Farmer claiming for damaged fence

Farmer claiming for damaged fence

Author
Discussion

Stanley Rous

82 posts

209 months

Wednesday 10th April
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Option 1: Hi Mr Farmer. I’m really sorry for what happened. We’re farmers too and I’d like to make good what has happened to your fence. If you are happy to trust me and leave it to us we will make sure your fence is repaired to the required standard and you won’t have to do anything.

Option 2: Here are my insurance details. Good luck in dealing with the insurance company.

jan8p

1,729 posts

228 months

Wednesday 10th April
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TwigtheWonderkid said:
The farmer can insist his fence is repaired to a decent standard but he can't demand driver's insurance pays for it. The insurance is there to pick up the bills for damage caused by their policyholder/driver, but only if their policyholder/driver asks them to. The policyholder/driver is quite entitled to pay for the damage himself.
If the farmer approaches the insurance company, they will settle the claim with him (if it's valid and proven). They won't ask the policyholder's permission first, they have a liability to the farmer.

Collectingbrass

2,212 posts

195 months

Wednesday 10th April
quotequote all
jan8p said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The farmer can insist his fence is repaired to a decent standard but he can't demand driver's insurance pays for it. The insurance is there to pick up the bills for damage caused by their policyholder/driver, but only if their policyholder/driver asks them to. The policyholder/driver is quite entitled to pay for the damage himself.
If the farmer approaches the insurance company, they will settle the claim with him (if it's valid and proven). They won't ask the policyholder's permission first, they have a liability to the farmer.
He will though have to provide a VAT receipt for the work before his claim is paid, for those suspecting he will DIY and make a gain against the payout.

FMOB

865 posts

12 months

Wednesday 10th April
quotequote all
I think the premium will rocket because of the claim, I don't think saving the insurance a few quid by repairing the fence out of the OP's pocket will make any difference to the premium increase.

Cheapest way forward is just to let the insurer deal with covering all the damage.

whimsical ninja

139 posts

27 months

Wednesday 10th April
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The farmer doesn't need to know the details of the insurance company.

Wacky Racer

38,165 posts

247 months

Wednesday 10th April
quotequote all
whimsical ninja said:
The farmer doesn't need to know the details of the insurance company.
He does if he is going to claim, which he is entitled to, (If he so wishes)

InitialDave

11,913 posts

119 months

Wednesday 10th April
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Upinflames said:
This is about damage limitation now and the kid's car insurance will go through the roof if he claims. The kid has offered (they're farmers too) to repair the fence but the old boy is adamant he wants to claim.
Clarification: Did they offer to:
- Cover the cost to the farmer of the repair themselves?
- Pay someone to come round and repair it?
- Literally do the repair themselves?
- Something else?

Next question, are they intending to put in a claim for the car or not?

Retroman

969 posts

133 months

Thursday 11th April
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Upinflames said:
I don't need any moral advice or thoughts on parenting skills.

A friends son has lost control of his car smashing through a fence and ending up in a field upside down.

He's 18. I know.

Can the farmer insist on claiming for the fence? This is about damage limitation now and the kid's car insurance will go through the roof if he claims. The kid has offered (they're farmers too) to repair the fence but the old boy is adamant he wants to claim.
You can advise the farmer, that if they want to claim they'll need to take you through the small claims court, as essentially that's the only way the farmer can force him to pay unless the farmer contacts his insurance instead.

FMOB

865 posts

12 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The farmer can insist his fence is repaired to a decent standard but he can't demand driver's insurance pays for it. The insurance is there to pick up the bills for damage caused by their policyholder/driver, but only if their policyholder/driver asks them to. The policyholder/driver is quite entitled to pay for the damage himself.
I have never known a policy holder to be able to force or prevent their insurer paying out a claim.

The OP friend's son who had the crash is trying to avoid a claim but has no way of preventing one other that offering to repair the damage and hoping the farmer plays along.

For whatever reason the farmer isn't interested so it is down to the insurance to sort out whether through the farmers own insurer and car drivers insurance or directly to the car drivers insurance.

Gary C

12,456 posts

179 months

Thursday 11th April
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stuthe said:
Report car stolen.

Deny all knowledge and involvement

  1. WasntMe.
biggrin

biggrin
Ahhh

the Shaggy defence...

Gary C

12,456 posts

179 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The farmer can insist his fence is repaired to a decent standard but he can't demand driver's insurance pays for it. The insurance is there to pick up the bills for damage caused by their policyholder/driver, but only if their policyholder/driver asks them to. The policyholder/driver is quite entitled to pay for the damage himself.
Of course he can

Use the MIDB and make a claim for loss. Just needs the reg of the car

Might be harder to prove but he has the right to claim no matter what the insured desires.

