Last night we had the call any parent dreads. It was my 18yr old son saying hed been in an RTA and his car was written off. He was about 40 miles from home so I drove to him. Following the accident he phoned the insursnce claim line and while I was with him the recovery truck came and took his car away. The accident occurred where there were a number of witnesses who have all written snd signed statements that my son was not at fault. He has a signed statement from the driver of the van that he hit in which the driver admits full liability.
My sons been to hospital today and hes got whiplash but aside from that hes shook up but ok.
Hes had a phone call from the clsim handlers and been told that they wont be pursuing a claim against the 3rd party because the excess on the policy exceeds the value of the car. Hes indured fullycomp and the policy is only 4 days old. Weve googked the insurance broker who are ‘go skippy’ a nd they truly have an awful reputation when it comes to customer service and settling claims. He bought the policy via Compare the Market if thst makes any difference.
I have spomen to the clsims handlers who say they are only acting on instructions from ‘go skippy’. Ive spoken to Go skippy who are flat refusing to pursue any clsim unless my son psys the excess of £1350 in advance, but his car is only insured value of £675.
We have been passed pillar to post all day by the insurer/claims handler at enormous cost on the telephone. Thayve now told him that because they wint take on the claim they wont pay for the recovery of his car last night and he needs to arrange to get the vehicle out of storage at his own expense. The vehicle is undrivable and over 40 miles away.
My understanding is that with a fully comp policy you do not have to pay any excess in a no fault accident, is that correct?
We pay motor insurance in order that the broker/insurer deal with the claims process.
The policy was purchased online paying a deposit via debit card and the balance is due in monthly installments, were now worrued that hell be told he has to pay the full amount of insurance too.
All of this sounds very u ethical even illegal!
We really would appreciate any informed advice please.

Thanks Nathan

he will have t pay the full insurance but you can claim it back when you claim off the other driver

I would imagine a no win no fee claim would be very easy with a driver admitting liability and you will be able to reclaim everything from their insurer anyway.

As for the rest I dont know enough to help out

were now worrued that hell be told he has to pay the full amount of insurance too.

Be careful, as years ago when a vehicle was written off you lost any remaining premium.

My understanding is that with a fully comp policy you do not have to pay any excess in a no fault accident, is that correct?

What does HIS paperwork say?

Don’t see how they can charge you the rest of the money when they aren’t paying anything out. I’d cancel that DD now and argue later if necessary.

I’d speak with a solicitor rather than folk on a forum

I haven’t worked in motor insurance for a few years but.

The insurance company will only cover the cost of your sons own damage if it is above excess. As this is the first amount that is not insured by them. It sounds like recovery and value of the car is below this.

Your insurers do not have to pay out and claim back from the other insurer. Some insurers offer this as a benefit but it is not guaranteed.

Did you buy legal cover with the car policy? If so contact them and ask them to persue the claim and injury comp on your behalf. If jot speak to a non fault claims company or local no winno fee solicitor

I am surprised the go Skippy haven’t referred you to a non fault company to deal with the claim for you.

Don’t be rash and cancel the policy, you have agreed to a 12 month policy and may be hit with short term cancel rates and if the claim is found to be your sons fault they wil persue for the full premium. You should be able to transfer a new car onto the policy.

Hope this helps.

Call the other drivers insurance, if they have admitted fault, you can claim direct with them and cut your insurers out of the loop.

This is what I did a few months back, my insurance wanted me to go through some claims company and were generaly fobbing me off..made the process far simpler.

sidders has it nailed (from my own old insurance days)

Assuming you have the other driver’s insurance details, there’s nothing stopping you phoning them yourself to lodge a claim directly. Depending on the insurer it may be reasonably quick and easy. Failing that, as everything above.

no win no fee solicitor for advice, and personal injuries claims, claim for whip lash, also because your sons made a claim his insurance will go up when he next insures a vehicle,the insurance premium is based on a full year, cancel early and youll have a early cancelation fee to pay,

As Mattyfez suggests contact the other drivers insurance. I was in a similar situation a few months ago where someone reversed into the side of my car. I was in the car at the time but stationary. The car needed a couple of new panels. The other driver admitted fault and I just dealt with his insurance who seemed keen to settle the claim ASAP. They even provided an equivalent hire car while mine was off the road.

Thank you for sll the advice. As you can imagine hes really fed up at the moment but it seems like theres some hope. Im about to read his policy documents to find out whether the information weve been given on the phone is correct.
If theres any more suggestions or experiences of similar please share with us.

Thanks Nathan

Whiplash claim should be worth a couple of grand, I’d be mentioning that to the insurers. If you haven’t already, start documenting everything.

You want to go through the other drivers insurance, they are usually more than happy to deal with it