Motor insurance claim, who do I complain to/about?

[stinkwheel]

Mrs stinkwheel had an accident. She informed her insurance broker she had had an accident the next day and told them the details of the other party. Also that she would not be making a claim off them because the damage to the bike was so minimal and she was uninjured. Nothing else.

Fast forward 10 months and a county court claim comes through the door from the other party.

The broker refused to discuss the matter.

The underwriter did. It transpires the third party made a claim. The broker instructed the underwriter to settle the claim in full. At no point was she informed a claim had been made. At no point was she asked any details about the incident. She was not informed liability had been accepted and a settlement had been made on her behalf.

They have also paid out the county court claim, in full. Again without asking her about any details of the claim or informing her they had done so. She had to contact them today because the deadline for submitting a defence was rapidly approaching. They replied that they had paid it.

She is upset. I am raging. As far as I am concerned, at the very worst this was a 50:50 claim. I think a good case could have been made for denying any liability because while Mrs stinkwheel was overtaking, the third party did not indicate or check their mirrors before turning right into a totally unmarked dirt road while they were alongside one another.

The question is, do we complain to the broker, the underwriter or both?

I want a believable appology about the lack of communication and for accepting liability without even investigating the circumstances of the accident.

I also want the insurance record to be ammended to reflect that this is a non-fault claim.

Had we not received the court letter. We would still have been totally unaware that a claim had even been made, let alone settled.
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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.

[MCN]

These people usually refer you to their cohorts, The Financial Ombudsman.

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance

"If you have a complaint about an insurance company or claim, we can help. Find out more about the types of insurance complaints we deal with, and what we can do to help put things right."

I'm not sure but I believe he's a short, rotund chap who sits in a Chesterfield chair in a smoke filled office in London town.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[iooi]

You first have to complain to broker/underwriter if they fail to resolve it in 8 weeks, or issue a deadlock letter. You then have a right to take it to FOS for a judgement. (going to take months)

TBH. While I get what you are saying. Bottom line is underwriters are the one making the decision, what we have to say makes little difference.

But give it a go. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
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Just because my bike was A DIVVY, does not mean i am......

[arry]

Would need to know a bit more Mr Wheel, as it's hard to know who had the authority to do what without knowing the parties involved and the terms of their contracts together, but:
1) It's very rare for a broker to have the authority to tell an insurer to settle a claim. That decision rests with the insurer almost always, in respect of third party losses anyway.
2) It's likely the insurer rang the broker to ask whether the claim had been reported, the broker said yes it has, at which point the insurer took some details from the broker regarding the accident and decided - on the basis of what it was told - that it wasn't worth defending.
3) If you haven't been asked to so much as fill out a claim form (I know you weren't thinking of claiming, but it's the correct procedure to make sure all relevant details of the accident are captured early on so that nothing is forgotten when the counter-claim comes in, as it has here) then that's a procedural error by the broker, IMO.
4) On dispute of liability, unfortunately as painful as it is the insurer has rights under the contract to assume that liability for you regardless of your opinion of it. For small value claims I often feel they don't do what's in the best interest of the insured, but themselves - ramping up costs for hire vehicles etc whilst disputes are ongoing just shoots themselves in the foot.
5) Make sure you follow the complaints procedure as set out within the policy document, as closely as possible. The broker will write back, almost certainly saying your complaint is with the insurer, but go through the steps properly otherwise FOS don't tend to view it very kindly.

If you need anything, I'm here

[stinkwheel]

[wr6133]

I wouldn't worry to much about the loading, other than the renewal from the lying scum at Provident it made no difference to me. Except when I forgot to declare it on the Bullet 350 and they phoned me to say it needed adding and the price went from £42 to £42

You can test it by running a couple of quotes for Ms (insert made up name here) at the address nextdoor, one with a claim, one without.