Wiped out – and now insurance won’t pay (From Thisisdorset)

Wiped out – and now insurance won’t pay

7:00am Thursday 19th June 2008 in

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A MARKET traderwiped out by a runaway car in Poole last week has been told he will receive no payout from the driver's insurance company.

Michael Lee, owner of the Yak Shack, dived for cover as his stall was obliterated by the Vauxhall Corsa as it careered down the pedestrianised High Street.

Mr Lee estimates the loss on his mobile phone stand, in lost earnings and stock, at around £3,000.

But he says he has been told by Tesco Insurance it will not be paying out as it claims the driver, in his 70s, had a heart attack at the wheel.

He said: "I think it's absolutely disgusting they are not entertaining claims.

"They told me because it was not a pre-existing complaint they are not going to pay.

"I thought there was no way they could deny liability, then this happens."

Mr Lee said he also suffered damage to a display cabinet, the stall's gazebo and a laptop.

The Yak Shack, which specialises in mobile phones and accessories, is a regular stall at weekly markets across the county, including Wimborne, Dorchester and Weymouth.

Insurance adviser Jenny Chick, from Towergate Risk Solutions Poole, said although policies differ, an insurance company would usually be liable in situations like this.

She said: "Whether you are in control of a vehicle or not, the company are still liable for damage to a third party."

Tesco Insurance said it would not comment on individual cases.

The elderly driver's Corsa piled through a bollard on Chapel Lane on Thursday morning before crashing into the busy market, hitting the front of Bitz and rebounding into Nathan's café.

Amazingly only one person was injured, a 50-year-old woman in a mobility scooter who suffered a broken shoulder.

Police are still investigating the incident.

Anyone with information should call Dorset Police on 01202 222222.