Declaring an insurance claim

kco3d

Hey,

Does anyone know when getting quotes for cover if its necessary to declare any settled claims not made against your own policy? i.e. I open a claim directly with another drivers insurer who has admitted full liability and his/her insurer settles in full without dispute.

Thanks.

ironclaw

You are better to say it than to not. There's no reason not to say it. If you are not at fault nor found liable then you have nothing to hide. You'll be damn sure they'll find it if you are involved in anything and it's an awkward question to answer as to why you said nothing, it could ultimately void the cover for you.

coylemj

kco3d wrote: »

Does anyone know when getting quotes for cover if its necessary to declare any settled claims not made against your own policy? i.e. I open a claim directly with another drivers insurer who has admitted full liability and his/her insurer settles in full without dispute.

No, that is not a claim against your policy so it's not necessary to declare it. Read the question carefully when applying for a quote but I'm pretty sure that when they refer to claims, they are talking about claims made against you.

The problem with declaring a claim you made against somebody else and which was settled in your favour is that some idiot in a call centre may interpret it wrongly, refuse to quote you and then you are in territory you do not want to go to because having a quote refused is a notifiable event.

Graham

coylemj wrote: »

The problem with declaring a claim you made against somebody else and which was settled in your favour is that some idiot in a call centre may interpret it wrongly, refuse to quote you and then you are in territory you do not want to go to because having a quote refused is a notifiable event.

The problem with not declaring it is the insurance company invalidate your policy and leave you without cover. You're only likely to have this happen when you (or a 3rd party) attempts to make a claim against your policy.

coylemj

When an insurance company asks you about claims, they means claims made against you and which are either pending or were settled where your insurance paid out.

Graham

coylemj wrote: »

When an insurance company asks you about claims, they means claims made against you and which are either pending or were settled where your insurance paid out.

Cool, where does it say that?

slimjimmc

The quotation form on 123.ie asks for all claims, not just any made against you

Please enter all motor claims made by you against your own policy or another person's policy in the last four years.

To Elland Back

Many insurers ask if you have any 'accidents, claims or convictions'. If this is the case you must declare it as you have had an accident

To Elland Back

slimjimmc wrote: »

The quotation form on 123.ie asks for all claims, not just any made against you

That would refer to claims on another policy where you would be entitled to indemnity (named driver or employer's policy etc). When you are going entirely against the 3rd party, you are not claiming under a policy, you are suing the other party and they have a policy which covers their liability. You are just dealing with their insurer for this process

Graham

To Elland Back wrote: »

That would refer to claims on another policy where you would be entitled to indemnity (named driver or employer's policy etc). When you are going entirely against the 3rd party, you are not claiming under a policy, you are suing the other party and they have a policy which covers their liability. You are just dealing with their insurer for this process

Are there many instances where a claim against (or suing) a 3rd party wouldn't also be covered by the 'any accidents' question?

Is there a legal definition of 'a claim'? It would be fairly easy to interpret a claim as claiming for damages from a 3rd party (I'm not sure tbh).

coylemj

Graham wrote: »

Are there many instances where a claim against (or suing) a 3rd party wouldn't also be covered by the 'any accidents' question?

Is there a legal definition of 'a claim'? It would be fairly easy to interpret a claim as claiming for damages from a 3rd party (I'm not sure tbh).

You could extend it to any sort of a 'claim' - if the OP was knocked off his bike by a motorist and successfully claimed from him, would he then need to declare that claim? What about a claim off his house insurance for a leaking pipe?

Don't want to get totally absurd here but when you go looking for a motor quote, they don't ask how many years you have been 'accident free', they ask you how many years you have been 'claim free' and what they want to know is how long it has been since your motor insurance paid out on a claim.

Graham

coylemj wrote: »

You could extend it to any sort of a 'claim' - if the OP was knocked off his bike by a motorist and successfully claimed from him, would he then need to declare that claim? What about a claim off his house insurance for a leaking pipe?

Don't want to get totally absurd here but when you go looking for a motor quote, they don't ask how many years you have been 'accident free', they ask you how many years you have been 'claim free' and what they want to know is how long it has been since your motor insurance paid out on a claim.

The benchmark appears to be whether a disclosure would materially effect the decision of the insurers. If you're suggesting a disclosure could effect the premium then I'd argue it's a material disclosure.

coylemj

Graham wrote: »

The benchmark appears to be whether a disclosure would materially effect the decision of the insurers. If you're suggesting a disclosure could effect the premium then I'd argue it's a material disclosure.

No, the test is whether the event or change in circumstances (e.g. change of address or occupation) would have a material effect on the risk they are taking on.

Clearly you must give truthful answers to all of the questions on the proposal form so what we're discussing here is additional data that you may feel that you should or should not disclose.

