Insurance Claim Advice

Keith Bowler · June 6, 2015

Just had a young lad use his Peugeot 306 to rearrange my passanger side rear quarter coming off a roundabout at about 15 mph.

I now have a nice dent about a foot long and a local impact crease at the point he hit me. Looks to me like the top of the rear bumper where it wraps around the rear corner is damage though not cracked up to the chrome strip and the rear quarter damage is from the level of the bumper chrome strip down. On careful inspection there appears to be no distortion of the actual quarter panel above the point of impact.

Damage to the other car is just the headlight which is annoying me more than the damage to mine!

The question is now, what should my tactics be with my insurers as the worst case scenario given the cars 15 year age would be a 'write off'. I reckon a good bodyshop could put it right for about £600.

Any tips on how to approach this would be appreciated as I have never had to make a claim on my insurance for over 30 years.

Bluesman · June 6, 2015

Just had a young lad use his Peugeot 306 to rearrange my passanger side rear quarter coming off a roundabout at about 15 mph.

I now have a nice dent about a foot long and a local impact crease at the point he hit me. Looks to me like the top of the rear bumper where it wraps around the rear corner is damage though not cracked up to the chrome strip and the rear quarter damage is from the level of the bumper chrome strip down. On careful inspection there appears to be no distortion of the actual quarter panel above the point of impact.

Damage to the other car is just the headlight which is annoying me more than the damage to mine!

The question is now, what should my tactics be with my insurers as the worst case scenario given the cars 15 year age would be a 'write off'. I reckon a good bodyshop could put it right for about £600.

Any tips on how to approach this would be appreciated as I have never had to make a claim on my insurance for over 30 years.

Sorry to hear of this.

If hes got insurance and you have details of this then contact his insurance and let them know you are going to be making a Non fault claim against their insured.

Contact your insurance company and let them know you are making a Non fault claim against the other parties insurance Co. Any witnesses you have let the insurance Co know about them. Its up to you if you want your insurance company to handle it. To keep your NCB your insurance Co will want to see they have paid your claim in full including any excess you have on your policy.

After you have done that things will start to move under their own steam and all you need to do is keep an eye on it and give them a nudge when you think things have slowed down.

As a Non Fault accident you are entitled to hire car or money per day while you are sorting your car out or buying another one.

Remember this is a Non Fault Accident and because of that you are very unlikely to lose any of your NCB but remember it is a NON CLAIMS BONUS and not a who's to blame bonus.

Get the above kicked off and then you will have options which you can decide on. Mike.

Keith Bowler · June 6, 2015

Appreciate the prompt response Mike, I suppose the biggest concern is facing losing the car if its written off by insurers on grounds as being too costly to repair.

The-Acre · June 6, 2015

Appreciate the prompt response Mike, I suppose the biggest concern is facing losing the car if its written off by insurers on grounds as being too costly to repair.

If it is written off you can buy it back for a small amount and then get the work done.

Bluesman · June 6, 2015

Appreciate the prompt response Mike, I suppose the biggest concern is facing losing the car if its written off by insurers on grounds as being too costly to repair.

If they do write it off you can always buy it back off them for a nominal amount of money, probably a couple of hundred quid and then you can repair the car yourself and have her back on the road in no time.

The insurance company will then register your car with DVLA as a CAT D but then if like the rest of us intend to keep it until your dying day that doesn't need to be a problem. Mike.

Titch LS · June 6, 2015

Keith as you were not to blame for the collision you can insist that the Peugeot driver's insurance company repairs your car, or, finds another LS of equal value and condition as yours and not simply make yours a 'write off'. You should not have to be financially disadvantaged in any way either. Growl at them a bit.

Malc · June 7, 2015

...... if you should end up buying the write-off or indeed just arrange for the repair to be done under your own steam ( should the young lad pay you cash to cover the damage and not go thru' the insurances ) then I can suggest a competent and good value bodyshop repair guy just near Ramsgate if that's any good to you.

Beware hiring a car tho' and expecting anyone else to pay for it even if there's no fault to you !!! ..... unless someone has prior agreed to pay for it.

Malc

royoftherovers · June 7, 2015

Keith, if it was not your fault then;

1. The other Insurance Company cannot write your car off.

2. It is the responsibility of the other driver or his Insurance Company to put your car back into the state it was in prior to the incident regardless of cost.

Seek legal advice if necessary.

Good luck.

Regards

John

Keith Bowler · June 7, 2015

Thanks for all the advice thus far.

Called my insurer this morning and they could not find any record of the other driver having any insurance in his name on the data base they have access to.

Seems a little odd as they were able to verify that the car is taxed and MOT'd.

One thing that did surprise me was that my insurer made it quite clear that it is my responsibility to provide the insurance details from the other driver which seems a little odd.

Anyway I rang the lad after speaking to my insurers and he did not pick up so I texted him a polite message asking if he could send me his insurers details and to my surprise he replied though has not sent anything yet.

Further investigation with the help of Facebook has verified that the name he gave me is genuine and it seems that the address he gave me checks out too. His family appear to run a transport business so I am hoping that his car is covered on some kind of business insurance which I vaguely recall is not always listed/logged on the national insurers database.

I now also have the lads parents names too and as they are local to me may pay them a visit or send a letter to them if I hear no further during tomorrow.

