Admiral Insurance Drink and Drugs policy

Convicted Driver Insurance
Rob988 said:
Whilst I’m unaware of the specifics with regards to Hastings, I can say that the overwhelming majority of insurers I’ve gotten quotes from have had a drink/drugs exclusion clause somewhere in their T&C’s which states that they must pay out to satisfy any 3rd party claim/Court Judgement in the first instance however will look to recover the costs paid out at a later date from you (or words to that effect.)

I’d advise going over your policy documents in extensive detail, particularly any section which references claims or exclusions. If you’re unable to find anything relating to a drink/drugs exclusion then it could be that Hastings do not have one as these companies do exist (Privilege Insurance being one as far as I’m aware).

Additionally, if you haven’t yet received any correspondence from Hastings suggesting that they’re going to seek to recover costs from you and you haven’t received a consent and indemnity form from them then your best course of action may be to sit tight.

Has the 3rd party claim since been settled or is the incident fairly recent? If recent then you may be waiting a while as these companies do tend to drag their heels somewhat (atleast that’s been my experience with admiral/their subsidiaries).
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Hi Rob,

Thanks for the response. It says in one of the documents I have found that no cover is provided if you are found to be over the prescribed alcohol limit but doesn’t specify whether that’s just for me or TP? The accident happened in September whilst I was still insured but received a letter yesterday from assumably the TPs solicitors saying they have been unable to find my insurance details and are requesting 17,500 in damages which I clearly can’t afford. I have forwarded this correspondence to my insurance but I guess my question is, if they resolve it under the road traffic act will they come to me to reclaim the amount?
 
Thank you.

The third party claim has been settled, and they still have my car as it was a total loss. This happened last May.
 
Youngdriver24 said:
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the response. It says in one of the documents I have found that no cover is provided if you are found to be over the prescribed alcohol limit but doesn’t specify whether that’s just for me or TP? The accident happened in September whilst I was still insured but received a letter yesterday from assumably the TPs solicitors saying they have been unable to find my insurance details and are requesting 17,500 in damages which I clearly can’t afford. I have forwarded this correspondence to my insurance but I guess my question is, if they resolve it under the road traffic act will they come to me to reclaim the amount?
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It sounds like you’re in a similar position to me, what should happen next is Hastings (or their underwriters) should take control of the claim in order to both satisfy the claim and also mitigate/reduce it as much as they can as they’re supposed to act in your best interests (although I’m sure if you read a few posts on this forum you’ll see this doesn’t always happen as it should.)

I’d try and get in touch with the claims department over the phone and inform them of what’s happened and ask how they intend to react. As you’re aware they should be resolving it as directed by the RTA as you were insured by them at the time of the accident however once this has been done I would fully anticipate them to attempt to recover the costs they’ve paid out (whatever they end up being). If/when this does happen, there’s bags of advice on here with regards to questions to ask and routes of challenge to go down in order to achieve the best possible outcome. There’s also the option of seeking legal advice but as has been said on here already it’s difficult to find any meaningful help without spending a lot of money.

Did you provide the TP with your details at the time of the accident? Strange that they claim to not have your insurance details. If you didn’t provide them for whatever reason I’m not sure if this would have an impact on how Hastings proceed with the claim. I’d imagine they should still satisfy it under the RTA but questions may be raised as to why this is the first they’re hearing of it etc.
 
Rob988 said:
It sounds like you’re in a similar position to me, what should happen next is Hastings (or their underwriters) should take control of the claim in order to both satisfy the claim and also mitigate/reduce it as much as they can as they’re supposed to act in your best interests (although I’m sure if you read a few posts on this forum you’ll see this doesn’t always happen as it should.)

I’d try and get in touch with the claims department over the phone and inform them of what’s happened and ask how they intend to react. As you’re aware they should be resolving it as directed by the RTA as you were insured by them at the time of the accident however once this has been done I would fully anticipate them to attempt to recover the costs they’ve paid out (whatever they end up being). If/when this does happen, there’s bags of advice on here with regards to questions to ask and routes of challenge to go down in order to achieve the best possible outcome. There’s also the option of seeking legal advice but as has been said on here already it’s difficult to find any meaningful help without spending a lot of money.

Did you provide the TP with your details at the time of the accident? Strange that they claim to not have your insurance details. If you didn’t provide them for whatever reason I’m not sure if this would have an impact on how Hastings proceed with the claim. I’d imagine they should still satisfy it under the RTA but questions may be raised as to why this is the first they’re hearing of it etc.
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I’ve not had any dealings with the TP up until now. My insurance were notified that I was involved in an accident and I told them that my car doesn’t need repairing, it was only recently they have asked me questions via email related to the drink driving issue I just assumed that they would handle all the matters as I’ve had plenty to deal with myself with court, community service etc it just hasn’t crossed my mind. Realistically how much lower will they be able to get it from 17,500 and how do they go about collecting the funds? I don’t even earn that annually after tax and don’t own anything they can take. Happy to chat over messenger if easier?
 
Youngdriver24 said:
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the response. It says in one of the documents I have found that no cover is provided if you are found to be over the prescribed alcohol limit but doesn’t specify whether that’s just for me or TP? The accident happened in September whilst I was still insured but received a letter yesterday from assumably the TPs solicitors saying they have been unable to find my insurance details and are requesting 17,500 in damages which I clearly can’t afford. I have forwarded this correspondence to my insurance but I guess my question is, if they resolve it under the road traffic act will they come to me to reclaim the amount?
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Why can't they find your insurance details?

I assume you were insured at the time of the accident and provided that information to the third party?

Even if your insurers want to cancel the policy, they still need to cover reasonable 3rd party costs.

