Insurance or not?

[GSLV6]

That's awful Dan!  I have a golden rule with our RX after our previous GS suffered a similar fate in a supermarket car park....don't park in them!  We use a small runabout for supermarket runs and it cost probably less than the annual cost of dent and scratch repairs over 3 years to have a small cheap runabout you don't mind getting banged up.  Some users of supermarkets are just ignorant, dishonest, incompetent drivers who couldn't give a damn about anyone else's vehicles.  I've lost count of the number of times I've sat in the car waiting for my wife and had someone open a door onto my car, or watched others banging shopping trolleys off someone else's car..never their own mind you!

I would not contact insurance companies for such damage after speaking with Lexus Insurance.  Their underwriters WILL penalise you where or NOT it is your fault if any claim is made on your own insurance, protected no claims or not.  If you had 10 years no claims, the maximum carried for insurance is 5 years.  If you have unprotected No Claims and make a claim, you automatically lose two years No Claims and your renewal not only rises about 15% for making the claim but rises more as you lose a few years NC too.  Protected NC only means that you retain 5 years bonus BUT your insurance will still rise by around 15% for making a claim and it will remain on your record.

Unfortunately, these days with so many numpties and uninsured drivers on the roads and car parks, you either avoid the places and find somewhere safer to park (and walk) or use cameras to record numberplates of cars which have damaged your vehicle and then drive off.  Hand that to the police and if on a public road they have no choice but to follow up as that is leaving the scene of an accident, injury or not, which is an offence unless insurance details are exchanged.  The only fly in the ointment is that a car park isn't strictly speaking a public road, it is a private car park, but details of the registration can still be given to insurers whose database will flag up the responsible owner, if insured, and you can then pursue them for a claim.

[DanD]

Thanks to all for your comments.

The car park in question has particularly narrow spaces, which does not help, and is shared with the local library and doctor's surgery as such used primarily by elderly drivers during the day. I am by no means being discriminatory here, and I am not saying that the culprit was an elderly driver. However it is likely.

I can see the benefits of dashcams, but I have to admit that I am not really keen on them. I appreciate that it's all about protecting yourself etc., and that if you don't do anything wrong then you don't have anything to worry about, but I find it difficult to buy into the growing "Big Brother" culture.

We do have a smaller car, but I tend to use it. I can cover up to 24k miles per year and it makes more economical sense to put the bulk of these miles onto the smaller car rather than the Lexus... although I may have to review this. Already, my wife uses the smaller car for hospital appointments or when she knows parking will be difficult.
I agree with your comments re the insurance. It is unfortunate that a simple query will be recorded against you.

 

[GSLV6]

Sadly, all and every incident reported, no-matter how small, will go against you, your fault or not. The reality we are faced with in our busy lives is quite a simple one:  use the feet and walk more, and find safer places to park.  It's a PITA to have to walk quarter of a mile with full shopping bags but I'd do that every time to avoid parking in a busy supermarket car park.  The one near us is rarely too full, so if I ever use it, I park well away from other road users and walk the extra distance.