MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I recently had an accident in a friend's vehicle, with a total claim value of about £1900, though I paid £550 excess, so they only paid out about £1350. The claim was made on his fleet policy. I was identified as the driver, provided my details, together with licence number etc.
Being an upstanding citizen, I feel I should declare this to my own insurers. However, lots of people have advised me not too.
I'm not sure the insurance industry is joined up enough to have a central database of every claim/driver, but I don't want to not declare this claim to save a few quid now only for it to void my insurance should I need to claim in the future. Thoughts?
It also raises the question of my own NCB - am I likely to lose any?
It is usually a term of your policy that if you have an accident in your insured vehicle then you should report it, but if it is on a fleet policy on someone's else cover, then i wouldn't report it to your own. Most insurance claims staff can only view claims, you're not making a claim on your policy at all, so they have no way of reporting it, it is a matter for underwriting and you rarely speak to them direct.
So no, i wouldn't bother, it affects his policy not yours.
You've not claimed on your insurance so your NCB is safe but you've had an accident, you should tell your insurer.
You should tell your insurer, as it is a material fact that may affect their underwriting of your risk.
If you do not tell them and the subsequently find out - invariably after you make a claim, they could declare your policy invalid due to your failure to declare a material fact and refuse to cover you, which is a bit of a bugger if you've just left an 18 year old genius needing lifelong care 24/7.
Admittedly, I left the insurance industry a long time ago but that's how it used to work.
The insurance industry do have a joined up database, and could easily find out about it.
You should disclose it, but it arguably depends when you should do so. Look at the terms of your policy; some might require you to notify of anything which might lead to a claim, while others may only require you to declare at renewal.
MCTD is right though, it is clearly a material fact and at the least should be disclosed at inception/renewal.
A number of years ago (late 90's) I changed jobs and got rid of the company car.
When insuring my own car I was asked about 3 accidents which I'd allegedly had over the past 4 years.
All of these had involved member of staff at the firm I'd left who had pranged one or other of the pool cars. The pool cars were my responsibility so I dealt with the insurance and repairs.
Once I'd explained this my insurance was unaffected.
The point of this little anecdote is that if an insurance company can connect me with accidents in which I had no involvement (other than sorting out the aftermath) then I'm absolutely sure they can link a driver who has a bump in someone else's car.
I'd declare it.
Insurance ask if you have had any claims or accidents in last 3/4/5/7 years.
You can't just think because you didn't claim on your insurance it didn't happen.
You don't want to be getting caught out in this......you really don't want to be ticking the box that says "have you or anyone on the policy had insurance refused or canceled "
I was in a non-fault accident in my dad's car as a named driver.
At my insurance renewal I declared the accident which added £180 pounds to my renewal quote (which was already higher than the previous years).
My dad was also a named driver on my insurance and I had to drop him as he had to declare a claim in the previous year and it was the only way I could keep my insurance at a sensible price with another insurer. Online systems seemed to count my accident and his claim as two separate incidents rather than one.
Really annoying just because some stupid 18 year old who'd just passed their test didn't realise that you have to wait for a green filter arrow if there's oncoming traffic, green alone does not mean you have right of way.
I don't have any declarable bumps in my own or other non-work vehicles, but one or two in work ones (although actually they're probably more than five years ago now). Anyway, I've always told my insurers about them when relevant and they invariably say that they don't count. The last one said they'd note it to show I'd told them but didn't add it on as a crash.
Don't they usually ask if you have made 'any claims in the last x years' rather than 'any claims ON YOUR POLICY in the last x years'?
Yes, plus 'any accidents'.
Declare it at renewal as said above. You've had an accident whether it's your fault or not, whether you've claimed or not.
If you don't declare it when asked that accident question, you've invalidated your cover and they don't have to pay you a penny if you have an accident.