What I'm saying is that if I claim off a third party and his insurance pays out because he was 100% at fault, that has no effect on me as a prospective risk for an insurance company because it could have happened to anyone and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I would not disclose third party claims by me against other people that did not involve any payout by my insurance.

Liam McPoyle

Coylejm, you are consistently giving incorrect and dangerous information on this forum. You clearly have no understanding of insurance and how it works and people would be well advised to disregard anything you are saying above.

At the op, you have to declare any motor claim you are involved in, whether you are responsible or not.

The other person said they are responsible but what happens if in 2 months time he decides he is going to try and contest liability and lodges a claim against you?

Most / all insurers will ask you have you had any accidents, claims or convictions.

If you answer no and are going through the claims process then it is a case of nondisclosure and your new policy is in jeopardy. You have had an accident, whether it's a slam dunk not your fault it is still an accident and you must advise any potential new insurer.

coylemj

Business Cat wrote: »

The other person said they are responsible but what happens if in 2 months time he decides he is going to try and contest liability and lodges a claim against you?

The OP's claim was settled 100% in his favour, it's history.

Business Cat wrote: »

If you answer no and are going through the claims process then it is a case of nondisclosure and your new policy is in jeopardy. You have had an accident, whether it's a slam dunk not your fault it is still an accident and you must advise any potential new insurer.

He is not 'going through the claims process', the case was settled and did not involve a claim against his policy.

I stand by everything I said above and take note I did refer to the requirement to declare pending claims which does not apply in this case. If the OP stays with his current insurer, he will maintain his NCB so why should he declare a successful claim against another driver when seeking a quote from another company if it did not involve a claim on his policy?

Liam McPoyle

coylemj wrote: »

The OP's claim was settled 100% in his favour, it's history.



He is not 'going through the claims process', the case was settled and did not involve a claim against his policy.

I stand by everything I said above and take note I did refer to the requirement to declare pending claims which does not apply in this case. If the OP stays with his current insurer, he will maintain his NCB so why should he declare a successful claim against another driver when seeking a quote from another company if it did not involve a claim on his policy?

Insurance is based on utmost good faith.

That means anything relating to your driving history should be declared.

A settled claim through another persons insurance will not effect his insurance going forward or his ability to get quotes however he will be asked if he has had any accidents, claims or convictions in the last 5 years to which the correct answer is yes because an accident, even though fully settled through the other persons insurance is still an accident.

What if I'm Jimmy the Scumbag and I've successfully claimed through a couple of peoples policies for accidents I engineered?

Do you not think an insurer would be interested to know that little tid bit of information?

Of course they would.

mgbgt1978

coylemj wrote: »

What I'm saying is that if I claim off a third party and his insurance pays out because he was 100% at fault, that has no effect on me as a prospective risk for an insurance company because it could have happened to anyone and I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. So I would not disclose third party claims by me against other people that did not involve any payout by my insurance.

I rarely see any issue with your posts...but this statement is very, very wrong.
Insurers do take claims made against a 3rd party into account when quoting.
They do consider that somebody who has made several claims against another party (even though they are entitled to do so) are a bigger risk than somebody who has never had to make a claim.
Perhaps it's the driving style of those who are involved in 'no fault' accidents.... but it's definitely a factor in coming up with a quote.
Hence the way they word the question on their proposal/application forms. Eg. "Have you been involved in an accident in the last 5 years ?", etc.

ATMatm

My old employer Chill Insurance suggests:

Any accidents or claims, regardless of blame, on any motor vehicle within the last 5 years.

They will ask this on every sales and renewal call. This can change renewals as some insurers won't take on someone who gave claimed in the last year even if it was against another policy.

coylemj

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

I rarely see any issue with your posts...but this statement is very, very wrong.
Insurers do take claims made against a 3rd party into account when quoting.
They do consider that somebody who has made several claims against another party (even though they are entitled to do so) are a bigger risk than somebody who has never had to make a claim.
Perhaps it's the driving style of those who are involved in 'no fault' accidents.... but it's definitely a factor in coming up with a quote.

If they ask if I was involved in any accidents then I would give details of any claim I made against other drivers.

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

Hence the way they word the question on their proposal/application forms. Eg. "Have you been involved in an accident in the last 5 years ?", etc.

I did say that you should provide truthful answers to all questions on the proposal form.

mgbgt1978

coylemj wrote: »

What I'm saying is that if I claim off a third party and his insurance pays out because he was 100% at fault, that has no effect on me as a prospective risk for an insurance company

This was the statement I marked in Bold .
Apart from that it's Friday evening and perhaps we'll leave it at that.:)

coylemj

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

This was the statement I marked in Bold .
Apart from that it's Friday evening and perhaps we'll leave it at that.:)

I understand the point you're making and we will have to agree to disagree.

Not wanting to get the final word but my closing point for now is this: they know what is relevant for insurance purposes so let them ask it on the proposal form.