Involved in RTA, insurance claiming 50:50 but not my fault!
Discussion
Hi Guys,
In June this year i was involved in a large accident on the M6 Thelwall Viaduct. A lorry cut into lane 1 where i was, hit my rear bumper which caused me to spin towards the Lorry then i was pushed for some distance. Police attended and checked us over then left us with the highways agency. The driver at the time admitted it was his fault and that was that.
I have images of the vehicles and the damage they recieved, but no witnesses stopped. It must have been reported to the police however as they were on the scene in under 5 minutes.
A letter has arrived from the insurance company this morning stating this is 50:50 and they beleive this to be the best way to resolve this. I am very against this as the accident was clearly not my fault but am unsure what to do?
As the police literally turned up, checked licences then went on their way i didnt get an incident number. I'm also not sure if i can persue the highways agency for a statement or to see if any footage was caught on ganty cameras.
My gut instinct is to fight this, being only 22 i dont want to loose ncb and have a fault accident on my record.
Any help apprceiated.
Alex
In June this year i was involved in a large accident on the M6 Thelwall Viaduct. A lorry cut into lane 1 where i was, hit my rear bumper which caused me to spin towards the Lorry then i was pushed for some distance. Police attended and checked us over then left us with the highways agency. The driver at the time admitted it was his fault and that was that.
I have images of the vehicles and the damage they recieved, but no witnesses stopped. It must have been reported to the police however as they were on the scene in under 5 minutes.
A letter has arrived from the insurance company this morning stating this is 50:50 and they beleive this to be the best way to resolve this. I am very against this as the accident was clearly not my fault but am unsure what to do?
As the police literally turned up, checked licences then went on their way i didnt get an incident number. I'm also not sure if i can persue the highways agency for a statement or to see if any footage was caught on ganty cameras.
My gut instinct is to fight this, being only 22 i dont want to loose ncb and have a fault accident on my record.
Any help apprceiated.
Alex
Edited by SirSquidalot on Monday 12th September 09:24
If you really do feel strongly about it then phone your insurers and tell them that. Explain to them you do not want them to settle it.
My guess is the driver of the lorry has said that you tried to cut in front of him from lane one (as opposed to you saying he cut into your lane). If there are no independent witnesses though then it's your word against his and without CCTV, you're unlikely to convince your insurers otherwise.
My guess is the driver of the lorry has said that you tried to cut in front of him from lane one (as opposed to you saying he cut into your lane). If there are no independent witnesses though then it's your word against his and without CCTV, you're unlikely to convince your insurers otherwise.
SirSquidalot said:
It must have been reported to the police however as they were on the scene in under 5 minutes.
Not necessarily, there's a lot of camera's monitoring the motorway network so they could have seen it and passed it to the police, or that police car could have just been driving there and come across it.You'll be lucky to get anywhere. My missus had an accident where she stopped, van coming the other way was going way too fast and despite braking, drove into her. Despite his profuse apologies at the scene, it went 50:50 due to lack of any corroborating evidence/witnesses etc.
It's not worth their time to investigate, as that will cost them. Cheaper to pay out half and get as much back from you as possible via reduced no claims/excess etc
It's not worth their time to investigate, as that will cost them. Cheaper to pay out half and get as much back from you as possible via reduced no claims/excess etc
My mum was involved in an accident that was not her fault. The 3rd party admitted liability at the scene, but changed his mind later. Insurance company wanted to go 50/50, but we fought it. Took nearly a year and ended up in court where the judge/magistrate immediately ruled in our favour.
Worth fighting if you're prepared for a long haul.
Worth fighting if you're prepared for a long haul.
Ultimately it's the insurance companies money that is being paid out, if they feel based on the information they have 50/50 is the best option then they're obligated to mitigate their costs and get the claim settled.
There will be a few cases where people fight etc but very much the minority
Unless you can add in new information that may change the current situation it's very unlikely you'll get what you want, at best you'll get a reduced proportionality like 70/30.
Before someone suggests the FOS, they won't get involved in decisions on liability they will only assess if the claim was handled reasonably.
There will be a few cases where people fight etc but very much the minority
Unless you can add in new information that may change the current situation it's very unlikely you'll get what you want, at best you'll get a reduced proportionality like 70/30.
Before someone suggests the FOS, they won't get involved in decisions on liability they will only assess if the claim was handled reasonably.
Edited by ZOLLAR on Monday 12th September 12:45
motco said:
Psycho Warren said:
A perfect example of why in this day and age, a decent dash cam is a good investment.
Might have not helped much as it was the rear of OP's car that was struck. One rear and one forward would be ideal.Purity14 said:
You wont be able to do anything about it - you just need to let go, accept it and move on.
You'll thank me later!
I think this may be the best advice.You'll thank me later!
Almost exactly the same happened to me but I DID have a witness thank god.
Even then, it took 24 months to be resolved and I nearly had to go to court.
AND at the end of it all I still have a non-fault claim on the system for 5 years.
Oh and all the while it is not resolved you will have to pay insurance premiums with an unresolved claim on the system which is also not cheap.
Perhaps get some gocompare/comparethemarket quotes for you in your car with 50-50 vs. quotes for a non-fault.
See if the annual delta is enough that you want to waist significant time and emotion fighting it with a VERY uncertain outcome.
SirSquidalot said:
My feeling is to fight it, the damage to my car is quite conclusive in what happened. I have found a couple of traffic cameras that cover the stretch of road. Can i persue this as to obtain proof?
You can pUrsue it, or your insurer can but it's highly doubtful you'll get anywhere as it's unlikely the recordings would have been kept this long (unless they have saved it for the Christmas party showreel)Edited by Pothole on Tuesday 13th September 22:54
SirSquidalot said:
I had literally just joined the motorway and was in lane 1, lorry was already on the motorway in lane 2. He then wanted to undercut the car in his lane, moved into mine and caused the accident.
That tells a very different story to your origonal postSounds to me very much like you popped out of a slip road at a higher speed than the traffic in lane 2 and you and a truck ended up going for the same bit of road.
If i'm dubious that your blameless when i've just heard you side of the story, i suspect after hearing the other side i would be in a lot more doubt.
The fact the guy admitted responsibility doesn't mean all that much. Some people are very willing to hold thier hands up if they feel even slightly to blame, others will lie through thier teeth to avoid admitting even the slightest responsibility.
A young girl t boned my wife, she admitted it so my wife recorded her confession and got her to sign a note. Same evening her Father rang saying it was not here fault as my wife was indicating and she was in shock.
Insurance took no notice and paid up in full. Some people are honest and hold up their hands and then get advice from elsewhere and the story changes.
Insurance took no notice and paid up in full. Some people are honest and hold up their hands and then get advice from elsewhere and the story changes.
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