Hard Stand

As the car pulled up to the round­about, the road ahead was clear. It was a sunny day and vis­ib­il­ity was excel­lent. I couldn’t see any reason for him not to just drive straight onto the round­about,” said 34-year-old Ben Jones. But out of nowhere, he slammed on the brakes as I drove up behind him.” Ben was about to become an unwit­ting victim of car insur­ance fraud. Inev­it­ably, Ben crashed into the back of the car in front. We both got out of the car to assess the damage, which to me looked like noth­ing more than a dented bumper. The driver of the other car insisted I give him 200 to settle the matter there and then as it was ‘clearly my fault’.

Third, it’s time to start shopping around. I prefer the phone because I can usually sweet-talk the rep into telling me about other deals that the websites don’t offer. Computers, however, seem to be immune to my charm. If I enrolled in a defensive-driving course, what kind of discount would you offer? Oh, really? Which courses qualify? I’m still chewing on this, but I may actually stay with State Farm as I consider this worth $300/year.

Either way, it’s an interesting case of car insurance inflexibility that also should raise the question of how responsible a customer must be for their own policy. Both of these issues are certainly prominent in the collision repair industry as insurers seek to reduce claims costs and customers are notified in fine print that non-OEM parts might be used.

Just want to say how pleased I am that I contacted A plan last week. I am exceedingly pleased with the outcome – not only a good premium price but also with an insurer I greatly respect. Just want to say how pleased I am that I contacted A plan last week. I am exceedingly pleased with the outcome – not only a good premium price but also with an insurer I greatly respect. Many thanks

New drivers are particularly in the dark when buying insurance for the first time and we all know that as a new driver you just want to get on the road as soon as possible. The ‘Insurance Jargon Buster’ infographic below has been created by Tiger Insurance as a quick reference guide to help when shopping around for car insurance. It is specifically written it new drivers in mind, taking the most common technical jargon from the insurance industry and giving it a normal, down-to-earth translation. Hopefully it helps you to get on the road as soon as possible.

Listen – It is more important to gather information than it is to provide information. If you aren’t sure what happened, don’t be afraid to say I don’t know.” Also, pay attention to what the other party or parties are saying about the accident. People who know they are at fault but don’t want to admit it will often lie to get out of the accident. These lies usually contradict the evidence but it is especially important to note if the other party changes their story multiple times after the accident.

When she wrote to Admiral about the insurance increase she cited the fact that she had never, ever claimed on any insurance since I started driving 63 years ago”, and included a copy of a letter of apology from the insurer of the other driver in the 2013 incident. This confirmed the accident was entirely the other person’s fault and … cost Admiral not a single penny”.

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