You should declare all claims, even no fault ones (those settled in fill by another party) Generally the application wording asks for any claim

OP stated that he didn't claim, so as far as his insurer is concerned nothing has happened to the car. OP may have had minor damage repaired at his expense, but so what ?

In the case of the OP the 3rd parties insurance company are paying for the repairs so in this instance there has been a claim and the OP needs to declare it.

When the wife was hit whilst stationary by a plumber on his phone he initially tried to blame her for being there (that did not work) and later in the evening (after he had spoken to his father) he agreed to pay our local body shop direct (which he did before repairs were done), about £1800. So when asked if we had claimed in the past 5 years the answer was no (and neither had the plumber). If we had been asked if we had been involved in an accident in the last 5 years the answer would have been yes with a suitable explanation.

You should declare all claims, even no fault ones (those settled in fill by another party) Generally the application wording asks for any claim

OP stated that he didn't claim, so as far as his insurer is concerned nothing has happened to the car. OP may have had minor damage repaired at his expense without claiming anyway.

Not sure what happens if the damage is bad enough to write-off ?

The question is often worded "any accidents, claims or convictions" - as an accident occurred it MUST be declared - if no claim was made and fully settled by the other insurance then it shouldn't affect premiums.

All the insurance company will ask is “have you made any claims in the last 5yrs?” Well, you haven’t, the other party did. I wouldn’t declare it, it’s just an excuse for them to hike the policy for absolutely no reason.

Careful - the OP has made a claim against the other driver's insurer.

The OP says above that he didn't start a claim. What if the same event had happened and the OP decided simply to get the car repaired himself ? Not that different a scenario, and no reason to inform anyone ? As his car was stationary and he was not present, he was hardly a party to the event.

Edited by Andrew-T on 16/01/2022 at 23:20

<< Then it falls under "accident" in the question "any accidents, claims or convictions?" >>

So what should one do after a very minor bump while waiting to enter a roundabout ? Drivers stop to examine damage, decide it is trivial and not to involve insurers. There has been an 'accident'; one party may choose to follow it up later. In my opinion there need be no obligation to make unnecessary waves.

So what should one do after a very minor bump while waiting to enter a roundabout ? Drivers stop to examine damage, decide it is trivial and not to involve insurers. There has been an 'accident'; one party may choose to follow it up later. In my opinion there need be no obligation to make unnecessary waves.

Sounds like you're making up the rules to suit yourself.

The legal obligation to answer all questions honestly is quite clear, as is the meaning of "accidents, claims or convictions" - it's up to each individual to decide whether to be honest or not.

Not at all - you have ignored my question. If there is a minor incident which both parties agree is not worth claiming for - because there is always a financial penalty in making a claim, usually a reduction in NCD - it is a valid choice to pay for any repairs instead of spreading the cost over all other insured parties by claiming. I'm not sure insurers really want or need to be told about trivial incidents.

<< It's not for the proposer to decide what is or isn't trivial - insurance law has been simplified in recent years - if the insurance company doesn't ask a question, the proposer isn't obliged to give the answer - but if the insurance company asks a question, it must be answered honestly and fully. >>

I agree. The minor roundabout incident I mentioned earlier happened to us several years ago. Both parties stopped, examined the damage and exchanged details. When our car got home I had a closer look and decided that a likely bodyshop cost of about £300 to repair a small dent was not worth proceeding with, much to the relief of the other party. I decided the incident was trivial and not worth informing my insurer. What would be the point ? If I had, they could ask any question they liked, which I would answer truthfully. But what for ?

Insurance companies place an 'excess' on any claim, to prevent clients claiming for trivial amounts - what a lawyer might call vexatious.

Edited by Andrew-T on 17/01/2022 at 23:15

I remember some years ago HJ himself said people should claim for increased premiums from the other insurer in the event of a no-fault incident. I'm not sure of the validity of that and how far it would go in reality.

Not easy to do as the amount to claim isn't known. You can't claim for a potential increase in costs and even if your existing insurance company may increase the price, its a huge market and another insurance company may be cheaper, so you have suffered no loss.

It is in this case! Insurance is due to renew in a couple of weeks and has gone up by £148 since my original quote, purely as a result of notifying my insurance company of the event (which I had to do).