Premium prised

During March of this year following a fairly sudden halt to the traffic in the outside lane of the M25, my Jaguar XJR, whilst stationary, was shunted from behind by another previously stationary car that had itself been rammed by a non-stop Volkswagen Eos. Although I was not in any way injured, there was some damage to my car which was remedied without use of my policy (I was put in touch with the Jaguar Accident Scheme, who carried out all the repairs and my car hire whilst claiming the £7,000 successfully against the at fault driver. I did not even use my policy with Admiral). When it came to renew my premium, I was told there was an increase due to this accident, which the other driver had been found entirely liable for. Apparently, stats show that even those drivers involved in an accident not deemed to be their fault are more likely to make claims against their policy in the future. Apart from being beamed up to Starship Enterprise there was no other way of me avoiding this collision, and Admiral is obviously using unsophisticated statistical analysis. Although I have reinsured with another company, if I had reinsured with Admiral I would have claimed this extra premium against the other driver? If people did this it would cost insurers so much in legal fees they would scrap unfair premium hikes for third parties.

Asked on 2 January 2010 by A.L., Sevenoaks

Answered by Honest John
Yes, this is part of a scandalous practice whereby policyholders with
protected no claims discount find that their base premium has been
increased because of a claim. They still get the discount, but off a
higher base premium, so no discount at all. Yes you could claim the extra cost directly from the at fault driver for this year and for years to come. Barring a Supreme Court decision, that is probably the way for drivers to persuade insurers that their little game benefits no one.
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