Car insurance: do I need to declare a cycling accident that happened before I bought my car?
Long story short:
- Moved to the UK (June 2025)
- Got hit cycling on a zebra crossing (July 2025)
- Solicitor A handling it (Sep 2025)
- Bought car + insurance (Dec 2025)
- Full UK driving license (Feb 2026)
- Hit-and-run on my car (May 2026, minor damage, dashcam, NCD unaffected)
- Now with solicitor B
While dealing with the hit-and-run, the cycling incident resurfaced.
Now I’m unsure about this:
Do I need to declare the cycling accident to my car insurer?
Solicitor A: “No, you weren’t driving.”
Insurer: “Yes, declare it + premium goes up (£600+).”
Spending a lot of time on this lately—just trying to understand what’s actually required.
### Additional info after the initial post ###
Additional info:
Initially picked insurer A but couldn’t complete payment. Turns out their system flagged an undeclared cycling accident and the quote went up by ~£1000.
I tried explaining it was a cycling incident, but they said it was already on record and the premium stands.
Ended up giving up and going with the current insurer B.
### Clarification from the current insurer B###
"This claim will need to be added to your policy. Even though this happened while you were cycling and before you owned a car, we still need to include any accidents or incidents from the last 5 years when setting up or reviewing your car insurance. This helps make sure your cover details are correct and avoids any issues later on."
" Since you did not declare this claim previously, this is something that would have to be updated on your policy in 7 days to keep your policy active until your expiry date. Any errors on a policy can lead to it being cancelled or treated as if it never existed. It can also lead to claims being rejected or not paid out in full. When a claim is added to the policy, we need to recalculate your price based on the level of risk linked to this claim. "
Unfortunately once you ask, the insurer knows and you have no other option.
### Why this cycling incident resurfaced ###
First time I’ve really tried to understand what actually counts as a “claim” and what happens if you don’t declare something relevant. Turns out the consequences can be pretty serious — even policy cancellation.
Asked my instructor, wasn’t sure either, so was basically told “ask the insurer.”
ChatGPT says it should be declared.
Still feels like a grey area depending on who you ask.
### The question that an insurer asks you ###
"Have you had any motor accidents, claims or losses in the last five years?
This is regardless of who/what was at fault or if a claim was made or not. If you don’t tell your insurer about previous accidents, claims or losses, your car insurance may not pay out if you make a claim"
So it seems in my case it counts as a claim—I was involved in a cycling incident where I am seeking compensation (via solicitor A) from the driver’s insurance.
### Update on hit-and-run
Askmid shows the hit-and-run car is no longer insured; Solicitor B confirmed that on the day of the incident, it was insured.