Hit by uninsured driver who was driving stolen vehicle....?

My son is insured by Direct Line (yes i know BIG mistake) In June he was hit by uninsured driver who was in stolen vehicle and being chased by police at the time (police have it all on film , no fault attributed to my son)
Direct Line are saying he has to pay £400 excess and they've taken the 2 years no claims he had plus the year he would have had come his renewal. They say this is because the claim is treated as a stolen vehicle rather than hit by uninsured driver. Is this fair and is there anything I can do? Their adverts etc say your no claims and excess are unaffected if you're hit by uninsured driver so are they just using this 'stolen vehicle' thing as a cop out??????

Pork Fillet

Call BBC Watchdog then give all details

Waino

get onto trading standards...and the local rag...name and shame...

Huge

You have to sue the driver for the money but the chances are slim of receiving any compensation from him.

Dee L

Sounds like every insurance company going to be honest.

However I have used Direct line and in the interest of fairness have to say they were very good.

Besides it was a Stolen vehicle......if it was simply uninsured and driven by the owner then there is a scheme which will repay the excess etc.

You may have legal recourse for costs against the driver if he/she was arrested/charged/convicted.

If you have legal cover with the insurance company they can assist with litigation.

Next time make sure you read the policy small print and if you didn't before take out legal cover.

Oh and if you go to any consumer programme you have to complain in writing and give 14 days notice of your intentions.

Hoorayforthat

Uninsured motorist coverage does not apply. The vehicle was stolen, which excludes the registered owner or his insurer from being persued. In order for coverage to apply from the third party the owner needs to either give permission or implied permission (prior use). Makes sense-it's unethical to go after the owner who is already a victim of a crime.

The car HAS insurance, it's just not applicable. The driver, if he has insurance, can be persued directly. Here in the States you would be contacted by the District Attorney who is responsible for prosecuting the other driver. You could request your funds be included in the case. A restitution order would likely be placed once he is convicted, and the victims in the crime get their money first. How much he could afford to reimburse you is questionable. So yes, you have to pay-but you might get it back.

It's surprising that your son's insurance would punish him for a non-fault loss, unless there's something written in the policy to that effect (meaning regardless of fault a claim restricts his rebates). I would definitely ask for that clause in writing.

NICK A

If the car was insured by the legal owner / keeper you may be able to claim from their insurance, if not contact the bureau of motor insurers who keep a fund for claims just like this.

karl g

All insurance will rip ya off any way they can tnink of.Call a attourney !!!

oklatom

Well, it was a stolen vehicle, not someone driving his own car who hadn't paid his insurance bill. How would you expect them to handle it? If your car was stolen, would you want your insurance to pay for everything the thief broke while driving your car without your permission?

It's going through his collision coverage, which has a deductible that he signed up for when he got the insurance. He will need to pay that, and the insurance will pay the rest. Since he is making a claim,of course the no claims is gone.

yyyyyy

I would suggest you speak to a good attorney about this; it might be solved with a simple letter written on attorney's statonery

We won! 20 Jan 09 (Erudite)

Please sue the Police. They are at fault.

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