Insurance bastarts, who to complain to?

[Tierbirdy]

December 2023 I got rear ended, ooh err matron, whilst sat stationary at a roundabout waiting to go. Ditzy bimbo got out saying "oh I thought you were going to go so I didnt stop".

Virtually no damage to my car, cracked bumper and thats it. I would have been happy with getting it fixed and sending her the bill. But no, she wanted to go through insurance. Fine. Open and shut case, fully her fault, easy. Right? No.

This has turned into a colossal ball ache.

Dragged on for a few months, eventually paid up. Insurers decided a 20yr old BMW wasnt worth repairing so made it a Cat N write off. Paid me best part of £6k for the car, so I took kept it and took it to a body shop and paid them £300 for a bumper repair and respray. Quids in.

Case closed.

Except no.

Fast forward to trying to insure my bike this year after SORN'ing it for winter and letting the insurance lapse, and its turned into an absolute pain in the ass.

First company I tried through a comparison site, put down all the details correctly (or so I thought) of a non-fault claim. A week later they phone me up saying theyve done some checks on my policy and the motor insurance database says I have a "costs not recovered, at fault" claim against my name. And whilst theyve looked into it theyve also decided the garage I keep my bike in doesnt count as a garage because it has wooden doors on google maps street view. So I can pay an extra £400 adjustment to my policy price, or would I like to cancel the policy. Jog right on, cancelled the policy.

Phone up the insurers who I made the claim with, and they said its not their problem its with a claims management company now to recover the costs as the other party insurers are refusing to pay up. Hence it being a "costs not recovered, at fault" claim until its settled.

Phoned the claims company, they wanted nothing to do with me and said I should call the insurers.

Called the insurers again, and they want nothing to with me either. Told me to email the claims team who are simply ignoring my emails. Getting automated "we aim to reply within 48hrs" replies then nothing.

Begrudgingly caved and took out another policy, this time saying the accident was "at fault" and this of course basically tripled my quotes, but I need the insurance. Cnuts.

Who do I complain to, how do I get this sorted? Or am I just bent over and taking it until the claim is finally closed (if ever) and stuck declaring this for the next 5 years?

[Nobby the Bastard]

Insurance Ombudsman
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Ste]

Were you given a courtesy car / hire car for the time yours was off the road?

[Tierbirdy]

[stinkwheel]

They have a complaints procedure which should be in your policy documentation, follow this then ombudsman. If you haven't clearly said it is a complaint, they will not have counted it as one and will continue to fob you off. Once a complaint is started, they have a timescale within which to resolve it, then it can go to the ombudsman. It costs them money to have something go to the ombudsman regardless of wether your complaint is upheld or not.

Start your correspondance by saying this is a complaint. Then clearly describe the nature of the ciomplaint and what you want them to do about it. If you really want to put the shitters up them, do it in writing. Get proof of postage (which is free) and attach this to a copy of your letter, then you can show the paper-trail to the ombudsman.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Ste]

[Bhud]

Insurers and accident management companies are gangsters.
May take a long time to unpick this mess.

[MCN]

As stinkwheel suggests.

Procedure and evidence is a great hammer to hit bureaucracy with.

Admitting to a fault claim was unwise. (May even be a problem as if untrue insurance don't likey.)
It's recorded and must be declared now for 3 years on every insurance application/proposal for any vehicle.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Tierbirdy]

[Easy-X]

I don't recall ever having to physically provide no claims proof.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[Pete.]

They are all dirty bra studs. Last year I got a quote for 325ish for my new bike which was the exact same model as my old one. Then when I wanted to start the policy a few days early because of a blown head gasket on the old bike they ran it through again and the premium nearly doubled. Their excuse was because they had out the length of ownership as 6 months instead of 6 years. I told them to poke it.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[MCN]

[Tierbirdy]

Seems "ombudsman complaint" was the magic word.

Within 24 hours of a sternly worded email I got a reply from the "operations support manager" saying it was checked and would be corrected immediately and an updated claims history statement for my new insurers saying its a closed, non fault, costs recovered, claim.

Thanks for the magic words