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A friend's young son had a car accident, but no other vehicle was involved - should he tell his insurer?

My friend's 21 year old son had a car accident on the ice last week. His car (a cheap old thing) was a write off, but no one else was involved. The AA driver who came to recover the car advised him not to tell his insurers as this would affect his premium, is this right? I thought that the insurers would need to know.

Asked on 8 March 2018 by GTC20th

Answered by Honest John
If no third party is involved, there is no reason for the insurer to know. Many will now argue with me about this statement, but it is covered by the Road Traffic Act, which is an event that causes a third party to make a claim. It's up to him whether he claims or not. If he's not claiming for own damage, and there's no claim for third party losses then I don't think the insurer needs to know.

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