Invalid licence

[islandgirl]

Extremely interesting research thank you Handyandy

[Hella]

Thank you handyandy , I didn’t pass my test until 2011 . I think that may mean I am screwed . That is if I’ve read your post correctly .

[des8]

HandyAndy Thanks for that concise clarification .

I would still suggest that HELLA proceeds against the third party to recover all her losses.
Even if her insurers do accept the claim (which might involve initiating an action for performance of contract) she will still suffer losses which aren't covered by her insurers, but for which the third party is liable.

[Hella]

Thank you all for your help . Can I just ask should I send all of our info into the insurance company then tell them we are going straight to the third party . Or should we send all
info wait and see if they are willing to continue with our policy and let them sort it out ?

[HandyAndy]

I would still suggest that HELLA proceeds against the third party to recover all her losses.
Even if her insurers do accept the claim (which might involve initiating an action for performance of contract) she will still suffer losses which aren't covered by her insurers, but for which the third party is liable.

I quite agree. But road traffic incidents often have a strange habit of effecting people in odd ways. Despite the Third Party holding their hands up at the roadside, when they get home they sometimes develop a completely different recollection of events. In that eventuality Hella may find herself facing a claim for all sorts of serious and career threatening injuries which, to counter, she may need the assistance of her insurers. I think she should be prepared for that and be ready to fend off any attempt at repudiation by them.

[des8]

You are quite right, and conversely the recollection of the injured party becomes blurred over time.
It is advisable to write down exactly what happened as soon as possible after any incident.
Such notes should reference weather, visibility and road conditions at the time

[des8]

Thank you all for your help . Can I just ask should I send all of our info into the insurance company then tell them we are going straight to the third party . Or should we send all
info wait and see if they are willing to continue with our policy and let them sort it out ?

Inform your insurers of the full facts..
If you have protected No Claim Bonus you could make a claim.
If your NCB is not protected you might lose it or it will be reduced if you make a claim.
In that case you might prefer not to make a claim, but proceed against the third party.

[Hella]

Insurance have asked me for a statement which I am in the process of writing . They have also asked me for a sketch as to where the accident happened .
partner has 10 year plus no claims protected on this policy .
I have emailed all partners documents over today .
I will send mine when I have them altogether .

[Hella]

Hi just another update . Did not think this situation could get any worse . When looking for quotes for this current policy we added in that partner had been in an accident in his works van in 2019 . Somehow it hasn’t been added to the policy and we stupidly never picked up on it . This is why the insurance company are asking for extra documents .

Partner did disclose straight away to insurance company when asked and said it was an over sight . They could see it on their system on the quote but not gone on the actual policy.

I know that this is a serious offence and we will more or less have the insurance cancelled .

I also rang the owner of the taxi company of the driver who had gone into my car - asking for his insurance details . He refused and told me to use my insurance and ended the call .

[des8]

Regarding lack of insurance details, address and third party driver's name I would be reporting to the police
Sec 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a person involved in an incident in which damage is caused to give his name and address to any person having reasonable grounds for requiring them.
Failure is an offence


Regarding the accident which "hasn’t been added to the policy" do you mean not included in the proposal form?

[Hella]

All that I know regarding the policy was we had used a price comparison website , with our info on including the the old accident details .
When we have bought the policy it isn’t on and neither my partner or myself have noticed , until the insurance company phoned and asked about it as they could see we had declared it on the quote . But not on the actual policy .
We explained it was a complete oversight , that’s why they have asked for our documents sending in .

[PallasAthena]

Don't accept this without a fight. They have admitted they had notice of the accident when they quoted. Use their complaints procedure then be prepared to go to the FOS.

Meke sure you keep.the evience of them admitting it.

[HandyAndy]

Just to round off, I've found a case (or rather somebody else kindly found it for me) where the Financial Ombudsman dealt with a complaint where an insurer had refused to deal with a claim because, seemingly, the driver did not physically hold a licence. It's a bit more complex than Hella's situation (not least because the driver was over 70 and possibly had a medical issue) but the Ombudsman clearly focussed on the driver's "entitlement to drive" rather than the possession of a physical, valid licence:

Decision Reference DRN-3961361 (financial-ombudsman.org.uk)

With that decision in mind, I cannot see the Ombudsman ruling in the insurers' favour should they decline to cover Hella in her circumstances.

[Hella]

Thank you so much for replies , I’m beginning to relax a little now . Hopefully I won’t have a fight on my hands and insurance isn’t cancelled .