Car insurance company useless
12-May-2008
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Car insurance company useless

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Last month I was travelling to work on the A1124 Halstead Road at Earls Colne in Essex and on the way I stopped at a newsagents to purchase a newspaper.  When I exited the shop I witnessed a blue van reverse into my car causing damage to the rear right hand side.  It began to drive away so I ran after it and stood in front of it to stop it.  The driver got out and said that he was sorry for hitting my car and that he wasn’t looking where he was going, he apologised again and gave me his insurance details.

When I arrived at work five minutes later I telephoned his insurance company and confirmed with them that he was insured and had given me correct details, I told them what had happened and they told me there was nothing they could do until the accident was reported to them by the policy holder.  So I telephoned my insurance company, Admiral and reported it to them.  They told me to take my car to Colchester accident repairs where it would be repaired.

Admiral Insurance

As instructed, I took the car to Colchester and was given a courtesy car while mine was being repaired. When settling the bill with the garage I had to pay an excess of £300.  I questioned this with Admiral as the accident was not my fault and I was told that that I had to pay it and that it would be refunded to me when the money was recovered from the other insurance company.  Like a fool I trusted Admiral and paid the £300 believing that it would be refunded to me as promised.

The next week I received a letter from my insurance company stating that my policy was due to expire and that I should renew.  My premium had gone up by over £300 so I telephoned Admiral to ask why.  I was told that I had lost my no claim’s discount due to the accident.  Naturally I told them that the accident was not my fault and that I had given them the details of the guilty party who had admitted fault.  I was told that there was nothing that they could do about it as until money was received from the insurance company, it was counted as pending and that I should pay the extra and that it also would be refunded to me along with the £300 excess when the money was received from the other insurance company.  Again, I believed them and paid up, presuming that in the near future I would be receiving around £600 that was due to me.

At the time £600 was over half of my monthly salary and put me into financial difficulties.  But being naive I believed that I would get it back.  The next thing I heard was that the van driver had apparently contacted Admiral and admitted fault.  He told them that he didn’t want the accident to be dealt with by his insurance company and that he would pay for any damage himself presumably to retain his no clames bonus.  Admiral agreed to this without ever consulting me or even informing me of their intentions.

When Admiral sent the van driver the bill for repairs he returned their letter saying he no longer lived at that address and had left no forwarding details.  This was a blatant lie because he lived a short distance from my work and I saw him every morning.  I lived in Colchester and worked in Halstead, he worked in Colchester and lived in Halstead and I passed him on the road every morning.  I informed Admiral of this and again was told that there was nothing they could do about it and I would not receive the money owed to me until the money was collected from him in full. They also informed me that they had passed his details on to a debt recovery agency who were trying to trace him.  Even though I continually enquire about this matter by telephone I am told it is still pending, that was three years ago.  Since then I have had quotations from other insurers who quote an over inflated premium because I have an ongoing claim to which no fault has been agreed.

I would estimate that to present, building up my no claims discount again by paying the higher premiums together with the £600 owed to me I am out of pocket in the region of at least £1,000, money that is due to me because of Admiral's incompetence in dealing with this matter properly.

Article By: Aggrieved from Colchester


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Hi, I feel really sorry for you, just yesterday my pride and joy got bashed outside my house by a lorry or car with trailer, they left a trail of mud and I reported it to the police, unfortunately, they could do nothing as there was no witnesses and I had not heard it happen, was gutted that they did not even bother to come and look, I live in a small town, and I bet police presence might have scared someone in to coming forward, my insurance company has said that I have to pay £400 and it will be noted on my insurance that it was my fault!! Why do we bother!
*unhappy  06-Mar-2008 07:32

