[Jenskii]

Looking for help regarding matter below
Received this letter from a legal firm representing Direct Line Car Insurance
I am no longer with the company concerned.

It is in regard to an accident where someone ran in the back of me when I was driving the car registered in my Husband's name - We have joint Insurance but car is registered to him.
The claim was in May 2022.
NO action taken other than repairs to my Husband's car bumper

Direct Line want to pursue to Court as the his Insurance won't pay and are now making a lot of untrue allegations and it's basically my word against his.
Although to be fair costs were fairly minimal however Direct Line plan to pursue

I have apparently got to allow a Court hearing in our name( I've no reason to let it go to Court. Damages and costs were minimal and my understanding was this is why I pay Insurance and Legal protection.

My Insurance costs have risen as a result of this accident which was not any fault of mine and as said I am no longer with Direct Line due to price hikes
The questionnaire is very detailed and asks a lot of questions I really do not feel I should be obliged to answer

It also asks me to sign to say I'm bringing this to Court in my name
which is both untrue and implicates me as the complainant legally so I'm not prepared to sign

It also stresses I am legally obliged to attend Court

Can anyone advise?
How legally obliged am I at this stage?



Incident Date: 10th May 2022
We write with regards to the abovementioned reference.
This letter is to inform you that your insurance company Direct Line insurance has instructed us to
issue proceedings for the costs that were incurred because of the above incident.
For example, the repairs, policy excess and hire.
We have enclosed a questionnaire that we kindly ask you to complete and return to us so that we
may progress the matter.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us on the details

[TC1474]

@Jenskii Right, first things first. The person who ran into the back of you is called the third party, and by virtue of the fact that they hit the rear of you, something called strict liability comes into play meaning that it is a no contest claim and the third party will be held liable.

Usually, these sort of claims go through without any problem and everything get sorted out behind the scenes and you re non the wiser.

However, once in a while you get a rogue third party insurer which appears to be the case here.

So your insurance company have issued proceedings against the third party to recover their losses and costs.

Although you are no longer insured with Direct Line, you still remain on cover for the dates that the crash occurred, and because you were the driver, any proceedings issued by Direct Line will be in your name because you were the driver.

The other side are probably making allegations to try and secure some "Contributory negligence" against you on the basis that if they can find something in your story that creates a bit of doubt and they can get even a 5 or 10% application of contrib, that will save them money. That is normal practice.

Although the crash happened in 2022, another legal precedent kicks in called statute of limitation. What this means is that in damage only crashes, if a case is not settled within 6 years maximum, then proceedings must ne issued to protect the rights of the claimant (in personal injury cases its 3 yearns) but no insurance is going to wait the full 6 years, they have already waited over 2 years to settle the case and now they want it sorted and the only way that they can force the issue is by issuing proceedings.

So, the questionnaire is to help you. It to protect you, because you can by all means refuse to answer the questions, but don't hold your breath when it comes to taking out a new policy in the future as all the insurers shared the same databases, and because of your lack of co-operation, they may even consider giving you the bill and requiring you to settle and allow you to claim from the third party. Sounds cruel, but that is why we have insurance and it is only as good as the co-operation you give them, and this questionnaire will in effect be no more than a statement of truth that I would take from an person in a personal injury case. I really would advise completing the form.

As far as attending court yourself is concerned, the chances are about 1%. In 99.9% of damage only case (and 70% of injury cases) the majority are settled before they even enter court because once they cross the threshold of the court it immediately adds about £25,000 to the bill, and the thirds party will become liable for those additional costs as the defendant.

So my advice is, complete the questionnaire fully and honestly, co-operate with your insurers and (for the pain part) forget about it.

Oh and by the way, the fact that you are a named driver on the policy matters not. You are still considered as the policy holder for the purpose of this claim as you were the driver.

Hope this helps?

[Beelzebub]

When you took out the policy with DL you will have agreed to the terms and conditions. This will almost certainly have contained a clause enabling them to bring cases to court in your name, and obliging you to assist. Possibly also making you liable for costs if you don't co-operate.

This is all perfectly normal. If you read the Ts and Cs for your present policy it will be similar.

On the bright side, it's unlikely you'll actually have to go to court. The vast majority of cases are settled before than.

[Jenskii]

Thank you very much for the replies. Yes I see that this is the case. Thought as much but not prepared to put my name to anything unless I'm sure.
Talked it over with Husband who agrees and we intend to fill the form in.