Claim not settled

Zenify

My partner knocked nto the back of another car and completely admitted liability. It put a small scratch onto the bumber of the other vehicle.

We decided to let the insurance company deal with it and our intention was to repay the insurance company to keep NCB.

Other party got a quote for 1100eur and insurance assessor said 300eur. So insurance company offered 300eur and that's it. Other party didn't accept. 6 months later insurance came up for renewal with a higher price due to open claim, no other insurance company would quote due to open claim and we had to pay. We are now about 10 months on and still no result.

I contacted the insurance company and asked how long can this continue and they pretty much said indefinitely... any advice about what to do?

Sue Pa Key Pa

If 300 is the genuine cost of the repair, then your insurer has a duty to offer a reasonable settlement. The other party has obviously decided not to accept the offer and may opt for litigation. It sounds as if the 3rd party has not been able to refute your insurer's offer on a technical level and have just dug their heels in.

Zenify

Yes, and this digging in of heels is costing us a lot of money which obviously benefits the insurance company. Anyone any idea how we could fix this? Should we contact an ombudsmen?

Sue Pa Key Pa

Would you prefer if Insurers paid any amount a 3rd party requested against your policy without it being verified? Insurers would want this closed off ASAP. If this was being paid as a private matter, would you easily reel off 1,100 bills for 300 worth of damage?

Separately, I don't agree with the practice Insurers have of not quoting when there is an open claim. Every claim has a reserve attached which reflects the maximum amount insurers think will be their outlay if everything goes against them. This figure should be given and it would allow others offer a quote on that basis. The reason (and it is valid enough) the reserve is seldom disclosed, is that a claimant can find out just how high the insurer is willing to go to settle the claim

Zenify

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Would you prefer if Insurers paid any amount a 3rd party requested against your policy without it being verified? Insurers would want this closed off ASAP. If this was being paid as a private matter, would you easily reel off 1,100 bills for 300 worth of damage?

Separately, I don't agree with the practice Insurers have of not quoting when there is an open claim. Every claim has a reserve attached which reflects the maximum amount insurers think will be their outlay if everything goes against them. This figure should be given and it would allow others offer a quote on that basis. The reason (and it is valid enough) the reserve is seldom disclosed, is that a claimant can find out just how high the insurer is willing to go to settle the claim

I don't want the insurer to pay 1100 as we are eventually going to be paying the bill anyway. And it was just a scratch on the bumper. There has been no correspondence since the offer was rejected. That was 10 months ago. It has cost us nearly 500eur from the extra premium to date and is going to continue.

Are you saying we should hold tight like this for a few years???

Sue Pa Key Pa

Zenify wrote: »

Are you saying we should hold tight like this for a few years???

It's a fine line your insurers have to take. If 300 is the cost of repair, the other party is trying to gouge you. If your insurers rightly stick to your guns, they run the risk of the 3rd party suddenly developing a sore neck. It happens all the time. Whether you are claiming on your own policy, or claiming against another person, the onus is on you to substantiate your claim. If an expert refutes your estimate, then you must counter that with your own expert and the matter moves to a resolution.

In your case, the file is still open because the 3rd party is not proving their case and not willing to compromise. It can't stay like that forever. Your insurers should write to the 3rd party advising that they are unable to reach agreement and that he'll have to take legal action to advance his case. They can then close the file. This is the last option your insurer will want to take because liability is not an issue, the legal costs will be borne by your insurer. If it got to court, those dopey judges will come down hard on your insurers for not just paying up for a small sum and wasting court time.

Bottom line, as it appears to me, is that €1,100 is an inflated estimate, the 3rd party cannot back it up and he knows your insurer will cough up if he is patient. In the end, you get screwed on both your premium and your claims experience. This is fraud by the 3rd party and extremely common. It doesn't make the headlines like newsworthy stories and has to go down in the insurance company's record as a legitimate payment because it cannot be proven

NUTLEY BOY

Technically, the other motorist has 6 years within which to issue proceedings in respect of property damage.

There is no role for an ombudsman. You or your insurers cannot force the other party to a settlement.

That said, there is always a worry that the other motorist might delay repairs and try to claim an even higher figure because the car has deteriorated, repair costs have increased or whatever. However, the other motorist has an obligation to minimise his losses so he will not get too far with that approach.

This is a classical dispute on quantum. Someone has given the other party an estimate of €1,100 and he just will not believe that the car can be repaired for that figure. Some people get the idea that a lower repair cost means that the repair will be cheap or inferior but that is not correct. It also suggests a gross overestimation by whoever assessed repairs at €1,100.

Where next ? Probably a court case. As liability is not an issue the case can proceed as a dispute on quantum alone. Both sides will present their evidence to the judge who will make the final decision. My only hope is that your insurers will not stump up a few hundred Euros more to dispose of the case on economic grounds - not unknown

Gooser14

1100 Eur is probably the cost to replace the bumper whereas the 300 Eur is just a paint touch up. If the damaged car is fairly new then I can understand why one would want the bumper replaced.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Gooser14 wrote: »

1100 Eur is probably the cost to replace the bumper whereas the 300 Eur is just a paint touch up. If the damaged car is fairly new then I can understand why one would want the bumper replaced.

The claimant hasn't been able to back that up so far.

Zenify

As far as i know, he had things like new chrome strip on the quote and he didn't need one as the old one wasn't damaged.

That's why the insurance company took a hard stance with him after that.

I don't know if we should just pay him the 1100 now and get this over with outside of insurance. As I said it's already cost us about 500 and then we are going to pay the damaged cost. If it continues much longer we will be paying that in the extra premium costs due to open case.

Sue Pa Key Pa

You do have the option to pay the €1,100 yourself and close the claim. If your insurer charged you an additional premium specifically because of the claim and not a rate increase, they should refund you.

Remember, this fella could develop a sore neck in a year's time and your insurers will reopen the claim and you will have wasted your money.

punisher5112

Why not contact and offer to give €400 and say best can do, get claim closed.

Sue Pa Key Pa

punisher5112 wrote: »

Why not contact and offer to give €400 and say best can do, get claim closed.

It is a breach of policy conditions to interfere with your insurers handling of a claim. If a 3rd party has lodged a claim, your insurers must see it through to conclusion. You can get agreement from your insurer to settle the matter privately. If negotiations to lead shaped, you can't go back to insurers for indemnity

punisher5112

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

It is a breach of policy conditions to interfere with your insurers handling of a claim. If a 3rd party has lodged a claim, your insurers must see it through to conclusion. You can get agreement from your insurer to settle the matter privately. If negotiations to lead shaped, you can't go back to insurers for indemnity

I never said contact the person but even if one did it is not illegal unless they are doing so to threaten.

If they are willing to pay back the insurer then it may speed it up.

ravima

You have the option of paying the other person yourself and taking the chance that they will not put in an injury claim later. Perhaps, you could agree with your insure IN WRITING that you could deal with the damage claim but in the event of an injury claim arising, they would not only deal with that but woudl also reimburse you your outlay.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Who said anything about illegal? I just advised you of claims handling policy conditions

Sue Pa Key Pa

ravima wrote: »

You have the option of paying the other person yourself and taking the chance that they will not put in an injury claim later. Perhaps, you could agree with your insure IN WRITING that you could deal with the damage claim but in the event of an injury claim arising, they would not only deal with that but woudl also reimburse you your outlay.

It is an option, but the limit insurers would repay you is €300 in this instance