 
hi these insurance company's are cheats last month my car got stolen at the time it got stolen I was in a different country I went for a holiday so basically I wisent there.
So I came back saw my car is missing I reported to the police and insurance company.
Everything was going smoothly. Then one day I saw my bank statement the insurance company took 250 a month for my insurance. Before the incident I use to pay 108.00 pounds a month.
So I called the insurances company up loyeds tab and explained everything they said because the car
Got stolen and I've put a claim through my 6 years no claim bonuses has gone and my insurance premium has gone up. I told them that it wasn't my fault that the car got stolen so why do I have pay the price. All they said was sorry Mr Ali it's in our policy we can't do nothing about it.
I was so gutted.
Next they sent me a payment of 500 pounds for my car which 350 pounds is just the access so that means I get 150 pounds. And my car is worth 4 thousand pounds. So I called the insurance company again told them that my car is worth 4000 pounds I just received payments of 500 pounds which 350 pounds is just the access. then they told me sorry mr ali ill talk with the engineer and tell them to check the valuation of the car again in the mean time you will receive a check of 150 pounds put check in your account if the valuation goes up ill send you a another check . If it doesn't then I am sorry I can't do anything else. That what the insurance company told me. these insurance company's a so useless we pay full insurance to cover our damages but we don't get nothing back in return not even our full damage worth so what's the point of doing insurance then..
*ALI  27-Feb-2008 14:24

 
I have my insurance with Tescos and they have been superb!

I have broken down twice and within 30 mins, Greenflag were there to take us all home, broken car and all.

I also had a 4x4 land on the top of my car. Car written off, courtesy car supplied, the monies of the current value of my car, into my bank in less then two weeks.

Change your insurance company if you are not happy.
*Sodger  16-Nov-2007 20:13

 
My husband had a quite traumatic accident where he was car number 3 in a five car pile up on a motor way. He was not a fault, just wrong place at the wrong time. We paid the deductable and thought it would be dealt with quickly. He was booked in for the operations needed to fix his shoulder from the accident and we waited. He went to rehabilitation and finished physio and we waited. A year later we still had no answer. We didn't buy a new car, as we were waiting for the money from the smashed one and my husband refused to drive again. A year and a half later it went to court and we were finally awarded thousands to replace the car and for expenses and damages. The sick part of all this is that the insurance company demanded the rest of the year's payment (5mos) at the time of the accident but we have not owned a car since. My husband moved jobs so he doesn't have to drive and I'm insured on a different policy. We've paid for almost half a year's insurance and they won't refund it and say 'we'll carry it over to your next car'. But he's given up driving and they've given up caring. I've since switched companies and email the old one once a week demanding the money back.
*Bye Bye Money  16-Nov-2007 15:34

 
Back in 2004, I was driving up a dual carriageway trying to overtake a flat bed lorry carrying a dump truck, when all of a sudden out flew mustard coloured oblong bits of scrap metal. I saw the bits come flying at me and I swerved and the bits narrowly missed coming throught the windsheld, and instead scraped along the left hand side of my bonet, nearly knocking off my left wing mirror and making other scrapes along the left hand side of my car. The driver of the flat bed lorry stopped along the layby and we exchanged insurance details. He even said that in case of accidents, he has to follow a written procedure from his employer, by which he got out a laminated card and read what he had to do. He even took photos. I called the police and they told me that as there had been no injury to either party, that we should just sort it out amongst ourselves. When my insurance company contacted the lorry driver's insurance company, well....does not deny everything and went so far as to say that I was hit by a traffic cone!! Would a traffic cone knock off a wing mirror and make deep scores along a car...!!??? I think not. The long and short of it is that I paid my excess because Zurich asked for it upfront and in the end the lorry driver's employer basically denied responsibility, and even though it was not my fault, it was a claim and I lost my no claims...etc...etc...etc...The lorry driver's insurance company wanted to go 50/50 and I said no, however Zurich wanted to agree with the Lorrie driver, but this was like admitting that I had nothing on this guy (I had no witness - nothing) and guess what?? I never heard from Zurich again. I never got my money back etc...etc... Talk about freaky accidents, however I'm sure somebody out there will have an even freakier story. But in terms of car insurance companies? I can't stand them. A lot of the time, I think they're scam artists, epecially when it comes to charging you for every little thing on your policy.
*Kristina  06-Nov-2007 19:38

