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Preventing rejection of motor insurance claims

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You invest a lot into buying that new set of 4 wheels which literally becomes your second home. You take care of all the documentation and related processes while insuring your vehicle against any perceived damage.

When can insurer reject your motor claim?

The value of motor insurance is realised when one meets an accident. Of course, there are some unforeseen incidents which we cannot anticipate. Insurance is the key to managing such uncertainties in life.

You buy a vehicle with such a pleasure and for most of us it gives a sense of achievement. When the vehicle is new, you tend to keep it covered under insurance. But at times, there are gaps when it comes to renewal of insurance.

This also happens when you are among the lucky ones who never meet any unpleasant incident and never get to raise any claim. It feels a waste of money sometimes. Isn’t it?

Driving license: You are vigilant about expiration of your car policy. Good. But what about your driving license? Driving licences are valid for a considerably long period. After this period, you need to renew it.

God forbids, if your vehicle meets an accident during the time your driving licence is not valid, then a car insurance policy will be rendered useless. So, just take care of this aspect.

Drunk driving: If the driver is found drunk at the time of an accident, then an insurance company has all the right to straightaway reject the claim. There is no possibility of any negotiation in this regard. Your claim can be duly rejected on this ground and no court will hear you too.

Usage: A personal vehicle cannot be used for commercial purposes. If in case you do it, and your vehicle meets an accident, then you are in trouble. Insurance company won’t hear your claims in any case.

The vehicle should never be used for any unlawful act. Do not ever lend your car or bike or any other vehicle to any person without knowing the purpose.

Therefore, it is better to pay attention to these aspects with seriousness and steer clear of worries.

by Naval Goel

See Full Story at economictimes.indiatimes.com

Why over-declaring penalty points lets car insurers overcharge 2.8 million drivers

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Why over-declaring penalty points lets car insurers overcharge 2.8 million drivers-credence-insurance-agency

Image via Flickr user Stig Nygaard

Needlessly telling insurance firms about expired penalty points for speeding and other offences adds £57 to premiums, yet insurers continue to ask about old convictions

Millions of motorists are needlessly paying £57 extra for car insurance because they are “over-declaring” old convictions and penalty points, Telegraph Money has learnt.

Speeding penalties, car parking fines and convictions for careless driving typically stay on motorists’ driving records for four years even though there is no obligation to inform insurance firms.

But 2.8 million drivers with clean driving slates, or 7pc of motorists, continue to “over-declare” past offences, according to the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

This is partly due to mixing up the dates of convictions or providing more detail than asked for on application forms.

But major insurance firms also play a part.

Some will demand customers disclose convictions – even if they are spent – before providing a quote. Others leave questions about convictions “open-ended” to encourage a customer to “over-declare”.

by Kate Palmer

See Full Story at telegraph.co.uk

Does it make sense to file small claims on car insurance?

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When Amit Sharma’s new car met with an accident recently, he was unhappy but comforted by the fact that he had taken comprehensive car insurance and could get the insurer to pay for the repairs. However, a discussion with his friend put him in a dilemma. His friend advised him to skip filing a claim and instead pay for the repairs out of his own pocket because the car was not damaged badly and getting it repaired was unlikely to cost him much.

Not fully convinced, Sharma felt that as his car was insured it was surely his right to make a claim. However, he was also worried about the side effects of making a claim e.g. how would it impact his claim history and renewal premiums? Therefore, he was finding it difficult to decide.

Many of us sometimes find ourselves in a similar situation when our vehicle is damaged. So when should you claim insurance and when should you skip it?

Industry experts say there is no hard and fast rule for filing a claim. However, it is in one’s own interest to do some calculations and keep some basic facts in mind while deciding whether or not to claim insurance.

“Insurance is based upon the concept of risk and simply put higher risk is bound to increase the premium. Adverse claim history is one of the factors that impact premium rates. In case of motor insurance, for instance, it directly impacts the no claim bonus, which becomes zero and thus results in a person having to pay higher premium amounts in the future,” informs Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Capital.

“Before filing a claim, one should assess the quantum of loss, applicable deductibles, any impact on the NCB and future premiums if any and should proceed only then,” says Dr Sandeep Dadia, CEO & Principal Officer, Aditya Birla Insurance Brokers Ltd.

by Sanjeev Sinha

See Full Story at economictimes.indiatimes.com

Call for official inquiry into motor insurance

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Image via Flickr user Rachel Johnson

The Government has been called on to set up a broad-based inquiry into the insurance market in a bid to cut the spiralling cost of premiums.

The inquiry would be similar to the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, which reported in 2002 and made 67 radical recommendations.

That led to the setting up of the Injuries Board and brought lower insurance premiums.

