bonzoronnie
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 09:51 AM |
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Shafted by my own insurance company & biased loss adjuster
Recently I was the victim of a road rage incident involving a cyclist.
I reported this incident to the police as a road rage incident.
The cyclist made a false allegation of hit & run.
The police investigated the matter & decided that in view of the conflicting stories from both party's they were not taking any action
against either party.
The investigating officer commented " Given the demeanour of the cyclist. I made the right decision not to stop at the scene of the incident
"
When i last spoke to the investigating officer, I was advised that after 4 days had passed the cyclist had now decided he was injured & his cycle
had been dammaged.
He was seeking my insurance company details.
The officer was concerned about the cyclists inconsistent statements, his attitude & the fact that the cyclist rode over 5 miles on a supposedly
broken cycle before reporting the incident.
I was advised that the officers concerns would be written up in their final report.
The cyclist contacted my insurer & made a 3rd party claim for a shoulder injury & damage to his cycle.
To my horror, my insurance company's loss adjuster decided to accept full liability.
Registered an at fault claim against me & knocked my NCD back 2 years.
Basic facts of the case
No witnesses or video evidence from either party.
Third party is unrepresented & is handling the claim personally.
Cyclist did not require or seek any medical attention & no time lost from work.
The loss adjuster could not be bothered to obtain a copy of the police report citing that it would take too long & he needed to settle the clam
quickly.
Other than an email confirming that liability has been accepted ( This cited for economic reasons )
I have not been able to get any details of this fraudulent / vexatious claim.
I am gutted that my unblemished 45 year insurance record has been destroyed in this manner.
Very confused as to why my insurer is so quick to decide I am at fault & pay such a claim so easily. 
Just out of interest, I googled the name of the loss adjuster.
It was unsurprising to find out that the loss adjuster is a keen cyclist of the Lycra brigade.
Some very interesting information on the net, this includes proof that he is the loss adjuster working for the company dealing with the claim against
me.
That sucks so hard.
Surely there must be something I can do to challenge this situation.
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 10:15 AM |
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insurance ombudsman or similar, sounds like the adjuster is biased...good luck.
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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jollygreengiant
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 10:47 AM |
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There was a bit of an obscure law passed (about 10 - 15 years ago IIRC) which kinda screws you in this. Basically it's a bit like this. As far
as insurance claims go between a car and a bike, the car is ALWAYS at fault. You can be sitting in your car at a junction waiting to get out in a rain
storm, a cyclist comes down hill on the foot path and crashes into your car. The cyclist had his head down and was riding fast because of the rain.
Guess who gets lumbered with the insurance bill. YEP the motorist because he has insurance. BANG welcome to the modern real world. The society of
litigation.
You could always take PROPER legal advice on this, but, I think you'll find it will be VERY costly and no nice outcome.
Personally I would love to sue the badger that ran across the road and wrote my car off. But nope I claim and up goes my insurance policy.
JMTP'sW.
Beware of the Goldfish in the tulip mines. The ONLY defence against them is smoking peanut butter sandwiches.
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 10:56 AM |
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I'm not sure that the law was changed as a couple of years ago the Cambridge MP Julian Hibbert was trying to get the law changed saying exactly
the same ? He was the guy that had his bike pinched from the Houses of Parliament. Made my day! If it could be proved the loss adjuster was biased
then it might be worth pursuing? Best of luck
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Myke 2463
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 11:11 AM |
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My advice would be : get a copy of the police report along with the facts as you have stated and contact the ombudsman, saying the car driver is
always at fault is crazy , what if a cyclist ran into a stationary unmanned police vehicle would they be at fault.
Good luck.
Be Lucky Mike.
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jollygreengiant
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| posted on 5/8/18 at 04:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Myke 2463
My advice would be : get a copy of the police report along with the facts as you have stated and contact the ombudsman, saying the car driver is
always at fault is crazy , what if a cyclist ran into a stationary unmanned police vehicle would they be at fault.
Good luck.
YES, THAT'S exactly WHY I thought the legal adjustment was mad in the first place.
Beware of the Goldfish in the tulip mines. The ONLY defence against them is smoking peanut butter sandwiches.
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hughpinder
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| posted on 6/8/18 at 12:37 PM |
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I had to get a copy of a police report for an accident where someone ran into me on a blind bend. If you phone the station, they will send yo a copy,
but it will cost you £70.
The one I had wasn't actually that useful and basically all I could do it read the statement they took from me saying one thing, and the other
drivers statement saying they 'couldn't remember' what happened, and a sketch similar to mine. There were no useful comments saying
that the positions of the cars/skid marks showed the other person was on the wrong side of the road or anything like that. If there are no witnesses,
legally both statements have to be taken as equally likely to be true.
