Insurer settles claim without telling the driver

Motor Insurance

Olivia told her insurer she had hit another car, but wasn't told a claim had been paid until she tried to renew her insurance.

What happened

Olivia told her insurer she’d had a minor bump with another car in a car park. The insurer agreed to contact her if they heard from the other driver’s insurer. Eight months later when she renewed her insurance, she found her insurer had settled a claim.

Olivia felt her insurer shouldve informed her about the claim and made a complaint. The insurer disagreed and said they had acted fairly. Unhappy with the response, Olivia approached our service and asked us to investigate her complaint. 

What we said

The insurer had received a detailed engineer’s report about the accident explaining the damage that had been caused. We thought it was reasonable for the insurer to rely on this independent evidence, but thought that more could have been done to inform Olivia.

We told the insurer to pay Olivia £100 to make up for their poor communication.