The call for an inquiry to shake-up the insurance market was made by the Consumers Association and AA Ireland.

It comes in the wake of a surge in motor insurance premiums, with domestically-owned insurer FBD the latest to suffer as crisis grips sector.

Higher levels of claims, more drivers using lawyers to seek compensation, low levels of reserving in the industry and poor investment returns for insurers have been blamed for the spike in premiums.

Michael Kilcoyne of the Consumers Association said there was a need for a new government-appointed inquiry into insurance costs.

This should consider the capping of claims amounts, examine the operations of insurers, scrutinise the role of the Central Bank, look at reserving by insurers and probe uncompetitive practices in the industry.

by Charlie Weston

See Full Story at independent.ie

Admiral defies the gloom in car insurance

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Image via Flickr user Pictures of Money

The car insurance group Admiral has shrugged off gloomy forecasts of costly claims inflation to post better-than-expected profits for the first half of the year.

Admiral said “positive claims cost development” had allowed it to release £92.6m that was set aside in previous years to cover motor accident costs, helping take its pre-tax profits up 1pc to £186.1m.

Despite rival firms complaining of a surge in injury claims, the group reported a 9.8pc drop in claims costs to £390.4m in the first six months of the year.

Like other car insurers, Admiral has been helped by the mild weather at the start of the year, which reduced accidents caused by ice and snow.

“A good start to a challenging year. Profits are up, customer numbers are up, earnings per share is up, the dividend is up … you might say it was a pretty ‘up’ first half!” said Henry Engelhardt, Admiral’s outgoing chief executive.

“The UK business turned in a very solid result helped by positive claims cost development, with modest growth accompanying price increases.”

Cardiff-based Admiral continued to add customers, taking the total number of people on its books from 4.05 million to 4.19 million. The firm took in revenues of £1.06bn, up £20m on a year ago.

The company has concentrated its efforts on attracting customers with a lower risk of claiming, despite these drivers paying lower premiums.

Nevertheless, prices are expected to rise over the next year. David Stevens, who will take over as chief executive next May, said that bodily injury claims were now back to the levels seen before a Government crackdown on legal fees in 2013.

by Marion Dakers

See Full Story on telegraph.co.uk

Call for official inquiry into motor insurance

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Call for official inquiry into motor insurance-credence-insurance-agency

Image via Flickr user Paul Hamilton

The Government has been called on to set up a broad-based inquiry into the insurance market in a bid to cut the spiralling cost of premiums.

The inquiry would be similar to the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, which reported in 2002 and made 67 radical recommendations.

That led to the setting up of the Injuries Board and brought lower insurance premiums.

The call for an inquiry to shake-up the insurance market was made by the Consumers Association and AA Ireland.

It comes in the wake of a surge in motor insurance premiums, with domestically-owned insurer FBD the latest to suffer as crisis grips sector.

Higher levels of claims, more drivers using lawyers to seek compensation, low levels of reserving in the industry and poor investment returns for insurers have been blamed for the spike in premiums.

by Charlie Weston

See Full Story on independent.ie

Esure set to raise premiums after motor insurance profits fall 80%

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Esure set to raise premiums after motor insurance profits fall 80-credence-insurangce-agency

Image via Flickr user Leap Kye

The company behind Sheilas’ Wheels and Go Compare says it has been affected by an increase in the frequency of small personal injury claims

Esure, owner of Sheilas’ Wheels and Go Compare, has said it is planning to raise premiums after a surge in small injury claims helped push half-year profits in its motor insurance underwriting business down by four-fifths.

The company said trading profit for that area of its business was down 80.7% to £3.3m as it was “impacted by claims inflation, in particular the market increase in the frequency of small personal injury claims”. Its shares dropped nearly 9% as the fall contributed to a 21% slide in underlying pre-tax profits for the first six months of the year to £46.5m.

Stuart Vann, Esure’s chief executive, said: “The claims environment in the motor market continues to deteriorate and as a consequence we will seek to implement further rate increases in the second half.”

Esure acknowledged that increasing premiums might cost it customers. The group has more than 1.4 million motor insurance policies and about 570,000 in home insurance.

Vann’s comments about increasing car premiums come after an AA reportshowed they had risen by 5.5% across the industry in the second quarter after years of decline. It also pointed to the issue of claims inflation – more frequent claims with higher damages.

