Insurance premium rises from €800 to €19,000 after two accidents

Brendan Burgess

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I heard this on the radio this morning and see it reported on herald.ie

'I'm gobsmacked and devastated' - driver's €19k insurance quote

The sad reality for this driver is that he rear ended cars in two separate occasions

"I've had two tips since Christmas 2016 on two separate occasions in Navan and Slane.

"I wasn't going at speed when I hit both from behind. I got out of the car and swapped insurance details. There seemed to be very little damage, if any, to the vehicles and the drivers got out and seemed fine. In one of the incidents, there was even a garda driving behind us who stopped for a few minutes but left us to sort everything out.


"When I heard there were two personal injuries claims against me pending, I was both gobsmacked and devastated."

If we have a claims culture where a number of people in both vehicles are likely to get large payments for whiplash awarded by the courts with attendant legal costs, then the ordinary punter is going to pay for it.

Brendan
 
rear ending someone (at low speed) is probably one of the most annoying accidents that could happen. Damage is maybe a few hundred quid or so to replace a bumper (I know, might be more), but the personal injuries claims can be a major pain in the neck, financially.
2 of them within a year is unfortunate, if not to say a bit reckless.

edit: however, that premium increase is ridiculous. looks like they are making him pay for the claims in one go! That's not how insurance is supposed to work....
 
newirishman said:
looks like they are making him pay for the claims in one go!
Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, the average damages for a whiplash is €15,000.
There could be three or four people claiming it.
Add in the legal costs, and you are probably at €100,000.

Plus the €1,000 for fixing the two cars.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
If I recall correctly, the average damages for a whiplash is €15,000.
There could be three or four people claiming it.
Add in the legal costs, and you are probably at €100,000.
Brendan
Click to expand...

This is madness. No surprise then that my own insurance has gone up 240% over three years despite not a single claim....
 
I don't know how anybody is with Liberty (outside of the above).

No accidents, no points, full license, full bonus etc. and my quotes from Liberty have always been for more than €4k.

I have car insurance (comprehensive) through Axa for €650.00
 
Legally, your current motor insurer MUST invite renewal. they have invited. As vandriver says, it is a PFO quote.
 
Playing devil’s advocate, what insurance company wants to sign up customers with a habit of rear-ending people?
 
It maybe a habit if you have two accidents in 12-16 months of driving.
If your driving 20 years accident free, and then have your two slip ups, it hardly considered a habit.
 
A scary story, could be any one of us, that's why we buy insurance, I see many cars with dash cams fitted, it could be the one device that could save a fortune, in this case demonstrating the minor nature of the accidents and that the people in the vehicle were up, walking and talking afterwards.
 
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