Insurance co. dragging heels on claim - advice?

I was in a tip in December 2003 and I was wondering if anyone else has ever been in the situation I'm in now regarding the claim.

I put in a claim for my own vehicle immediately after the accident and had no problems with receiving this pay out. The other driver also claimed off my insurance and after taking legal advice I instructed my insurers to settle (the solicitor actually told me I wasn't in the wrong but that I wouldn't win in court - but that's a whole other saga!).

Two and a half years later the other driver's claim is still open on my policy, which restricts my ability to shop around for insurance (to be fair, my renewal quotes have been competitive but it's the principle of the thing!). The insurer's explanation for this is that they've written to the other driver offering a settlement, but have received no reply. They said they'd been waiting a year for a reply, and they had no plans to send another letter or to cancel the claim. I asked them to send out another letter and they refused. They said they'd "give" the other driver another year (!) to get back to them before they'd think about what to do next. They have confirmed that there is no personal injury claim involved, they're just waiting for a reply to their letter.

Does anyone else think this is ridiculous? And any advice as to how to proceed?

I don't think that the insuranc co are dragging their heels in this case, it is the claimant who is dragging his heels.

Is the claim for much? Could you contact the solicitor yourself and see what the problem is?

I can understand your insurance company's reluctance to write again to the other driver...after all, 'turkeys don't vote for christmas'. I would say your solicitor may be the best person to speak to on how you should proceed. Do you know if the other driver's address? Has he emigrated or otherwise left the jurisdiction?

I had a tip a number of years ago and the full claim took 3 years to settle. This was the maximum length of time allowed for the other person to put in personal injury claims. AFAIK 3 years is the length of time you are tied to the insurance company as no other company will insure you until the claim is settled.

I juts think you will have to wait until the 3 years are up before being able to move.

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the advice. To answer some of your points...

Ravima - I think you're absolutely right about the insurer's maybe not wanting to pay up, and this turkey doesn't want to vote for Christmas either! It's very annoying though that they refuse to follow up for a full two years. They haven't even made any effort to see if the letter was safely delivered. They won't tell me how much the claim is for, although they have confirmed that there is no personal injury claim in there. I recognise though that they still have till the end of this year and maybe they're considering their position.

A. Partridge- I do know actually where the other person lived at the time of the accident, and I don't see their vehicle there any more. No way to know they may have changed it but at the time of the accident I remember them saying they'd never drive a small car (I drive a small car) and they'd only drive a jeep (actually told me that if they were in an accident they fully planned on inflicting more damage than they sustained) and there's no jeep there any more. So beginning to wonder if they've moved. A friend asked someone who lives nearby and she said she doesn't know them. The other person was English and I think maybe they moved home since...

Beldin - I did actually find an insurer that is prepared to cover someone with an open claim - can't remember now who it was - they were running an ad campaign about six months ago about a 'one price for all' policy. Anyway the premium was higher than what I'm paying, and the benefits weren't as good. I'll wait out my three years and see how I go then!

Again, thanks for the great advice. If I get any good news any time soon I'll post it up!

I think that they should tell you how much the claim is for. They do not have to tell you the reserve they hold on file, but I feel that you shoudl write to the claims manager, with copy to ehief executive seeking details of the claim made, the identity of the claimant, his solicitor and the amount being claimed.

They would probably tell you to PFO on the basis that its none of your business. If you read your policy carefully you will find that when you take out insurance you leave all the claims handling to them and they will act in their best interest and how they handle a claim is none of your business.

this all changed with the MIAB report. now the insurance co must keep you informed.

UPDATE!

So after two weeks solid of ringing the broker (insurers refuse to speak to me directly) I finally got a statement from the broker that the claim is closed. As explained above, the other person simply never responded to any letters my insurers sent to her.

So I thought, fantastic, marvellous news, now I have freedom to get quotes come renewal time... The person I spoke to promised to send out a letter confirming the claim was closed. So fastforward four months and they send me out a renewal quote along of course with a statement of my no claims discount - which states the claim is still open! I was outraged, so I wrote to them in no uncertain terms demanding a letter confirming what I was told back in March (i.e. that the claim is closed) and to have the renewal quote recalculated.

They replied with a letter confirming the claim is closed, and then they rang me with a new quote (which was €500 less than originally quoted - yes €500!). I immediately asked for that quote to be sent out to be in writing, together with a fresh statement of my no claims discount, clearly showing no open claims. Now, a week later, I still haven't received this documentation.

I've just had a very frustrating conversation with them where they've promised once more to send out the documents. The person I spoke to didn't seem to understand the importance to me of getting the official no claims discount document and I have my suspicions I'm just going to get another letter stating the claim is closed. I want the no claims document so I can be get quotes off other companies - after all, you need to send that in when you get a new policy, and the only document I have from them says I have an open claim. I think if I were an insurer I'd want the proper document, not just a letter.

Anyone else had this kind of experience? I'm so frustrated by the whole thing, at this stage I'm thinking of switching providers even if it ends up costing me a bit more...

I also want to write to both broker and provider and ask for all the information they have on me - has anyone ever done this and was it helpful?

Thanks guys for all the advice so far, and sorry for posting a mini-novel!

Surely the broker can sort this out for you ?

Well I've been talking with the broker all along - the insurer won't deal directly with the public. Going to the broker's offices isn't really an option, they're at the other end of the country and anyway I think I should be able to get my documents issued to me by making a phone call. I shouldn't have to drive half way across the country just to ask a broker to get an insurer to send out an accurate NCD document, and then give that to me.

Anyway, update: I was right in my suspicion last week, the person I spoke to didn't bother getting the NCD information, she just sent out a letter stating the new renewal quote. I had another unpleasant conversation with them today where a team leader refused to come on the line and talk to me, and I was told in no uncertain terms to 'just see things from the insurer's point of view'. Really I can't help wondering what point of view could possibly legitimate an insurer sending out a NCD document that was inaccurate and issuing a renewal quote that was €400 over what it should have been?

So I'm now waiting for them to ring me back about my NCD document which they are supposed to be ringing the insurer to get reissued. The whole thing is crazy - I mean I can understand that claims drag on and can take a while, but this business with the inflated renewal quote based on an inaccurate NCD document is really infuriating. Honestly I can't help wondering have they never heard of the theft and fraud offences legislation?

Oh and not one person has accepted responsibility for the renewal mistakes or for sending out the wrong NCD document; and not one person has offered an apology for any of it.

I'm actually going to start this as a new thread with a different subject line, see if anyone else has had a similar experience! I can't be the only one?! Can I?!