The insurers want to go knock for knock as the report isn't conclusive enough, which is actually recorded as the fault accident of BOTH parties,
so a great win for the insurers.
Good luck
Hugh
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 6/8/18 at 01:13 PM |
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Also, as I found out recently, if the company insures both parties, there's no overseeing authority, they just make it knock for knock, take
both excesses and do their best to minimise their outlay. Absolutely no interest in finding out who was actually at fault - when I finally found out
(by pure coincidence) and called them on it, waived my claim and repaired my car FOC.
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ttalps2000
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| posted on 6/8/18 at 01:13 PM |
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My wife had someone run across the road infront of her at a crossing a few years back. The crossing was clear when she approached it and not a pelican
crossing etc either! Despite many witnesses to back this up, she was still at fault regardless. Our solicitor said to just admit liability as the
punishment would be less from the court and they would find the pedestrian not at fault anyway! that was the exact findings in court, despite
witnesses making their accounts etc!
next time, just run them over, back-up and check it was a proper job, same outcome at the end of the day! 
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Angel Acevedo
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| posted on 6/8/18 at 05:40 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ttalps2000
...next time, just run them over, back-up and check it was a proper job, same outcome at the end of the day!
Sad but true...
Here in Mexico started as a joke.
But now more and more people are doing this...
Or leaving the scene befor somebody notes their plates....
Beware of what you wish.. for it may come true....
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 7/8/18 at 06:51 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Angel Acevedo
quote:
Originally posted by ttalps2000
...next time, just run them over, back-up and check it was a proper job, same outcome at the end of the day!
Sad but true...
Here in Mexico started as a joke.
But now more and more people are doing this...
Or leaving the scene befor somebody notes their plates....
Even worse was in Borneo when I was there for work. We were not allowed to drive the company cars as the locals had been throwing their dead kids
(high child mortality rates) in front of foreigners cars to make huge claims against them which they would pay to avoid being locked up in some god
forsaken prison. No doubt the police would be corrupt too taking their cut. Also we were told never to use taxi's but only company cars driven
by specific people we already met as taxi's had been stolen and foreigners picked up an murdered for their money & valuables.
fab place
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02GF74
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| posted on 20/1/19 at 07:35 AM |
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So how did this end?
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bonzoronnie
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| posted on 20/1/19 at 10:31 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
So how did this end?
Badly for me 
Ended up with the loss of 2 years NCD
To this day I do not know the name of the person who made the fraudulent claim against me.
I have also been unable to get any details from Hastings Direct of exactly what was being claimed for.
Every time I called them I was given a different story.
When it was time to renew my policy in September I changed my insurer.
That led to some more problems for me
Many insurers wanted to know the value of the claim made on my previous policy.
Hastings Direct were not able/willing to provide that information.
After many phone calls to them, they admitted that they have not settled the claim.
When pushed hard I was told that typically, £6,800 would be set aside to cover a claim of this type.
As far as I know, the claim was never settled.
Going to leave it until a year has passed then make a freedom of information request for full details of the claim.
Don't hold out a lot of hope that any information will be forthcoming though.
Edited to correct insurers name
[Edited on 20/1/19 by bonzoronnie]
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bi22le
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| posted on 20/1/19 at 10:56 PM |
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This is so annoying to read, insurance companies are such rip off dodgy buggers.
I was told I had a claim at fault against me years ago, when I asked for a NCD certificate, I had reported the incident and had WRITTEN proof from him
at fault. They ignored the facts, called it knock for knock and then refused to tell me for how much!
So, every time I renewed, I had to disclose an incorrect claim of a guessed amount! What rubbish.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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James
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| posted on 21/1/19 at 03:17 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by bonzoronnie
Going to leave it until a year has passed then make a freedom of information request for full details of the claim.
Don't hold out a lot of hope that any information will be forthcoming though.
Edited to correct insurers name
[Edited on 20/1/19 by bonzoronnie]
Sorry to hear about this.
You may have meant Data Protection with this so I'm wasting my time- however...
We had a interviewee get a job here and then when we got his reference it was so bad we rescinded the job offer. He has since put in a request under
Data Protection and we have to hand over anything that mentions his name. I think he pays us £10 for the trouble.
I imagine that if you did this with the insurance company they may be obligated to redact the details of the other party. But by accident or design
they might not! And then you have some details...
Good Luck!
[Edited on 21/1/19 by James]
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"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
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