Were you convicted of Drink Driving? If you were, then your insurers can seek recompense from you. If you were not, then I would carefully read the wording of your policy to see what it says in connection with driving after consuming alcohol, as some insurers state you cannot consume ANY amount of alcohol and still be insured by them.
 
Luna2000 said:
Why can't they find your insurance details?

I assume you were insured at the time of the accident and provided that information to the third party?

Even if your insurers want to cancel the policy, they still need to cover reasonable 3rd party costs.

Were you convicted of Drink Driving? If you were, then your insurers can seek recompense from you. If you were not, then I would carefully read the wording of your policy to see what it says in connection with driving after consuming alcohol, as some insurers state you cannot consume ANY amount of alcohol and still be insured by them.
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Hi Luna,

I didn’t give my details to the third party as I was arrested straight away at the scene I didn’t have the opportunity to give my insurance details. My insurance emailed me to say they believe I had been involved in an accident so I just assumed they had been informed by TP and would deal with it, I have responded to any questions they have asked me via email. I guess I just wanted to know what the likelihood was of them pursuing reimbursement from me as I naively assumed they would cover the costs and I wouldn’t hear anymore from them, I know for a fact that I won’t be able to pay anywhere near the 17,500£ figure for years.
 
Youngdriver24 said:
Hi Luna,

I didn’t give my details to the third party as I was arrested straight away at the scene I didn’t have the opportunity to give my insurance details. My insurance emailed me to say they believe I had been involved in an accident so I just assumed they had been informed by TP and would deal with it, I have responded to any questions they have asked me via email. I guess I just wanted to know what the likelihood was of them pursuing reimbursement from me as I naively assumed they would cover the costs and I wouldn’t hear anymore from them, I know for a fact that I won’t be able to pay anywhere near the 17,500£ figure for years.
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Even if you were convicted of Drink Driving, your insurers must cover all 3rd party costs regardless. They do however have a duty to minimize these costs and it should be them that is taken to court, not you personally.

In turn, they will re-coup these costs from you, but £17k seems excessive.

Any more details?
 
£16500 insurers outlay, £710 hire charges and £500 recovery charges. I’ve forwarded this letter to my insurance who will hopefully deal with the TP directly and inform them that I was infact insured at the time. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare.
 
Youngdriver24 said:
£16500 insurers outlay, £710 hire charges and £500 recovery charges. I’ve forwarded this letter to my insurance who will hopefully deal with the TP directly and inform them that I was infact insured at the time. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare.
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But were you convicted of Drink Driving?
 
Do all insurance companies now go after the Policy Holder vs the Driver? Are there any that differentiate?
 
CPWP said:
Do all insurance companies now go after the Policy Holder vs the Driver? Are there any that differentiate?
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Technically they can go after either as far as I know. Really unfair going after the policy holder rather than the driver.

Check the wording in the policy document.
 
Depressed Dad said:
Technically they can go after either as far as I know. Really unfair going after the policy holder rather than the driver.

Check the wording in the policy document.
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Thanks DD - Any views on which companies are better than others these days in terms of this or are they all the same.
 
CPWP said:
Thanks DD - Any views on which companies are better than others these days in terms of this or are they all the same.
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I'd treat them all with caution.
Policy wording and T&Cs seem to frequently change.
Best to carefully read and compare the policy documents before deciding who to go with.

Most people just go with the cheapest and don't bother to read the documents.
 
Morning all,

For those that may have interest, I have today received an email from admiral containing an updated “proof of no claims” which is inclusive of the incident in which I was involved and subsequently issued a consent and indemnity form for.

I had initially been contacted by the 3rd party’s solicitors directly by way of court citation containing the demand of approx £25-26k as a personal injury claim.

However, I passed this on to admiral who have since presumably dealt with the matter as contained within the proof of no claims email was details of the incident including amount paid out. That amount being in the region of £8k.

Whilst still a kick in the teeth considering the extremely minor nature of the collision, it is still a substantial drop from the initial £26k demand which demonstrates to me that (at least at first glance) admiral have actually challenged this bogus, inflated claim quite effectively.

I do wonder if this is in part due to voicing my intent to sit it in on any court proceedings as a spectator as suggested by Depressed Dad (I was ultimately unable to do so due to work commitments but again the intention was expressed.)

I am yet to receive a request from them to pay this money back, but I’m sure it will likely follow closely behind. I still intend to request a full breakdown etc etc as has been suggested on here already as and when the request comes in.

Will update in due course.
 
Hi all,

Almost two years after my incident I've today received a "Final notice" from Admiral for payment around £2k, with a threat to escalate to their solicitors as a next step.

I still haven't read of it going this far for anyone else, so wonder how far they're willing to go for the relatively low level claim but suppose we'll find out.
 
stupidmistake1 said:
Hi all,

Almost two years after my incident I've today received a "Final notice" from Admiral for payment around £2k, with a threat to escalate to their solicitors as a next step.

I still haven't read of it going this far for anyone else, so wonder how far they're willing to go for the relatively low level claim but suppose we'll find out.
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Its not uncommon, they usually leave it a couple of years after the accident to let you recover financially from fines, losing jobs etc.

Have you had a full break down from Admiral of the costs and how they came to that amount?
 
TCB1989 said:
Its not uncommon, they usually leave it a couple of years after the accident to let you recover financially from fines, losing jobs etc.

Have you had a full break down from Admiral of the costs and how they came to that amount?
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Hi @TCB1989 - I had a breakdown, it was an older car that was written off so it's essentially vehicle damage and excess. The case was later dismissed so of course never had any fines or bans to contend with.

I've just had a big outlay so don't have a spare £2k sitting around right now, so am hoping it doesn't actually go any further.
 
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