Watch Out for Excess When Accident Is Not Your Fault

I thought I was on a winner with QBE as they seemed to offer good cover at a price quite a bit cheaper than other insurers. I learned the hard way that if you are hit by an uninsured driver and you are not at fault, QBE will still want you to pay the excess. Admittedly this was in the policy document and although I read it, I just skimmed over it so missed this completely. You will only get your money back if QBE recovers the funds from the at fault driver. If the person responsible never pays, you will lose out. Someone ran a red light (clearly their fault) collided with me and I came off my bike. He did a runner. I had multiple independent witnesses who provided statements to police and rego number.
The repair bill came to more than $2,000. I had to pay the excess in order to pick up my bike.
QBE chased up the other driver, whose car was registered to his parent’s address. They claimed that they had been estranged for a while. All QBE did is call them and send them letter of demand and then deemed that the funds were not recoverable. Needless to say I never saw my excess again and am no longer insured with QBE.

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