Hello Millers,
I can understand your frustration, your no-claims bonus is being held
up, because the two insurance companies are arguing over the storage
charges.
The reason for the delay is probably not even because the storage
figure itself is in dispute but rather the length of time that the
vehicle was stored.
This in itself, may have been caused by the insurance companies
engineer taking his time in either coming out to inspect your vehicle
or preparing his report and getting it back to the other driver's
insurers.
I assume from the question that you were insured comprehensively and
therefore your own insurers will have paid the storage charges to the
storing garage and are now seeking reimbursement of their outlay from
the other driver's insurers.
Solution
********
Ring your insurance company and speak to a supervisor.
The first step is to see how far apart they are from a resolution.
Ask them for confirmation of how much they are requesting in respect
of storage charges and how much the other insurance company are
prepared to agree. If this matter has been going on since October last
year, then there will be offers and counter offers on the table.
Once you have the figures, ask your insurance company for details of
the reasons that the storage period is being disputed.
If this is because the other driver's insurers are arguing that your
insurer took too long to send out their engineer or there was too much
time between the vehicle inspection to repairs being authorised then
ask them to reach a compromise with the other side as soon as
possible.
Point out that it is you, their client that is suffering as a result
of their penny pinching.
Once they have reached a compromise "which your insurers should accept
as full and final settlement" they should close their file and allow
the no-claims bonus.
If you have had a renewal, you will be entitled to a refund of any
additional premiums that you have paid since your no-claims bonus was
affected.
Above all - insist that the supervisor get on the phone to the other
driver's insurance company today or tommorrow, come to a compromise
and then settle it and ring you back with confirmation that it has
been settled.
Advise that if this is not done, since their arguments are affecting
you financially, you will be asking the insurance ombudsman to take a
look at the case and resolve it for them.
You won't have to take any further action, because if you do as i
suggest then there is a very good chance that they will reach a
settlement with the other insurers the same day.
Where you stand Legally
***********************
Unfortunately, Your insurance company have an outlay.
Your no-claims bonus is just that, it is not as your insurers may have
pointed out a "no blames bonus". It doesn't matter if you are at fault
or not, as soon as your insurance company have an outlay a claim has
been made and the "no-claims" is forfeit. They only have a contractual
obligation to reinstate the same once their outlay has been recovered.
Where you stand as a customer
*****************************
As a customer, they will not want an argument or negotiation to have a
direct financial effect on you. You need to point out as per the above
that you are suffering because of the duration of their negotiations
and ask the supervisor to resolve the outstanding issues.
Qualifications
**************
I have dealt with uninsured losses, personal injury, accident claims,
etc for over 10 years, negotiating both for and against insurance
companies.
I hope this helps.
Please let me know if this does not resolve the matter and we can look
into me ringing them on your behalf.
Johnny Phoenix |