In the meantime I have agreed with my insurer that I only get an estimate from one of their approved repairers and that I retain the option to not proceed with a claim which seems fair to me.

I may also take some legal advice and pursue a personal claim for damages if the worst comes to the worst.

Malc · June 8, 2015

...... intuitively ............ the lad was maybe driving without insurance cover and his dad will probably settle with some cash .... get two estimates, show his dad those and tell him he needs to give you the cash immediately or you will report it all to the police .................

Then it's your choice on timing and repairer to fix your car.................

I wouldn't worry your insurer any more with cash in hand .......... . just don't use them again, they seem amazingly unhelpful especially if you have Fully Comprehensive cover with them.

Malc

Bluesman · June 8, 2015

Your responsibility on details is that you get the persons Registration number, an address would be useful but the Registration number is the all important one after that get as, many other pieces of info from the 3rd party you can. I ask for proof of identity as well but in the two accidents, always make sure your insurance company has any contact info on witnesses. I am sorry that this is all ready sounding messy. Threaten him with the police and if you haven't heard anything in 24 hrs go to your Police station and report him. Mike.

Keith Bowler · June 8, 2015

As of this evening I have had no further contact from the offending party.

I am going to get an estimate for the repair and have decided to write to him at the address he gave me which is his parents address to offer my terms of a settlement. If I don't hear further then I will report the matter to the Police.

Going to speak to the AA to see what advice they can offer so I know what to say to my insurer who at present is being rather unhelpful.

Watch this space!

Bluesman · June 8, 2015

As of this evening I have had no further contact from the offending party.

I am going to get an estimate for the repair and have decided to write to him at the address he gave me which is his parents address to offer my terms of a settlement. If I don't hear further then I will report the matter to the Police.

Going to speak to the AA to see what advice they can offer so I know what to say to my insurer who at present is being rather unhelpful.

Watch this space!

After what you told us last night I am not surprised. I would now not hesitate contacting the police and at least hopefully saving someone else any grief with this idiot, next time the accident he has may not be so minor. You may well find this link to the Government set up Motor insurance beaureu which is there for you to use specifically for people such as yourself who have been hit by an uninsured driver. https://www.gov.uk/compensation-victim-uninsured-driver Good luck Mike.

Malc · June 9, 2015

..... why not just go see the parents ?? ................ if the father has a reputable business he will be horrified at his son's actions

Malc

toffee_pie · June 13, 2015

what happens if this guy has no insurance, how would your insurance proceed with it?

Keith Bowler · June 13, 2015

I will not be making an insurance claim as such but will pursue the other driver via other legal means.

Dropped into my local Police station today and was comforted to hear that our local Police force take uninsured driver complaintsd seriously and when found the driver will be prosecuted.

toffee_pie · June 13, 2015

have you spoken to this idiots parents as to why he was driving with zero insurance?

Malc · June 14, 2015

..... could be utterly pointless pursuing the lad legally to make a financial claim ...... if you win and awarded funds then if the lad has none you will get nowt and have your own legal costs uncovered too .............. as I suggested before, talk maybe with the lad's dad upfront and get him to open his chequebook !!

Malc

Keith Bowler · July 2, 2015

Back to square one!

Had a letter today from my Car Insurers legal company and it appears I will only stand a chance of getting my car repaired if I make a claim against my insurance and then look to claim back my excess via the MIB. Apparently I can only claim for uninsured losses and as my car is insured comprehensively I have to use that and cannot claim under my separate legal cover. That won't happen as I will loose not only the car but will face higher insurance premiums in the long term.

To date I have not had an acknowledgement from the Met Police to my reporting the Uninsured driver incident so they can't be very bothered about that so beware if you live in the SE London/ NE Kent area as there is an uninsured driver on the loose!

There has got to be an injustice here!

Looking on the brighter side, I should be able to get my repair done for just over the cost of my excess, so i suppose over all it won't work out too bad for me and in the long term I will have a car that will be worth more than nothing if it were to be registered as accident damaged/repaired.

9690phil · July 2, 2015

You will find because you have rang and spoken to your insurance company it will now be logged as a claim even thou you don't go a head with it. I had a car once about four years ago and next door neighbours roof tiles came of in the wind and damaged back wing on my car, because I spoke to my car insurance company asking for there advise which they said I could claim on my car insurance as wouldn't to be able to claim of neighbour as it was act of God. I was also told it was logged down as a claim now even thou I didn't claim. Try make sense of that one😁

ambermarine · July 2, 2015

I did'nt know God was a roofer

Malc · July 2, 2015

keith, no joy with the lad's parents then ?

Malc

9690phil · July 2, 2015

I did'nt know God was a roofer

jack of all trades according to insurance companies

cleverdick · July 2, 2015

You could take this to the Financial Ombudsman, but let me tell you they don't exactly give a prompt service.

Keith Bowler · July 2, 2015

Funnily enough when I got home this evening there was a letter from the Met Police and it appears that my case is being investigated

I also spoke to the MIB this afternoon and they reckon that I have been misinformed by the Legal side of my Motor Insurers and that I most likely will have good grounds to claim compensation from the MIB as they have sympathy for those who have been wronged by uninsured drivers.

Things seem to be looking up again though I won't be getting too excited just yet.

Malc - I did not write to the drivers parents as I was advised not to as it might comproromise any Police investigation and I could be accused of harassment. Up until midday today I was priming myself to get a letter off to the lads parents.