Car insurance question - claim after insurance expires for incident within coverage period

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timmmay

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#204616 9-Oct-2016 17:47

If you have one year of car insurance and something happens just before that period finishes, can you generally make a claim after the insurance expires? Or does the insurance still have to be valid to make a claim?

I know the best answer is either "call the insurer" or "read the policy", but I'd rather not right now.

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mdf

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#1648127 9-Oct-2016 18:21

Insurance contracts are typically for a fixed term. If a claim arises in that term, you are covered, regardless of whether the payout occurs after the expiry of the term.

BUT insurance contracts also typically include an obligation to notify the insurer of any circumstances that might give rise to a claim as soon as possible. So if you've already had a ding, you're probably already obliged to notify the insurer even if you're not making a claim (yet).

Depending on just how dastardly your particular insurer is, if you notify them after the policy has expired, they might refuse cover on the basis that you didn't notify them sooner.

BUT BUT obviously everything depends on the specific wording of your policy. You'll note the "typical" disclaimers. In fact, just to be safe, don't listen to a word I've said.

Fred99

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#1648128 9-Oct-2016 18:27

timmmay:

I haven't talked to the insurance company. I'd just like to know what the general rule is regarding insurance. My main concern is to mitigate risk - it's a small claim from a very minor almost stationary incident, but the other party doesn't know if it's worth doing anything or not. So if I can't claim later I'd need to claim now, even though it's probably not worthwhile.

Lodge a claim now - you can always withdraw the claim later.

You had a contract in place with them when you had the accident - it doesn't seem relevant that the policy ended after that happened.

Do be careful if you've got a new policy and didn't disclose that accident/claim, as they'll probably use that to deny future claims. So if you do lodge a claim, I think I'd be calling your new insurer immediately - to let them know about it.