drive other cars policy. Having a disc in the window would be a bonus, but an expensive one.

So, if I let my insurance expire, I won't be able to get insured again until the claim is settled and that usually takes about 2 years, or sometimes much longer. Feeling a bit trapped here. The accident was not my fault, but I am being punished for it. As insurance is compulsory, I really don't think this carry-on should be allowed. What would you do? Opinions much appreciated.

djimi

If you are claiming off the third party then do you have an open claim? Im not sure how it works exactly so I might be wrong, but if youre not claiming off your own policy then does this count as an open claim against you?

Buzz Killington the third

You have no open claims against your insurance because nobody is claiming against you so it shouldn't affect your insurance in the slightest.

goz83

djimi wrote: »

If you are claiming off the third party then do you have an open claim? Im not sure how it works exactly so I might be wrong, but if youre not claiming off your own policy then does this count as an open claim against you?

Buzz Killington the third wrote: »

You have no open claims against your insurance because nobody is claiming against you so it shouldn't affect your insurance in the slightest.

I have said this to them. Even though the other insurer has accepted liability, they won't quote. Only Axa have quoted, but they wanted assurance that the other insurer had already accepted liability and that "a payment was made". Unfortunately, their quote is €140 higher than my renewal quote.

They see it as an open claim either way, regardless of who was at fault. Seems totally wrong. A similar accident 3 years ago caused no such problems, so it seems very unusual.

someone at 123.ie said that it was possible for the other insurance company to change their mind re liability. Again, seems very odd, because the property claim was already settled, cementing liability to them.

djimi

It might be worth having a word with a solicitor. I just checked the wording on the Axa quote form and it just says have you any claims in the past 5 years (including not at fault claims), but it strikes me as odd that they can penalise you when you dont have a claim on your policy.

goz83

I plan to notify my solicitor about it today. This is causing me some hassle, because I was 50/50 about renewing. I am having my arm twisted to renew with my current insurer. While the price is not bad, I would have been able to haggle it down a few quid, because I have moved from a sports coupe, to a boring tank since the accident. It wasn't until about a month later that I was unable to drive.

My fear is that if I don't renew, I could be left being unable to insure a car until the claim is settled and I would very likely lose all my NCB by the time it is settled.

peckerhead

Bump. Any news, OP?

corktina

An open claim against someone else's policy could become one against his own if circumstances change. I can quite understand the Insurers counting it as an open claim until it is settled.

Jesus.

goz83 wrote: »

A similar accident 3 years ago caused no such problems.

OP, I've no doubt you're totally in the right and I hope you get this sorted as it doesn't seem fair.

However, as a broader point, I must admit I have found that it always seems to be the same people getting into tips and scrapes (not talking about you OP). I have a friend who must have been involved in about 10 incidents in the last 10 years. I've never had as much as a tip. I'm not saying I'm a good driver or anything - bog average I'd suspect - but not a year goes by without that guy getting involved in some sort of bump or smash. Most of them seem to go his way, IE not liable, but I have wondered why it always seems to happen to the same blokes.

It is probably just sheer bad luck to be fair but it has made me think about it (and possibly insurance companies too).

goz83

peckerhead wrote: »

Bump. Any news, OP?

I decided to renew my insurance. I haggled it down by about €45, so it's just shy over €400 comp for the year, so it isn't bad, but I woukd have liked to have the option. Unfortunately, it seems that insurers are starting to view any open claim on any policy as a problem, regardless of liability being accepted. I did manage to get two quotes from over a dozen calls to the main insurers and brokers. But those quotes were higher due to the open claim. Impointed out that liability was fully accepted by the other insurer, but it mattered not a bit. I am lucky that my insurance is low, but it is just a standard mondeo. God help me if it was something with a bit of power.

Jesus. wrote: »

OP, I've no doubt you're totally in the right and I hope you get this sorted as it doesn't seem fair.

However, as a broader point, I must admit I have found that it always seems to be the same people getting into tips and scrapes (not talking about you OP). I have a friend who must have been involved in about 10 incidents in the last 10 years. I've never had as much as a tip. I'm not saying I'm a good driver or anything - bog average I'd suspect - but not a year goes by without that guy getting involved in some sort of bump or smash. Most of them seem to go his way, IE not liable, but I have wondered why it always seems to happen to the same blokes.

It is probably just sheer bad luck to be fair but it has made me think about it (and possibly insurance companies too).

Yeah, I know where you're coming from. But, in my case, both times I was stationary when I was rear ended. Both times, the brake lights were on, because I have a habit of leaving my foot on the brake when stopped for a few seconds. There was no question of blame in both cases. Unfortunately, this time, I was landed with some nasty injuries.