paying for insurance rapair instead of claiming on insurance
Discussion
Last week I unfortunately stopped too late and bumped the car in front. There was very little damage but you would see some slight cracks in the paint where the bumper had flexed. The owner kindly gave me the option to pay for a repair instead of going through insurance - which I accepted.
I'm wondering what I should do to protect myself incase the owner tries to pull a fast one - takes the money but claims on insurance anyway.
I'm thinking I should probably pay the body shop directly, and maybe get something in writing from the owner to say the matter is closed?
How do others handle this situation?
I'm wondering what I should do to protect myself incase the owner tries to pull a fast one - takes the money but claims on insurance anyway.
I'm thinking I should probably pay the body shop directly, and maybe get something in writing from the owner to say the matter is closed?
How do others handle this situation?
he isnt going to claim that on insurance. in fact i doubt he's event going to get it repaired at all. he'll just pocket the cash and drive around with a fractionally cracked bumper.
he wouldnt claim on insurance, because a bumper on a 17 year old volvo will very likely write the car off, and he probably doesnt want that. what he could go for is a few hundred quid towards petrol money.
if you want to be sure that any money you give him actually goes towards a repair, then get him to send you a quote, and then get the company doing the repair to send you the invoice once they've completed the work.
he wouldnt claim on insurance, because a bumper on a 17 year old volvo will very likely write the car off, and he probably doesnt want that. what he could go for is a few hundred quid towards petrol money.
if you want to be sure that any money you give him actually goes towards a repair, then get him to send you a quote, and then get the company doing the repair to send you the invoice once they've completed the work.
Ham_and_Jam said:
Just get them to sign a receipt for full and final payment for damage incurred.
Doesn’t matter if they get it repaired or not. Providing you are both happy the amount is equal to having the damage repaired.
This... And be thankful that he and his four passengers didn't get whiplash Doesn’t matter if they get it repaired or not. Providing you are both happy the amount is equal to having the damage repaired.
_Hoppers said:
Ham_and_Jam said:
Just get them to sign a receipt for full and final payment for damage incurred.
Doesn’t matter if they get it repaired or not. Providing you are both happy the amount is equal to having the damage repaired.
This... And be thankful that he and his four passengers didn't get whiplash Doesn’t matter if they get it repaired or not. Providing you are both happy the amount is equal to having the damage repaired.
Also, note, he's not aobliged to get it repaired, if he wants to pocket the money and drive with the damage, that's his perogative, you have paid for the damage you caused. I have done exactly that even when claiming off insurance, I asked for a cash settlement, which was basically the same as they would have paid the bodyshop, less VAT. The insurance co, were perfectly happy with this as long as I agree it was the full and final settlement of the claim.
That looks very similar to what happened to my 2005 BMW 330i last year.
The other driver was thinking of a cash settlement but when I got it looked at by a bodyshop they said there was no way to repair the small cracks, so it would need a new bumper cover.
BMW could supply one in primer for just under £650, but the other driver decided to involve his insurer at that point although I'd have taken a few hundred quid and left it at that!
The repairer recommended by his insurer managed to pad their estimate up to over £2K so they made my car a Cat N 2 weeks before they bothered to tell me.
The offer I got was insulting. I managed to squeeze another couple of hundred quid out of them which was still pitiful, but I got to keep a perfectly capable car for not much cash so I gave in and took the money.
Looking back I shouldn't have though. Insurance renewal came around last week and my insurer added £20 to the premium and £50 to the excess, even though it hadn't cost them a penny.
Maybe I should have had some whiplash to cover the nonsense insurance increase? But I worked in the insurance industry for decades when a non-fault claim made no difference, whereas now any excuse to screw the punter seems to be the norm.
Anyway OP if you can do a cash deal you might save yourself from a world of pain!
The other driver was thinking of a cash settlement but when I got it looked at by a bodyshop they said there was no way to repair the small cracks, so it would need a new bumper cover.
BMW could supply one in primer for just under £650, but the other driver decided to involve his insurer at that point although I'd have taken a few hundred quid and left it at that!
The repairer recommended by his insurer managed to pad their estimate up to over £2K so they made my car a Cat N 2 weeks before they bothered to tell me.
The offer I got was insulting. I managed to squeeze another couple of hundred quid out of them which was still pitiful, but I got to keep a perfectly capable car for not much cash so I gave in and took the money.
Looking back I shouldn't have though. Insurance renewal came around last week and my insurer added £20 to the premium and £50 to the excess, even though it hadn't cost them a penny.
Maybe I should have had some whiplash to cover the nonsense insurance increase? But I worked in the insurance industry for decades when a non-fault claim made no difference, whereas now any excuse to screw the punter seems to be the norm.
Anyway OP if you can do a cash deal you might save yourself from a world of pain!
_Hoppers said:
This... And be thankful that he and his four passengers didn't get whiplash
Of course there's nothing to stop the TP suddenly deciding that he/they do have whiplash after all, some months down the line. IANAL but I would make sure that you get a receipt showing "in full and final settlement" of their claim.Mr Tidy said:
That looks very similar to what happened to my 2005 BMW 330i last year.
The other driver was thinking of a cash settlement but when I got it looked at by a bodyshop they said there was no way to repair the small cracks, so it would need a new bumper cover.
BMW could supply one in primer for just under £650, but the other driver decided to involve his insurer at that point although I'd have taken a few hundred quid and left it at that!
The repairer recommended by his insurer managed to pad their estimate up to over £2K so they made my car a Cat N 2 weeks before they bothered to tell me.
The offer I got was insulting. I managed to squeeze another couple of hundred quid out of them which was still pitiful, but I got to keep a perfectly capable car for not much cash so I gave in and took the money.
Looking back I shouldn't have though. Insurance renewal came around last week and my insurer added £20 to the premium and £50 to the excess, even though it hadn't cost them a penny.
Maybe I should have had some whiplash to cover the nonsense insurance increase? But I worked in the insurance industry for decades when a non-fault claim made no difference, whereas now any excuse to screw the punter seems to be the norm.
Anyway OP if you can do a cash deal you might save yourself from a world of pain!
Those decades didn’t help you understand pricing apparently. The other driver was thinking of a cash settlement but when I got it looked at by a bodyshop they said there was no way to repair the small cracks, so it would need a new bumper cover.
BMW could supply one in primer for just under £650, but the other driver decided to involve his insurer at that point although I'd have taken a few hundred quid and left it at that!
The repairer recommended by his insurer managed to pad their estimate up to over £2K so they made my car a Cat N 2 weeks before they bothered to tell me.
The offer I got was insulting. I managed to squeeze another couple of hundred quid out of them which was still pitiful, but I got to keep a perfectly capable car for not much cash so I gave in and took the money.
Looking back I shouldn't have though. Insurance renewal came around last week and my insurer added £20 to the premium and £50 to the excess, even though it hadn't cost them a penny.
Maybe I should have had some whiplash to cover the nonsense insurance increase? But I worked in the insurance industry for decades when a non-fault claim made no difference, whereas now any excuse to screw the punter seems to be the norm.
Anyway OP if you can do a cash deal you might save yourself from a world of pain!
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