 
I have just had the same experience with yet again ADMIRAL!! For over 3 months I have been waiting for them to sort out my accident. Another driver drove into the back of me and along the drivers side whilst I was slowing down for a Zebra crossing. Because the other driver has not given her version of what happened Admiral have stated there is nothing they can do as they have to follow their legal procedures. Anyway I booked my car to be repaired at the VEHICLE ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE in SIDCUP and when I got my car back they had damaged the passenger side and had badly dented the bonnet!!! SO DO NOT TAKE YOUR CAR THERE TO BE REPAIRED!! Then low and behold I was driving along Farnborough Way in Orpington when a driver over took me but there was not enough room for him to pull in so he drove into the side of me. He refused to give me his details so I called the police - who have now given me his details with a friendly note stating that it is not an offence to drive away from the scene of an accident and they will not be pursuing the case any further!!! Has anyone else heard of this??? Because I thought that was illegal. Then to top it off, when the police got in touch with Mr Garrett he has said that I pulled out of a side turning into him, I would like to know where as there are no side turnings along that road - so yet again back to admiral, where I faxed them my 2 estimates for the repairs to be done and yes you have guessed it - they are not happy with the Labour charges - All in ALL I think that "ADMIRAL ARE THE WORST INSURANCE COMPANY GOING" - I most certainly will not renew my insurance with them, and if you have any sense (not being rude) neither will you!!!!
*Sarah - Orpington  27-Feb-2007 12:15

 
I think there is a golden rule here. When you have an accident, and you don't believe that you are at fault, CALL THE POLICE. They will initially tell you that they have no obligation to attend unless there is an injury. Tell them either that you suspect that there may have been an offence commited/ you're in fear for your safety because of the other party/the road is blocked and traffic control is needed etc. Basically anything you can to get them there. Once there they will deal with it and apportion blame if they think it exists. They can obtain accurate details of the other party and provide you with an incident number to quote when in discussion with your insurance company. Whilst the general public have little regard for the police these days, the legal process still treats what they say as being 'fair and unbiased'. I had this situation where I was unable to stop and hit another car in the rear. I accepted that it was my fault. The driver of the car in front got out of his car and said " bloody hell, I bet my boot won't open now!". Sure enough it didn't (No surprise). The police attended owing to the location of the accident (directly outside Halstead nick) and put in thier report that the damage caused to the boot of the other vehicle was not caused at the time because the scratch within the dent on the boot was rusty and was obviously old damage. It was also too high for my car to have hit it. The other drivers claim for existing damage was consequently unsuccessful.I had to pay for the damage caused to the valance of the other vehicle but not the repairs to the boot. I was able to do this without using my insurance and therefore only had to pay once and not for the next four years whilst I rebuilt my no claims. The Police let me off with a caution that I gratefully accepted. As I say it was my fault!
There are people out there who will scam you at every given opportunity. Be aware of them and use every resource available to you.
*Got a fair result  22-Nov-2006 13:54

 
I feel that all these people who lie about insurance are a product of our society. 3 years ago whilst sitting at red traffic lights a girl drove straight into the back of me. Feeling relieved that no blame could possibly be pointed at me I swapped details. I had actually knocked slightly into the guy infront of me. Naively, and being honest myself I agreed with the girl's boyfriend when he suggested to myself and the guy (in a jag) that as there was no damage caused we should not bother swapping details. Thinking that the jag man might try to make some claim against me, and thinking there was no way she would get out of it I agreed. However, a few days later I got a shirty message from her insurance (Norwich Union) saying they would not be paying my damage as it was my fault. She lied saying I had cut her up. "but if you go into the back of someone its your fault" I hear you say. Well apparently not in this case! Although I took photos of the road showing that I could not have cut her up, although the road being jam packed every week at the time of the incident and everyone crawling along at 2 miles an hour (quick enough for her to bang into me but not quick enought to cut anyone up) I ended up losing my no claims bonus, my excesss and it going down as a 50/50 fault claim.
So anyway, a coupel of days ago I actually drove into someone at a roundabout. She went then stopped I didn't realise she'd stopped etc. it did cross my mind for a moment that I could try to do what this girl had done to me but then I remembered that I am an honest, caring member of society who would not willingly cause anyone distress or loss of money as I know how much it hurts when you've been screwed over. But just beware that people do lie- not everyone is as honest as you so gets pictures, witnesses anything that will PROVE that you are telling the truth or you'll kick yourself as hard as I did!
*Eldon  16-Nov-2006 20:03

