Avoid Company Car Insurance Claims Being Repudiated

by: HarveyWilliams
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Some time ago it was feasible to for an insurance company to pay a motor claim that would have otherwise been declined, simply because the claimant had been a long term and loyal client to the company. Even today it is not inconceivable that an insurance company will make a decision to pay a claim on commercial grounds, for example where the claimant is a very major and highly profitable client. However the days of paying out a claim in order to treat a long-term client decently, are long gone and many clients risk having claims declined.

When a vehicle is on contract hire, the contract hire company owns the vehicle but the hirer insures it. Therefore when an insurance company refuses to pay a claim, the hirer becomes responsible and contract hire companies are seeing this happen more frequently. In the case of minor accidents, insurance companies rarely look too closely at the circumstances. However in the event of a serious accident, it makes very sound financial sense for the insurance company to examine the circumstances of the accident and take a close look at the driver. An insurance company is answerable to its shareholders and its shareholders would not appreciate it paying out claims when it has good grounds for refusing to do so.

Many companies with company cars are not aware that the motor insurer's terms and condition state that a vehicle must not be modified in any way, without advising them of the changes. It is for this reason safer to fit the manufacturer's recommended tyres, with the correct speed rating. It is important that employees understand that they must not change or modify their company vehicle in any way, in order not to run the risk of invalidating the insurance. Some employers have discovered, following an accident, that an employee has done what is know as "chip" the company vehicle's engine. This has the effect of increasing the car's horsepower. The insurer will often, with justification, refuse to pay out a claim, because the car is more powerful than the vehicle they understood they were insuring. It also causes another problem in that it can invalidate the car's warranty. In this eventuality it could cause the contract hire or leasing company to make a claim against the hirer; if the vehicle were for example on two years contract hire, then the hirer would be returning the vehicle without its third year warranty.

The vehicle must also be roadworthy to comply with the insurance company's terms and conditions. Contract hire vehicles, as most company car are nowadays, are generally relatively new and regularly serviced. If however a company runs its own vehicles and keeps them for perhaps four or five years, then the condition of the cars needs to be monitored more closely, particularly if they are doing high mileage.

It is not only lack of maintenance that can cause a vehicle to be un roadworthy, it can often be a failing on the part of the driver; incorrect tyre pressure is the most common reason. Driving with the tyres incorrectly inflated can be very dangerous, particularly if the roads are wet. If one of the company vehicles is in an accident and the accident is of a serious nature, then the insurance company will normally check the vehicle's roadworthiness. Of course if another motorist were clearly at fault then the insurer would have no reason to check the condition of the vehicle.

If the circumstances of the accident were different, if say your employee's vehicle skidded and crashed into another vehicle or failed to negotiate a bend and crashed, then it is quite possible that the insurer will carry out various checks on the vehicle, to ensure that it was roadworthy. Driving with the incorrect tyre pressure can be very dangerous; it can affect braking, steering, road holding and the general stability of the car. Employee's need to be advised that they must check their tyre pressure on a regular basis, tyres are best checked when they are cold. The incorrect tyre pressure apart from the increased risk of having an accident will also significantly increase your overall fuel bill.

It is also important that tyre wear is regularly monitored to ensure that tyres do not go below the legal limit; with servicing intervals at 18,000 miles and more, one cannot rely on being advised during servicing, that it is necessary to consider changing tyres. Having tyres that are below the legal limit is not maintaining a car in a roadworthy condition. Sometimes only part of the tyre is worn; running the car with the incorrect tyre pressure can cause this.

Another risk to the company is employees driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, an insurance company will not generally pay out if there is an accident under these circumstances. How many of your employees stop of for a "couple" of pints on the way home? In a study carried out in 1998, alcohol was a factor in 10% of fatal motorcycle accidents and 19% of cars and other vehicles involved in fatal crashes. In spite of greater awareness nowadays there are still drivers who seriously believe that they drive better after consuming alcohol. The evidence however shows that alcohol seriously impairs psychomotor skills and affects the brains ability to process information.

The position is essentially the same if the employee is driving the company vehicle, whilst under the effects of drugs. Even if an employee is taking a prescription drug rather than recreational drugs, this could affect their ability to drive in a safe manner. Following new legislation, effective from April 2008, it is the company's responsibility to ensure that their employees are safe and this includes, whilst driving on company business

Employees should also be told that they must not, however cold the weather is, go out and start the car and leave the engine running to warm the car up. However comfortable this may make the drive into work, it is highly risky; if someone got into the car and drove off, as has happened many times, the insurance company will not pay out for a vehicle stolen under these circumstances. The same applies if an employee leaves the keys in the car at a petrol station whilst they go to the cash desk.

It is important to ensure that all your drivers have a current driving license and that previous convictions like drink driving, if required by the insurer, have been declared. Some employers have never seen more that a photocopy of their employees' driving licence, others take a photocopy of the original and hold it on file. This is very unsatisfactory from the company's point of view. There have been cases of it emerging after an accident that the employee was driving whilst disqualified.

If a company uses a contract hire broker to source their vehicles they could arrange for the broker to regularly check the employee's driving licences; a licence checking service is offered by the more established contract hire and leasing brokers. This is the only way that a company can be sure an employee not been convicted of offences that they are unaware of and cause their insurance to be invalidated. This will also help them to avoid being prosecuted under new legislation introduced in April 2008.

If an insurer refuses to pay out on a claim, one should not be necessarily assume that they are correct in doing so. There is the Financial Ombudsman that will deal with any complaints or disputes in this respect. In a case we are aware of, one of our clients had his vehicle carjacked, the insurance company refused to pay out the claim of 60,000, because they said that they had written to him on a number of occasions telling him that he must fit Tracker to the vehicle, which he had not done. They argued that had tracker been fitted, the vehicle might have been recovered. However when an expert was called in on behalf of the client, things changed. Our understanding is that the expert stated that whilst the insurer had indeed written to the client with regard to Tracker, they had not at any time told him he would be uninsured without it. The claim was settled.

To summarise, it is important to ensure that vehicles are properly maintained and that tyres are regularly checked for wear and the pressures should be checked ideally every two weeks. Employees should be prohibited from making any modification to their company vehicle and should heed any warning lights that come up on the screen of their vehicle. They should also be warned about driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs and encouraged to speak to the company if they are on any type of medication that may affect their ability to drive safely. Vehicles should not be started and left to warm up on a cold day and keys should not be left in the car whilst in a petrol station or whilst quickly popping into the shops. Opportunistic thieves only take seconds to steal a car. Speak to a contract hire broker, about licence checking, it is vital that all companies have these checks carried out. The aforementioned will at least go some way, to avoiding a situation where an insurer refuses to pay out on a claim.

Negligence is a major factor when motor insurance companies refusing to pay claims. There was a reported case in the United States, apparently perfectly true, where the purchaser of a new motor home set out on a journey and after setting the vehicle to cruise control, went to the back of the vehicle to fix himself a drink. Understanding that cruise control meant the vehicle would drive itself. Not surprisingly it crashed. Of course being America he was able to sue the manufacturer for not telling him that, cruise control doesn't work like that.

About the Author

For more information about contract hire, lease purchase, finance lease or vehicle hire purchase in the UK please contact Bowater Price plc http://www.bowaterprice.com Tel - 01494 536 536.  

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