Cycling UK Forum

Hi,

I was knocked off my bike in 2017 by a car that tboned me.

Their insurance settled last year after the police prosecuted the driver.

My car insurance is now due and they have put up my premium as a result of my insurance claim.

Advice? Morally it's wrong, but is it acceptable?

Apparently if I was a pedestrian and I got hit by a car, made a claim, my car insurance would also go up.

It's what it is, sadly - and little one can do except shop around.

Strange. Every time I've had anything to do with car insurance I've only ever been asked about claims I' may have made against my own car insurance. I've also been told that no fault car policy claims make no difference to the premium. No fault claims may affect an unprotected no claims discount as it's just that and not a no blame discount.

Same thing happened to me.

Admiral were the only ones doing this, direct line weren’t interested.

I pursued it with admiral who then contacted the motor insurance database and the information was then altered to say I was a pedal cyclist (at that point it was just vague in that I had been in a motor accident)

Once they did this I then got normal rates so shop around!

Car insurance companies are free to do as they please, it seems. My car was hit from behind and, although the damage was minor and purely cosmetic, it was declared beyond economic repair. I wanted the car repaired because of its rarity and being deemed entirely without blame it was my right for the vehicle to be restored but the other drivers insurance company refused point blank. Even my own insurance company wouldn't assist me.

peetee wrote:Car insurance companies are free to do as they please, it seems. My car was hit from behind and, although the damage was minor and purely cosmetic, it was declared beyond economic repair. I wanted the car repaired because of its rarity and being deemed entirely without blame it was my right for the vehicle to be restored but the other drivers insurance company refused point blank. Even my own insurance company wouldn't assist me.

Did you not consider buying it off the insurers and repairing it with the settlement?

bobbyg wrote:Same thing happened to me.

Admiral were the only ones doing this, direct line weren’t interested.

I pursued it with admiral who then contacted the motor insurance database and the information was then altered to say I was a pedal cyclist (at that point it was just vague in that I had been in a motor accident)

Once they did this I then got normal rates so shop around!

That is very interesting. I wonder is it only via an insurance company that you can have the database corrected in such instances?

Bonefishblues wrote:

peetee wrote:Car insurance companies are free to do as they please, it seems. My car was hit from behind and, although the damage was minor and purely cosmetic, it was declared beyond economic repair. I wanted the car repaired because of its rarity and being deemed entirely without blame it was my right for the vehicle to be restored but the other drivers insurance company refused point blank. Even my own insurance company wouldn't assist me.

Did you not consider buying it off the insurers and repairing it with the settlement?

With my classic motorbike policy I took the option of paying £10 extra premium to keep any written off bike for no payment.

If the OP's car has just minor cosmetic damage why not keep driving it as it is.

Bonefishblues wrote:

peetee wrote:Car insurance companies are free to do as they please, it seems. My car was hit from behind and, although the damage was minor and purely cosmetic, it was declared beyond economic repair. I wanted the car repaired because of its rarity and being deemed entirely without blame it was my right for the vehicle to be restored but the other drivers insurance company refused point blank. Even my own insurance company wouldn't assist me.

Did you not consider buying it off the insurers and repairing it with the settlement?

I did but was persuaded by a certain other person to go for the easier option so another car could be bought asap. Being pedantic doesn't always get you the popular vote.

Back to the OP. This seems not only harsh, but very unfair.

Have you thought about putting your case to the appropriate ombudsman?

It is The Financial Ombudsman Service and its free. Just google it.

Alternatively something like a BBC consumer program may help. Its the sort of 'injustice' they like to follow up.

simonhill wrote:Back to the OP. This seems not only harsh, but very unfair.

Have you thought about putting your case to the appropriate ombudsman?

It is The Financial Ombudsman Service and its free. Just google it.

Alternatively something like a BBC consumer program may help. Its the sort of 'injustice' they like to follow up.

The insurers will simply point to actuarial tables which demonstrate that one's propensity to have an accident in the future is significantly higher if one has had (even) a previous no-fault accident.

Mares wrote:Hi,

I was knocked off my bike in 2017 by a car that tboned me.

Their insurance settled last year after the police prosecuted the driver.

My car insurance is now due and they have put up my premium as a result of my insurance claim.

Advice? Morally it's wrong, but is it acceptable?

Apparently if I was a pedestrian and I got hit by a car, made a claim, my car insurance would also go up.

You claimed off someone else's Insurance and now yours goes up?
How?
That is wrong.
You claiming from a third party has nothing whatsoever to do with your Insurance and I can't see how your Insurers have made the connection unless they're the same Company/Group.
Your last statement is also wrong.How would they know unless it was the same company/group?
I've claimed twice(motorbike) and it not affected either motorbike or car Insurance as it wasn't my policy that paid out.

Time to shop around.

You should be doing this every year anyway as insurers give the best deals to new customers and rely on existing customers not shopping around. The online comparison sites make this a relatively simple process.

It's possible that this has been wrongly listed on the Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE) as a motor insurance claim by yourself.
Your insurers would then base the renewal risk on the information held there.
You would need to find out what information the CUE hold about you - it's free to find out, though a bit tedious. It's worth correcting any errors on it, because they can affect your insurance renewals in the future.
I was accused of lying to an insurance company about my claims history, because I had claimed damages (directly, not via my insurance) for a car that came off the road into my field, smashing the wall and fence. His insurers paid out, but then listed it as a motor claim (by me!), which caused me no end of hassle to correct.

As said, the Ombudsman.

Check the website for procedure, but its something like: write formal appeal to Insurance Company (never hurts to mention Ombudsman).

If you get a rejection, then submit it to Ombudsman. They should be able to look into it.

I note this is a first time poster - wonder if they'll come back.