Can someone claim on my car insurance without my knowledge?

In nearly all situations, you’ll know if someone has claimed on your car insurance. You will have exchanged insurance details with another driver at the scene of an accident, which they will then use to claim for any damage you’ve caused to their vehicle. Your insurance company will then contact you about the claim.

To claim on your insurance, a third party will need your policy number and personal details. Typically, they can’t get this information except directly from you. But can someone every claim on my car insurance without me knowing about it?

In some rare cases, someone may make a claim you don’t anticipate. Some of these cases are genuine, but others are a type of fraud.

You may receive a surprise claim following a minor collision with another driver. You and the driver exchanged insurance details but both agreed that a claim won’t be necessary. However, the other driver later decides they do want to file a claim and contacts your insurance provider to submit a claim. In these cases, your insurance provider will notify you of the claim, which you can dispute if you don’t believe you were at fault.

Victims of hit-and-run collisions can also take steps to find the insurance details of the driver responsible. If they have the registration number of the car, they can use a Subject Access Request through the DVLA to obtain the personal details of the owner and contact their insurance provider.

In these cases, claimants don’t need the policy number. If the insurance company of the guilty party is unknown, the police may be able to trace this information. So, if you've committed a hit-and-run, you may still be subject to an insurance claim you didn't expect. You may also face prosecution as failing to stop at the scene of an accident is a crime.

If your insurer notifies you of a claim but you have no memory of the incident you were allegedly involved in, you’ve likely been targeted by a cloned registration insurance scam. In this type of fraud, criminals use a car with a copy of your number plate in a staged accident and then claim on your insurance. If you believe this has happened, you should contact the police.