Can anyone advise on car insurance claim being refused??

[acorns]

Hi, not sure where to put this one!

I had somebody go into the back of my car a few weeks ago. They stopped & gave me their details, address, reg no, tel number & name, I phoned my insurance company who approved a claim there and then and arranged for my car to be collected & repaired (without me having to pay my policy excess as non fault). Car now back, my insurers settled direct with garage & everything hunky dory, or so I thought. I've had a call today from my insurer (5 weeks after making the claim) who say the third party is now denying that they were there & that they have an incorrect address for the third party (with hindsight I know I should've taken photos) and asking where I got the drivers details from!! I told them what they wanted to know & they said we'll see what the third party insurers say. I'm now stressing about it as the damage was fairly minor & I possibly wouldn't have claimed had they not approved it when I spoke to them, I am worried about losing my ncb & having to fork out £350 excess. Also shouldn't these details have been checked before they approved the claim?? Does anyone know how insurance companies work??

[hectors house]

I would have thought they could trace the car by the number plate - providing of course that the car log book address is up to date. I would hope that when they do track down the driver that they could fine him also for giving out false information.

I once had my car registration number read out over the loud speaker at a Supermarket I was shopping in, when I went to the desk someone had seen a white van reverse into my car and then drive off - the witness kindly wrote down the registration number and my insurance company traced him through that. Van driver initially agreed that he would pay, but didn't want to go through insurance company but when they told him damage was £300 he then denied that it was him - it nearly went to court, but did eventually get settled.

[Vikki5531]

Hi acorns, I've worked in motor claims for 10 years so I'll try and help you

Have your Insurers said whether the Third Party name matches as to what you were given? (I know you said their address did not match)

If not, could you maybe have got the Third Party registration wrong? Even one digit would make a huge difference, as your Insurers would check the registration on the Motor Insurance Database and chase up which ever insurance company appears.

Do you know the make and model of the Third Party vehicle? See if this matches what's on the DVLA system under the registration number you have.

If it is the same make and model, then it sounds like the Third Party is trying to pull a fast one - I would expect his Insurers should send an Engineer out to check for damages to the front of his car or check for any signs of a recent repair.

Also, because when you reported the accident to your Insurer it was a 100% non fault claim (hit in rear), they would have dealt with your repairs feeling confident they would make a full recovery from the Third Party Insurer, it's just a shame it took them 5 weeks to find out this information and come back to you!

I hope this helps and let me know if you need any more info xx