Car insurance - incorrect details | Legal matters | Back Room Forum

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Sun 12 Jun 2011 16:23

Car insurance - incorrect details - Ninjasdad

12 months ago my son used a comparison site for car insurance. He duly took out the insurance with one of the 6 cheapest quotes provided.

A year later he received his renewal and the premium had risen by 50% so he did another comparison search and managed to get a quote much cheaper. He contacted the original insurer to inform them that he would not be renewing with them. They asked whether they could try and find a cheaper quote with them and he said "yes". This is where the problem started. They went through his details for him to confirm and when they asked for driving licence type, he said "Full". They replied "That will be another £2000 you owe us". (Not going to give actual fugure for obvious reasons, but it was near the firure quoted). Apparently when he had entered his details in the original comparison search, he had accidently entered that he had a provisional licence rather than the Full one that he had held for 1 year. The original policy has now expired and he's on his new one. The previous insurer has since contacted him to say that he owes a smaller amount (still well in excess of £1000) as they were discounting the commission and service charge. On the day his new policy started he received a letter from the previous insurer stating that the adjustment premium (i.e. the amount he owed) had been paid in full. A week later another arrives saying that they still have not received the adjustment premium which must be paid in the next 7 days. I am of the opinion that, although he accidently entered incorrect details and he requested cover for a provisional driving licence, that is the cover that his insurer quoted for and was happy to provide. He did not set out to deceive anyone and should he have had to make a claim during those 12 months (thankfully he didn't), he would not have been covered. Anyone had a similar experience or can advise where we stand from a legal point? Thanks.

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Sun 12 Jun 2011 16:49

Car insurance - incorrect details - Dwight Van Driver

A warning to others as the cosequences could be serious.

Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 174

(5)A person who makes a false statement or withholds any material information for the purpose of obtaining the issue—

(a)of a certificate of insurance or certificate of security under Part VI of this Act,

is guilty of an offence.

Summarily: 6 months impr or £5000 fine

Indictment: 2 years imprisonement or a fine or both

dvd

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Mon 13 Jun 2011 14:30

Car insurance - incorrect details - RT

Contract law doesn't seem to apply to insurance companies in the same way as other businesses - it seems that any agreed deal can always be undone.

Some years ago I insured one of my cars for my son - everything was declared accurately including his drink driving conviction and that he would be the main driver - I accepted their quotation and the cover was put in place. When I received the documentation, the DD conviction had been omitted - I informed them straight away but they wanted to end the contract. I resisted because they had freely agreed a contract in full knowledge of the facts but they eventually forced me to end the contract by threatening to cancel it themselves which would then have affected my driving history.

Making a false statement didn't occur in my case but the insurance company still had all the rights on their side.

Edited by RT on 13/06/2011 at 14:31

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 03:44

Car insurance - incorrect details - 1litregolfeater

Insurance under 25 is a lot more for a full licence holder, as they will clog it round town bumping into things, get drunk and skid into trees. You do need to get these facts absolutely correct as they are the main basis the insurer calculates his risk upon.

Insurance in this country is an absolute mess at the moment, and the government needs to sort it out. The insurers, backed up by the police who we pay for, are given a free hand to profiteer at everybody's expense, especially the young.

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 07:50

Car insurance - incorrect details - madf

"The insurers, backed up by the police who we pay for, are given a free hand to profiteer at everybody's expense, especially the young."

So all the frequent crashes from the young and the 1 million or so uninsured cars are the fault of the insurers?

What an interesting view of reality.

Edited by madf on 14/06/2011 at 07:50

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