WA Car Insurance Claim after Car Accident - Demand for Payment ?

[Wesley]

Hi,
My wife was involved in a car accident and now the involved party and his car insurance company has sent in demand for payment.

I note that:
1) my wife's car was not insured.
2) when she bought the last last year, her comprehensive car insurance was cancelled by the Authorised Representative without her notice, and she only discovered after the accident.
3) as the car was heavily damaged, she traded in the car and loaned another car as her profession requires her to travel often.
4) we are unwilling to pay the damage as we are certain we are not entirely at fault.

How are we going to reject the claim, if not minimise the claim?

Thank you.

 

[Wesley]

Hi there,

When my wife loaned a car last year with a well known car dealer in WA, she signed up a comprehensive car insurance along with the Authorised representative. All was done under one roof. Details of bank account etc were all provided before car was released and she did receive product disclosure statements , policy numbers on the same day.

However when she ran into a car accident after a year, she discovered her insurance policy was cancelled by the Authorised representative. Currently, the person handling her insurance is no longer with the car dealer company. So, we refer the matter to the current person in charge. Even after we given them reasonable time to provide reasonable feedback, the officer in the car dealership refused to coorperate and implying us to be blamed for not ensuring the policy was properly in place.

What action can she has to defend her customer rights and put them responsible for staff negligence?

Thank you.

 

[winston wolf]

I have read both you posts and I'm unclear of your position.

Last year you wife bought a car? Y/N
When she bought a car she started an insurance policy?
The care dealer was the agent for the insurance company?
Shepaid for one year insurance in advance?
Before the one year ended the dealer cancelled the insurance and you weren't told?
She had the crash before the end on the year?

 

[Wesley]

Hi Winston

yes, she bought a car last year by finance.
Yes, she took up a comprehensive car insurance via the dealer.

She didn't pay the yearly premium in advance. But she requested for monthly direct debit from her bank.

Bank details were provided together with car loan application.

Yes the car dealer is the authrorized representative of the insurance company.

When the insurance policy was cancelled, the dealer didn't keep us informed.

The car accident happened after the end of the year. which was after the policy expired. we only discovered the unauthorized cancellation when she tried to make a claim with the insurance company.

Hope that helps.

Thank you.

 

[winston wolf]

I cant say I have any great answers for you but I hope the clarification will help others when they pitch in.

I just don't understand why the dealer would cancel her policy or what authority they would have to do so.
Did you ask the insurer this and if so what did they say?

They took your premium for a year then the policy was cancelled a month or two before the crash?

 

[Wesley]

Hi Winston,

the insurer referred us to go back to the car dealer as it was cancelled by them. And the dealer, despite she is demanding an explanation, they chooses to ignore and brushes her off.

When she bought the car, she requested the dealer to direct debit the monthly insurance premium and loan instalments from her bank account and the dealer has agreed to do so. It was stated clearly in the insurance policy issued to her, which serves as a valid transaction.

However, they did not take a single cent from her account as it was cancelled by the dealer after the car was collected.

According to insurance product disclosure, even if she decides to cancel the insurance, she has to do so in writing, notify the financier for consent and provide a new certificate of currency from a new insurer. The fundamental fact is, she didn't even request for cancellation in the first place. If she had done so, shouldn't the car dealer prove her wrong by showing the cancellation letter from her and close the case? Yet, they choose to ignore and remain silence.

The crash happened after a year when the car was taken from the dealer and only then she discovered the insurance policy was cancelled without her instruction to the dealer.

To certain extent, I feel stressful to find out the consumer rights has been violated and people responsible for the mistake can just walk away quietly.

Hope that helps.

 

[winston wolf]

I hope some body has a solution for you because as I see it she has some fault here.
Conformation was (I assume) not sent by the insurer and she did nothing?
Over 12 months no money was taken from her account and she did nothing?

If it were 3 months you could argue you missed it but a year is a long time.

I think you only chance is finding some loop hole in the insurance contract about notifying you 14 days prior to canceling the policy(if it were ever in place) or allowing the car yard to cancel without authority.

If the insure did everything right you would pursue the car yard.

Good luck, Perhaps legal aid might be your next stop?

 

[Amanda E]

Hi Wesley,
Have you spoken with Consumer Affairs WA? They have a lot of knowledge of and information about consumer protection.
I presume you've kept copies of all relevant documents and receipts/bank account evidence that you paid for the insurance?

 

[Wesley]

Hi Amanda,

in fact i did reach out to consumer affair WA and recently to Financial Ombudsman.

i do have all the policy schedule and documents. But there is a catch which another member did point out ~ that we didn't cross check the bank deduction and assume everything was in place. Hence it is too late to realize that the insurance premium was never deducted.

Yet, the dealer shouldn't cancel the policy without keeping us in the loop, and it is against there standard protocol to release a car under finance without proper insurance coverage.

 

[lawanswers]

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