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SMASH AND GRAB

Greedy insurance firms send premiums soaring by up to £240 for drivers in accidents – even if it wasn’t their fault

DRIVERS are seeing their insurance premiums soar by nearly 40 per cent after being involved in crashes that weren't their fault.

An investigation has found the insurance giants are hitting innocent accident victims with  huge hikes in yearly charges.

Car accident
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Campaigners said the spiralling premiums would be 'hard to take' for motorists (file photo)Credit: Getty Images

Research even found one big insurer increased its quote by 39 per cent after a claim in which the driver was completely blameless.

Others upped bills by 33 per cent and 29 per cent for drivers in crashes that were not their fault.

Esure reportedly increased its premium by 15 per cent after a scratch was declared - even though an actual claim had not been made.

Campaigners said the spiralling premiums would be 'hard to take' for motorists who pride themselves on driving carefully.

Researchers from consumer campaigners Which? asked for quotes from 12 major UK insurers in to see what difference it would make to a premium if a claim for a minor scrape was added.

Their driver was 'a married woman in her mid-40s, with low annual mileage, five years' no-claims discount and a clean driving history'.

Two men arguing about damage in car collision
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The investigation claimed insurance companies are hammering innocent drivers (file photo)Credit: Getty Images
Two cars in collision on roadway
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Esure increased its quote by 39 per cent after a claim was added where the driver was blameless (file photo)Credit: Getty Images

Esure increased its quote by 39 per cent from £612 to £849 after a claim was added where the driver was blameless but their insurer had to pay.

More Than and Rias also raised their quotes by 33 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.

Even in a scenario where repairs had been covered by the other party, a THIRD of insurers increased their premiums, reports the online.

The quote from More Than went up by 33 per cent, Esure by 17 per cent, AXA by 14 per cent and Admiral by 11 per cent.

Marc Gander, from the Consumer Action Group said: "This is extraordinary and profoundly unfair.

"Why would the not-at-fault person bear any responsibility? These firms are not treating their customers fairly."

Which? said only a fifth of the 1,281 UK drivers it surveyed understood the insurers' interpretation of 'fault' and 'non-fault'.

Businessman looking at car accident damage
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Only a fifth of drivers surveyed understood the insurers' interpretation of 'fault' (file photo)Credit: Getty Images

A spokesman said: "Insurers don't view 'fault' like normal people do. If someone damages your car, your premium can rise, even if you're blameless – and even if you didn't claim.

"Regardless of whether you're to blame for the actual incident, you will be regarded as 'at fault' if your insurer has to pay for it."

This would apply, for example, when a driver's car was hit by another driver while parked and the other driver could not be traced.

Whatever the circumstances never automatically review your policy or you'll almost certainly be fleeced.

Guy Anker, MoneySavingExpert

A claim is considered 'non-fault' if your insurer hasn't ultimately incurred the costs – for instance if it is able to recoup its expenses from the other driver's insurer.

Responding to the Which? investigation, Guy Anker, from consumer finance website MoneySavingExpert, said: "Whatever the circumstances never automatically review your policy or you'll almost certainly be fleeced."

Responding to the 'scratch'quote, an Esure spokesman said: "This was reported as an incident, which would include a wide range of different scenarios."

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