to declare or not to declare?

[automaniac]

Hi all.
I have a slight dilemma going on. Last December my car was hit in a local carpark, small dent other party admitted fault. I got a quote and dealt with other party's insurance myself. Dent fixed without refering to my insurance compampany whatsoever.

Now my insurance is due, am I obliged to declare this incident even though I never went through my insurance company? As I don't want to give them any opportunity to refuse any future claims by saying this minor incident was not declared, but if I do tell them, will I get an insurance premium hike regardless of fault?, as I know they want to put premiums up at the slightest opportunity. So if I can avoid telling them I would prefer it, but not at the risk of invalidating my cover.

Thanks

 

[maddog]

always disclose everything , i doubt it will affect your premium but let them decide whether its important or not

 

[jadefox]

How would they know.......??

 

[DaveK]

Don't. Insurance companies will insist on suspending part of your NCB or adding to your premium for up to 3 years, to allow for any claim that might be made in that time by the other party.

 

[Dragon]

They share database. You can't get away from that. They even know how many miles you cover in a year from the MOT database. It a small world. As it not your fault declare it else it will become your fault.

 

[Ratz]

It's interesting how this has changed since I worked in the insurance industry, it used to be 'Have you had any claims or convictions in the last 3/5 years', which meant only having to declare fault claims. I would run their online quoting system to see if it makes any difference and then negotiate with the results.

 

[BTB 500]

As already mentioned the insurance companies routinely share their databases, so not declaring would be risky IMO. A single no-blame incident is VERY unlikely to affect your premium.

 

[janner]

I had something similar a few years ago with an old woman who couldn't reverse and dinged my parked car. I found that most companies (including the one I was with) didn't mind or load for one no-fault accident. Some companies did, however, refuse to give me a quote on renewal because they only insure drivers with no accidents.
Personally I would declare it as it is very unlikely to affect your premium. They do all share info.

 

[television]

Big firms like NU do not hold these things against you, as with most parking issues if you were not in the car at the time, then there can be no dispute, and NU did not alter my NCB. Its noted down and the reason.

 

[davidjpowell]

I declared once when hiring a 7.5 ton truck for moving house. I was less than pleased (i'm being polite) that becasue I had a non fault claim their insurance would not cover me and I could not have the truck. Would have been nice if asked when booking!

Had to make an emergency phone call to another hire firm to arrange a new lorry.

David

 

[Dragon]

There is a time limit, do it quick before it too late.

 

[glojo]

In a two year period my wife was rammed twice by drivers that were both with the same insurance company she was with. We have always declared these incidents and have never been penalised, your choice, your decision.

Good luck,
John

 

[SilverSaloon]

personally i wouldnt bother telling them.

 

[grober]

Shop Around !

You have unfortunately interacted with the "insurance community" when you said:- I got a quote and dealt with other party's insurance myself. Dent fixed without refering to my insurance compampany whatsoever. You should declare it as a no fault incident. Forget this incident-if its time to renew your insurance you should "shop around". Financial pundits advise you will always get the best quote as "New Business" Loyal customers get penalised every time they renew with the same company as they rely on customer inertia to jack up the premium.

 

[Dragon]

I agree go to green pastures, always cheaper elsewhere and do it every year. Forget about loyalty, on the contrary always more expensive.

 

[masqueraid]

Don't. Insurance companies will insist on suspending part of your NCB or adding to your premium for up to 3 years, to allow for any claim that might be made in that time by the other party.

Working on the basis that I always declare everything this has never happened to me, I've not claimed against the insurance and my NCB remains intact. If the third party decided to claim themselves I probably wouldn't be notified but it would be on the insurers database.

Don't give them an excuse to reject a future claim

 

[Matt45]

I feel that if this damage and repair had happened just before you purchased the car, assuming it was not new, then you and your insurance company wouldn't know about it so why tell them about somthing that didn't affect them. If you scratched the car yourself by accident and had it repaired out of your own pocket, whould you tell them about that?

 

[MikeL]

I made a query about a typo on my policy and was told that the companies don't have access to each others information, which was why the info hadn't been rectified?

So do they share or not?

Mike

 

[grober]

You will probably find this specifically stated on your policy documents in the small print somewhere It will be something like this
Duty of Disclosure
Before we go any further, you are reminded of your duty to disclose material facts before you take out your policy, at each renewal and whenever they change. Failure to disclose material facts is a criminal offence and can result in your policy not protecting you in the event of a claim and the insurance company (after having paid all claims made against you) coming after you to recover all the money they have paid out. Examples of material facts for motor insurance are: unspent convictions, disabilities, modified vehicles, failure to declare accurately where the vehicle is kept, young or poor additional drivers, high mileage, unusual use. This list is not exhaustive if you are in doubt whether a fact is material it should be disclosed..

 

[grober]

You will probably find this specifically stated on your policy documents in the small print somewhere It will be something like this
Duty of Disclosure
Before we go any further, you are reminded of your duty to disclose material facts before you take out your policy, at each renewal and whenever they change. Failure to disclose material facts is a criminal offence and can result in your policy not protecting you in the event of a claim and the insurance company (after having paid all claims made against you) coming after you to recover all the money they have paid out. Examples of material facts for motor insurance are: unspent convictions, disabilities, modified vehicles, failure to declare accurately where the vehicle is kept, young or poor additional drivers, high mileage, unusual use. This list is not exhaustive if you are in doubt whether a fact is material it should be disclosed..

This is the site for the Motor Insurance Bureau.
http://www.miic.org.uk/index.html