What Can Be Done?

[Stargazer]

My daughter has just fond out that someone who lives closely has successfully made a claim on daughters car policy. This very antisocial neighbour (police frequently called to house, endless fights and drugs) accused my daughter of damaging her car when opening her door. (parking is communal and frequently heir cars park next to each other. Not only was this untrue but there was nothing to be seen on inspection of the supposed damage. How can a claim have been made and gone through with without my daughter's knowledge? Can this have been achieved solely by the use of her numberplate? This would affect her NCB as she has made one claim already. These neighbours were evicted from their previous social housing to spitting distance of my daughter's privately owned house but parking is a shared 8 car bay.

[bobbinwales]

How did she find out. Did her insurer tell her?

[bookbinder]

Your daughter should ask her insurance company for the name of the person who has made the claim, and for details of how they did it.

[Googlewerenohelp]

Sounds like an "open and shut" case.

[bobbinwales]

I'm wondering how she found out. Maybe her insurer got a small claim from the other insurer direct and decided its not worth challenging

[davebro]

Seems very odd that a claim can be made and settled without the supposed guilty party being made aware of it.

[ParsleyDumpling]

This happened to my Dad, he did have a bump in a supermarket car park, but it was sorted amicably he thought. When he came to renew his policy some months later, he was told by his insurers that a claim had been made and paid out on.

[AuntPG]

It seems extremely odd that the daughter did not get charged the 'excess' on her policy.

[bobbinwales]

I may be wrong APG but I thought the excess is relavant only when you make a claim under your own policy?

[barry1010]

The person making the claim pays the excess, APG. You don't pay an excess if someone claims against you

[Arrods]

As has been discussed before, an excess cannot apply to the third party element of a motor policy.

[barry1010]

This is relevant and interesting:
"Genuine situations

You could have had a minor bump with someone, pulling out of a car park or entering a roundabout. After inspecting both vehicles, perhaps you and the other driver agreed verbally at the time that there was no damage bad enough to claim anything. Yet you should have still taken key details, just in case (see further down - our handy "stick it in your wallet" list of what details you should ask for).

You think it's the end of the matter and go about your normal life (after having notified your insurer and telling them that no one wished to make a claim). If the other driver then changes his or her mind after driving home and uncovering more damage they hadn't spotted, they might decide to get in touch with your insurer and put a claim through. Your insurer might decide not to inform you at this point if they don't need to. "

https://www.claimscore.co.uk/guides/31/car-hire-excess-cover/241/car-insurance-claim-against-me-without-personal-knowledge

[barry1010]

From the same link:
If a Third Party makes a claim against you through your insurer, they don't need to contact you about paying your excess. Unless it's very clear that you might be at fault, and depending on the amount being claimed for, your insurer might settle the claim without telling you. Especially if it's not deemed worth the insurer's time to dispute a smaller claim where it's likely to be a 50/50 shared responsibility. The other driver might then put in an additional claim for personal injuries like whiplash, and again get it settled without your knowledge. When your policy is due for renewal, you could find out claims have been logged against you, potentially increasing your premium.

[bobbinwales]

Thanks Barry. As for NCD I thought that was based on claims you made not claims against you, although of course any accident on your records can still put up your basic premium before NCD . Is that right Barry?

[barry1010]

Stargazer, there is sadly nothing your daughter can do.
Yes, it would have been achieved solely through the number plate. The neighbour would have claimed that your daughter caused the damage with her car door and passed on the registration number to her insurance company. From there, the insurance company can get all the details needed to process the claim - there is a chance that both parties had the same insurance company, or companies under the same umbrella.
It's annoying and frustrating but there really is nothing to be done.

[Stargazer]

But this is a false claim - complete fabrication. Should they be allowed to get away with it uncontested?

[barry1010]

You are right, bob - no claims discount is affected by claims made on your own policy for damage to your car.

Third party claims shouldn't affect it but third party claims can increase the premium when it comes to renewing the policy.

[barry1010]

Stargazer, how can your daughter prove it is a false claim?

[Stargazer]

How can she? These neighbours are unscrupulous. So it is her word against theirs. They made a claim and either actually had some work done on their car or, as I like to imagine, got a ficticious "quote" and pay out to some other person in their coterie so they got a cash "reward" for their crime. It would have been a low figure probably so insurance company did not query it.

[barry1010]

It's cheaper for insurance companies to just pay out on low-value claims, sadly. I can well understand how furious you must be about it - your daughter could phone her insurance company and give her side of the event but it won't change anything.

[bobbinwales]

Have they actually told her there was a successfull claim against her?