Hugo Stiglitz

37,148 posts

211 months

Thursday 11th April
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That's what insurance is there for. It's risk management, you start hiding that risk he'll carry on. Again. Like points on a licence it's partly meant to make you think more carefully not bank of daddy bailout.

Parenting skills and moral advice? You laid out your table there didn't you.

m3jappa

6,431 posts

218 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
If he's got to claim for his own car being written off then the cost of the fence will be irrelevant (unless he's knocked down a hundred meters of that 6ft tall security fencing, which is unlikely).

Farmer is probably looking at it as 'lovely, i'll get that section re done for nothing' though. i have no doubt.

Gibbler290

532 posts

95 months

Thursday 11th April
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m3jappa said:
Farmer is probably looking at it as 'lovely, i'll get that section re done for nothing' though. i have no doubt.
I think the farmer is more accurately thinking “good, the piece of my property that was destroyed by someone else will be repaired and I shouldn’t suffer a financial loss”.

How much do you think they will profit financially from this really?

ralphrj

3,529 posts

191 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
m3jappa said:
If he's got to claim for his own car being written off then the cost of the fence will be irrelevant
I think most of us are interpreting this comment:

Upinflames said:
This is about damage limitation now and the kid's car insurance will go through the roof if he claims.
and this comment:

Upinflames said:
I don't need any moral advice or thoughts on parenting skills.
to mean that the OP's son has no intention of letting his insurer know that he has rolled his car into a field.

OverSteery

3,612 posts

231 months

Thursday 11th April
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Collectingbrass said:
He will though have to provide a VAT receipt for the work before his claim is paid, for those suspecting he will DIY and make a gain against the payout.
Is that so? I would have thought, that there are lots of one man business fence contractors not VAT registered.

OverSteery

3,612 posts

231 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
Gary C said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
The farmer can insist his fence is repaired to a decent standard but he can't demand driver's insurance pays for it. The insurance is there to pick up the bills for damage caused by their policyholder/driver, but only if their policyholder/driver asks them to. The policyholder/driver is quite entitled to pay for the damage himself.
Of course he can

Use the MIDB and make a claim for loss. Just needs the reg of the car

Might be harder to prove but he has the right to claim no matter what the insured desires.
I would be interested to know the correct answer on this. I had always assumed that the driver, being responsible for the damage, could pay to resolved it without insurance if he wanted to. Insurance usually is a contract for the protection of the policy holder, but I know car insurance is a bit unique.

wombleh

1,793 posts

122 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
Car insurance covers damage to property as well as other cars, why do people think the farmer can't claim?

Just goes through the lads insurance like any other damage caused by the driver that policy covers, the only exception would be if the lad was drunk or similar and invalidated their cover, in which case farmer (or their property insurer, if they have one) can go after the driver personally as they're still liable for the damage.

I think you may be right twig as the action is strictly speaking against the driver, but in most cases they'd use their insurance to cover it. If driver wants to pay out of their own pocket rather than use insurance, then they can. However, insurance policy will still mandate they inform of any accidents and the output cost, so won't save anything on the policy increase unless they cover it up, which then has other risks.

Edited by wombleh on Thursday 11th April 08:31

Forester1965

1,482 posts

3 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
If there's no injury there's no duty to provide insurance details to the 3rd party. I'm not sure the farmer has any right to insist on who pays for the damage, or the driver's insurer to insist they must pay rather than their insured?

Solocle

3,295 posts

84 months

Thursday 11th April
quotequote all
wombleh said:
Car insurance covers damage to property as well as other cars, why do people think the farmer can't claim?

Just goes through the lads insurance like any other damage caused by the driver that policy covers, the only exception would be if the lad was drunk or similar and invalidated their cover, in which case farmer (or their property insurer, if they have one) can go after the driver personally as they're still liable for the damage.

I think you may be right twig as the action is strictly speaking against the driver, but in most cases they'd use their insurance to cover it. If driver wants to pay out of their own pocket rather than use insurance, then they can. However, insurance policy will still mandate they inform of any accidents and the output cost, so won't save anything on the policy increase unless they cover it up, which then has other risks.

Edited by wombleh on Thursday 11th April 08:31
Even in that case the insurer has to pay out for 3rd party damage - that's the whole point of insurance, after all.

But if the cover is invalidated they can seek to claim back the cost against the policyholder per the terms of their contract.