 
My son has just had his beloved car written off by another driver who admitted she was in the wrong.The insurance company valued his car at £1100 which was a bit low as he had spent £700 on it recently but he was happy to accept this as he wanted to get back onthe road. When he finally got the cheque it was for £450. Apparantly as he pays monthly by direct debit, they took the whole years payments out of the £1100 plus his £150 excess. This was in the small print, so small we have yet to find it! The solicitor who is representing him for his injuries has said he cannot fight for his other losses only his personal injuries. so the only alternative is to take the other driver to small claims court. My son had fully comp insurance and is now out of pocket. How does that work ???
*Pebbles  09-Aug-2006 23:14

 
My son reversed into someone as he backed out of a parking space. both parties agreed that no damage had been done and no one had been injured. However, being brought up to be totally honest and decent he gave the guy his name and address and insurance details and the guy did likewise.
9 months later when his Insurance became renewable again he opened his new quote hoping that now he had turned 25 his premium would have gone down from £600 plus to a more realistic figure, only to find that he was staring at a whooping £1,000 premium having lost his no claims bonus because he reported the incident to Churchill and later finding out that they had paid out £800 to the other party. This had been done without any notification whatsover to my son that any money was being paid out and that his no claims bonus would be affected and I think its totally out of order.
Has anyone any advice for him or does he have to put this one down to experience and next time learn to be a liar and a cheat.....oh yes ...Churchill....oh yes.
*one-for-the-road  21-Jul-2006 00:57

 
What difference would a broker have made here? Are you one? Or married to one? My broker recently quoted me £678 for my BMW. Online..same company, same details..except for £100 more excess.....quote was £287!!! So trust a broker? not likely. Secondly legal protection isnt worth the paper its written on. All Inc. Comps do their own. Try suing someone that onsurance comps cant't get money out of... I've tried it.
*Noggin of LLAMEDOS  06-May-2006 18:31

 
The story about the admiral case mirrors my experience. I just turned from a right street (T junction) into my road and my house is not far, about 50 yards away from where I turned. My house is on the left and opposite my drive, my cousin had parked his car. therefore, in order to turn into my drive I had to slightly swerve out and bring it back in. I indicated and was going very slowly as you can imagine, but as I was about to turn, this car hit me from behind/on the left hand side, as it was undertaking me and stopped. I know they did it on purpose as I had a similar situation before with these guys where I went into the back of their car and they applied the brakes on purpose; but to avoid hassle I accepted the blame for that incident.

Anyway, they said to me that I didnt indicate it and it was my fault. The police were called and we exchanged details. Admiral told me to go give my car in for repair etc and I had to pay a £500 excess. Then my cover needed to be renewed and I had to pay extra as I had a pending claim so had no 'no-claims bonus'. This was in July 2005.

Albany were introduced into the equation and after months of chasing them, and them saying things like ' we still got to get details of the 3rd party' I gave them a call a couple of days ago. They said that they now have 3rd partys details but will phone me in the next couple of days with what they're going to do.

Finally, I get a phone cal at work today saying that the 3rd party is saying it was my fault and that I was about to turn right (for gods sake, I was going to turn left into my house, why would I want to turn left?!), and that they are sending someone to inspect the site, and they want me to send them a diagram/description. I sent them everything back in July with Pictures of the cars , description, everything!! so why are they asking for it again.

In conclusion, I cant see this being settled for a long time and dont know what to do!!!!!
*bill  15-Dec-2005 12:25


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