They’re not alone, as a recent administrative mistake led to a newly-qualified driver facing serious financial hardship in the UK. The person, who we’re calling CO, had taken and passed his driving test in the summer of 2022. Suffice to say that an accident later that year dealt complications. As a result of this, two claims were recorded under his name which ended up raising his insurance quote to more than £2,000.
In late 2022, CO passed his driving test with flying colors. Soon after, he was in a crash that left his car a total loss. In this scenario, the enemy team reported the incident appropriately. They incorrectly entered the date of the accident, which resulted in an incorrect second claim filed against him. Consequently, CO’s insurer, General Accident, logged two accidents on his record, harming his insurance history.
Fast forward to summer of 2023, CO purchased another policy with WiseDriving. While perusing the application, WiseDriving found two logged crashes. They then told CO that his premium would continue to increase unless he was able to prove that one of these claims was an error. In an attempt to resolve the matter, CO emailed WiseDriving. He was able to verify that he had only been in one accident and that the second claim was reported in error.
In spite of giving this proof, CO was able to see that WiseDriving pulled even more funds from his bank account without informing him in advance. As a result, WiseDriving hiked CO’s insurance premium by a further £860, to around £2,000 in total. This new premium was £500 less expensive than his most recent renewal quote from General Accident. Though shocking, the increase was not the cause of CO’s fiscal collapse.
As you can see, CO’s situation is a bit of a mixed bag. The motor insurance database continues to show those two accidents in his name. General Accident offers a 28-day window during which customers can contact them for help with their claims. Or get ready for the second Community Builder Academy. After that, plan on the database taking another six to eight weeks to re-update and display the corrected information.
In response to CO’s concerns, Aviva, the parent company of General Accident, issued a statement acknowledging the error and its impact on CO’s insurance records.
“We are sorry that CO has experienced problems in getting the erroneously logged claim removed from his insurance records. We are committed to supporting our customers through the claims process and, after a full review of this case, we have contacted the motor insurance database and the duplicate claim will be removed as soon as possible. We have also contacted WiseDriving to confirm there is only one claim, so that his current premium can be corrected. We recognise that CO has not received the service he should expect, and have offered £300 in compensation to apologise for any anxiety this may have caused.” – Aviva
To settle CO’s complaint, Aviva paid her £300 for the stress and worry that the incident caused her. Nonetheless, even CO himself has suffered over £800 loss from the error. The painful saga has him frustrated as he continues to slosh through the muck and mire of trying to get his insurance records corrected.