See Full Story on theguardian.com

Administering your company’s Corporate Motor Insurance Scheme

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When you are not primarily an insurance company, administering a corporate motor insurance scheme can be a very serious challenge. This becomes even harder if you have a large fleet of company cars, in addition to a staff motor insurance scheme mediated by the company. Insurance, especially when handling claims, can be such a hustle for someone who is primarily in Administration, Finance, Procurement, or HR, depending on the company. We have prepare a small cheat sheet that can help you to take charge of your company’s motor Insurance Scheme and give you that satisfaction of being “on top of things” Here is the list

1. Take Charge!

The number one cause of stress for employees who manage motor vehicle insurance issues is lack of clarity on who is in charge of what. The process of coordinating motor insurance concerns usually involves at least all the departments we listed above, and depending on the organization, the person who is in charge may be in any one these departments. If you are involved in the process but it is unclear who exactly is in charge, then you have two options. First, you can decide to seek clarity from your boss as to where the buck stops when it comes to the company’s motor insurance scheme. If your boss doesn’t know, you may be in trouble, but work towards clarifying who is in charge of it. The second option is to take charge. Many workers fear additional responsibilities and then go ahead to waste good energy scheming how to avoid the work. If you take charge of it, officially or otherwise, you will have control over it and it will make it easier to administer the scheme.

2. Draw a Map

Secondly, draw a process map that shows how each process should be handled. If you are not into maps, you can use a list showing all steps each case goes thorough before it is resolved. Process maps (or their equivalent) can help you to figure out what needs to happen at every stage and are a good way of measuring your progress down the line. The only predictable thing when it comes to insurance is when you need to pay your premiums. You can never plan when to make claims because they result from accidental events. A process map will make you ready to handle any unforeseen situation with clarity, and without the need to figure out everything each time something happens.

3. Use Checklists

The beauty of everything in insurance is that the processes used by insurance companies are very well mapped out. It is possible to develop checklists to help you handle every claims process, or every motor insurance procurement process. Checklists will help you to be certain that you have done everything required, and you will not need to spend time thinking through every process you need handle. For instance, you may have all the documents needed to file an application for motor insurance cover committed to memory. If you do not translate that to a checklist, you may miss one of the important documents simply because you have no method of verifying that you have filed all documents. Then again, since you don’t fill these forms on a daily basis, it is easy to forget a small detail in the forms. A checklist will eliminate all the stress you may experience in such situations.

See Full Story on capitalfm.co.ke

Why cutting corners on car insurance will end up costing you more

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Back Camera
Image via Flickr user Canned Muffins

Insurers are uncovering around 4,000 fraudulent motor insurance applications every week, says trade body the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The ABI says there were 212,000 attempted dodgy car insurance applications found in 2014, up by nearly a fifth (18%) on 2013. And it’s warning that lying on your car insurance application can lead to big trouble later on, as can relying on dodgy brokers who don’t actually insure you.

The biggest lies people tell

Failing to declare unspent motoring convictions or claims and giving a false address at a postcode in a lower risk area were common tricks that insurers exposed.

Parents insuring a car in their name which is mainly driven by their son or daughter, known as ‘fronting’, is also a regular issue. Even though it’s often well-intentioned, fronting can get you and your child in serious trouble, particularly if you ever have to make a claim.

As it’s considered as fraud, you’ll get a criminal record, not to mention an extremely hard time getting a decent car insurance quote in future.

Ghost broking

The ABI also warned motorists not to be duped by ‘ghost’ brokers, who may tempt you with the promises of much cheaper insurance.

‘Ghost broking’ scams involve illegal insurance advisers selling bogus motor insurance policies. This leaves innocent motorists driving illegally without motor insurance, facing prosecution and having their vehicle seized and crushed.

Fraudsters may buy policies from legitimate insurers using false information. They’ll then doctor them and sell them on to customers to make them look authentic.

See Full Story on home.bt.com

Lloyd’s Supports Natural Catastrophe Resilience Plan Across Asia

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Lloyd’s Supports Natural Catastrophe Resilience Plan Across Asia-credence-agency

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As he prepared to sign a Statement of Intent (SOI) between the British Government, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Lloyd’s in Singapore, UK Prime Minister David Cameron stressed that insurance is essential to “safeguard economic success.”

A bulletin from Lloyd’s explained that the “signatories have committed to a series of initiatives to aid the understanding of risk exposures in Asia and support and nurture insurance markets across the region.”

Lloyd’s also pointed out that “Asia is the world’s most natural catastrophe-prone region. However, on average, less than 5 percent of likely economic losses are insured when disaster strikes. This means that one major catastrophe could wipe out decades of economic progress.

“The three parties committed to working together to share knowledge and expertise with partners across the region. They hope this will help to identify threats facing regional economies and support the development of new risk transfer solutions. Other firms in the insurance industry across Asia are now invited to join the commitment and sign the SOI.”

Lloyd’s presence in Singapore dates to 2000 and considerable growth has been achieved since it established that presence. It now employs 400 staff and has achieved “premium growth of 120 percent over the last five years.”

See Full Story on insurancejournal.com

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