I would say that by the act of phoning and telling them, you have disclosed - if they’re not interested, that’s their business - you’ve done the right thing, and shouldn’t run into any problems later about alleged failure to disclose.
The only thing that concerns me slightly is the lack of documentary evidence. They could deny ever receiving the phone call, or having any such conversation. So I would probably be inclined to send them a recorded delivery letter (and keep a copy), just in case there’s any back-pedalling later. Where contractual/legal stuff’s concerned, I’m never really happy if it depends on a phone call. All too easy for them to deny it ever happened, or the person who took it has left, and there’s no record. It doesn’t do any harm to cover yourself. If they choose to tear it up and put it in the bin, you’ve still got evidence on your side.
the only surefire way of making sure something has been noted is to get a written acknowledgement from the person receiving the notification. A recorded delivery letter is worthless as there’s no way of proving what was in the letter.
Just keep a copy. In civil cases, it’s balance of probabilities (i.e. “more likely than not”), NOT “beyond reasonable doubt”. So if you can prove you sent a letter (which they received - hence recorded delivery) AND you kept a copy, job done! What would you be sending them a recorded delivery letter about anyway, if it wasn’t about something important you believed they should know? So all the evidence would point to the fact - if not absolutely PROVE - you had told them about your illness. Certainly that you’d told them about something, and what else would it possibly be?
The recorded delivery letter would be useful as you can now print off a copy of the person that signed it from the Royal Mail website. The insurance industry is regulated by the FCA now (was FSA) and our code of business states that we cannot unreasonably reject a claim, except where there is evidence of fraud. They should also only void a policy ab initio where the non disclosure was deliberate or reckless not where it was innocent. I would point out that it is unlikely that your insurers will refuse the claim as you are an inidividual and as opposed to commercial insurance where they deem that they should know something about insurance, an individual is assumed to know nothing and therefore they should ask a specific question about it. So if you haven’t already told them then you need to now, however they will still provide cover for you because DVLA have passed you fit to drive.
if the DVLA say you are fit to drive then ins companies only need to know if your license is restricted on medical grounds and they do not need to know your illness…because how can they judge our fitness to drive??..do they write to our gp’s and our neuros…ehh no!!
i remember when i met my MS nurse for first time she said the only people we had to tell legally was the DVLA …
Ok. I nearly give up trying to warn people. Hubby will go back to sentencing just such cases this week. But here, quoted direct from an insurance website; Health – if you learn that you or a named driver on your policy has any physical or medical condition that affects their ability to drive, your insurer needs to be informed. For more information regarding medical conditions that can affect your ability to drive, take a look at the DVLA website. This is what is called " a notifiable condition". MS is one of them.
Seems like this is turning into a bit of a case of Top Trumps, with everyone saying their experience is better than everyone else’s! However could there simply be a case of some insurers insist on being told, and some don’t? Personally I think it’s best to tell them though, simply because it it’s better safe than sorry.
But going back to the original post, I’m sorry about your accident anon. I bumped into a car last night when attempting (and obviously failing) to park, and I got all flustered & annoyed at myself. I hope it all works out though, whether that be because it doesn’t get back to the insurer that you’ve got MS or because they take a lenient view.
if the DVLA say you are fit to drive then ins companies only need to know if your license is restricted on medical grounds and they do not need to know your illness…because how can they judge our fitness to drive??..do they write to our gp’s and our neuros…ehh no!!
i remember when i met my MS nurse for first time she said the only people we had to tell legally was the DVLA …
[/quote] That doesn’t mean to say that you don’t have to tell your insurers! I would have thought it is unlikely that anyone with MS has a full 10 year licence and if it less than that surely then it is restricted. I have not said that the insurers judge our fitness to drive. An insurance policy is a legal contract and failure to tell them of a medical condition is a breach of that contract. Like MrsH I give up now, if you don’t want to listen to our advice then don’t but we are trying to be helpful!
my sister works in motor insurance and she says it varies from company to company, but its always best to err on the side of caution. if they can find a reason not to pay out , they will. Don’t worry about it now, things usually work out and hope it goes well.
I work in a brokers. Some companies ask about medical conditions on a proposal form. Some don’t. ALL of them say you must disclose at renewal.
I had a policy which came up for renewal around the time I was waiting on an official diagnosis. I changed companies because I no longer wanted it put through the company I worked for as my medical info would be accessible to all my co-workers. Once I was diagnosed, I emailed the company and advised them. They said I didn’t need to once I had contacted the licencing authority. But that was THAT insurer. Others are different.
OP, you should have disclosed at renewal. It might have made no difference to the premium but the onus is on you to declare anything that may affect your policy. The insurer would be well within their rights to declare the policy null and void based on the fact that you breached the conditions of your policy by failing to disclose your medical condition to them. They might not do that but they would be legally entitled to.
It might not even be an issue but it might be. All you can do is wait and see if the report mentions your MS and if it does, if the insurers notice it.
If they do pay the claim then as soon as the dust settles, get onto them and disclose your medical condition. If the accident was in any way related to your ability to drive because of MS as opposed to just human error, maybe go to the GP and make sure it’s safe to be on the road at the moment.
Hi, I am the anon that started this thread… I got a courtesy car today and my car was moved, with permission from my insurance co, to the accident repair centre - and was given optimismic comments. So I’m hoping all will be okay… Thanks for all the replies to this thread - some made me feel reassured, others made me worry. But from all of that I would suggest that for all MSers piece of mind it is definitely advisibile to inform your insurance company of your MS dx asap. Really appreciated all the comments - thank you