Having just spent the last 18 months trying to get a 'claim' against my name removed from the CUE (Claims and Underwriting Exchange) database because it never happened I can personally testify to the lengths insurance companies will go to extract every last penny from you in premiums and try to avoid paying out in the event of a claim.
They WILL void your insurance if they uncover anything out of the ordinary about your car, it's not a rational decision, who would imagine that custom made exhausts would affect anything other than the sound the car makes but if you don't inform your insurance company about 'modifications' then they will use it against you to avoid paying out on claims.
I found out to my cost that the CUE database is used by all the larger insurance companies to check claims against your name regardless of cause, blame or fault and this does affect the premium you pay. I discovered that a query I had lodged 18 months ago had been entered as a multiple vehicle collision for which I was to blame, this hiked my premiums with every insurance company I tried to renew with. After several heated phone calls and over several months this was changed to a single vehicle collision for which I was not held to be at fault. It was changed a second time to reflect a single vehicle collision which I was not to blame for costing £8 in repairs. How can a reported accident (which this wasn't) be changed like that when it so dramatically affects the renewal premiums. The company reporting the alleged incident could not provide any evidence of phone calls or written notes to support the occurence of this alleged accident but they still refused to remove the record. I finally had to provide sworn testimony to the insurance company that the accident did not happen but have received no acknowledgement of fault or any compensation for higher premiums paid. As I pointed out to them they had no grounds whatsoever to enter those details in their database because the accident never happened and so I had been left with the problem of trying to prove a negative something that never happened, someone, somewhere had pressed the wrong button and I was suffering the consequences. In spite of all my protestations the insurance company refused to change the database in spite of the fact that they could not provide me with any evidence of a claim, nor could they tell me how the database entry had been changed so dramatically and on whose authority. The only reason I managed to get any sense back into this situation was through my broker and threats of interaction with the Ombudsman.
I think the point about this debate is that we all like to think we live in a tolerant, fair minded society where there is give and take on both sides and for the most part that is true but we do have to accept that there are times when someone, somewhere will pop up and say "Allo, allo, allo what's goin on ere then?" and you will then find that the MOT man will fail your car because of the air freshener hanging from your rear view mirror (forward vision restricted) or your number plate not complying completely to accepted standards even though they've both been fitted for years and have never ever been a problem in the past. I don't intend to live my life worrying about how loud my exhaust is or whether my paint colour is original but I am not stupid enough to think that it will not affect something somewhere and it will come back to bite me....maybe.
Nich (CUE database checked and clear).
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Originally Posted by Nich
