Rear-ended at lights. Best way to proceed?
Discussion
popeyewhite said:
Patio said:
E-bmw said:
popeyewhite said:
Patio said:
Obvs report to insurance
Why is that obvious?Sooo the following year and years after that your premium rises, so it's a rape+ situation: you have the hassle if the third party's insurer decides to go 50/50, you have the hassle of dealing with the loan car company, you have the hassle of having to declare the incident/whatever every year for five years, you have the hassle of not having your own car whilst repairs are carried out, and as the OP has already discovered you have the hassle of your own insurance company potentially wanting to write your car off etc etc
At least get your motor checked over before telling your insurance company I mean if the fix is £2k then use them,,,but if the fix is £200?
Have you been involved in an accident or claim in the last 5 years?
At that point what do you do?
Commit insurance fraud & hope you don't get caught?
Do you feel lucky?
nuyorican said:
Now the insurance company has emailed me saying 'your car is potentially unrepairable'.
What the hell does that mean? It's not a valuable car, but I like it so I don't want to just scrap it over a scratch.
They would scrap it over a scratch another user had theirs that way but you can retain the vehicle for a less payout and fix yourself.What the hell does that mean? It's not a valuable car, but I like it so I don't want to just scrap it over a scratch.
I got rear ended last year, again not a valuable car and after the salvage fee for retaining the car i still got more than i paid for it
so seewhat they say and what category it may get.and also i cant notice a real jump in premiums and ive got 2 currently on record.
E-bmw said:
popeyewhite said:
Patio said:
E-bmw said:
popeyewhite said:
Patio said:
Obvs report to insurance
Why is that obvious?Sooo the following year and years after that your premium rises, so it's a rape+ situation: you have the hassle if the third party's insurer decides to go 50/50, you have the hassle of dealing with the loan car company, you have the hassle of having to declare the incident/whatever every year for five years, you have the hassle of not having your own car whilst repairs are carried out, and as the OP has already discovered you have the hassle of your own insurance company potentially wanting to write your car off etc etc
At least get your motor checked over before telling your insurance company I mean if the fix is £2k then use them,,,but if the fix is £200?
Have you been involved in an accident or claim in the last 5 years?
At that point what do you do?
Commit insurance fraud & hope you don't get caught?
Do you feel lucky?
A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
You want to chuck your money away that's up to you.
Anytime a third party is involved resulting in injury or beyond minor damage to their car I'd report it.
That's exactly what happened to me last year.
The damage to my car was a couple of small gouges in the rear bumper cover, but the garage I took it to noticed a couple of small cracks and said it would need to be replaced because cracks like that couldn't be repaired without coming back, although they couldn't see any damaged behind it. Anyway the part from BMW in primer was nearly £650. Depending what your car is you might also find costs are much higher than you thought.
The guy that hit me had said he'd rather settle privately, until I told him that! Then he reported it to his insurers and they contacted me. Said I could send photos or take it for an estimate. As the damage was barely visible I opted to take it somewhere they recommended, who managed to pad an estimate up to over £2K as they included things like blending the paint into the boot lid and rear wings. So Hastings decided my 2005 car was a Cat N, and nearly a month later they told me and made a pitiful offer. I managed to get a bit higher valuation and opted to keep the car as it still drove perfectly so I got half what I had paid for it 4 years previously and the car.
Added photos to show how little damage there was.
The damage to my car was a couple of small gouges in the rear bumper cover, but the garage I took it to noticed a couple of small cracks and said it would need to be replaced because cracks like that couldn't be repaired without coming back, although they couldn't see any damaged behind it. Anyway the part from BMW in primer was nearly £650. Depending what your car is you might also find costs are much higher than you thought.
The guy that hit me had said he'd rather settle privately, until I told him that! Then he reported it to his insurers and they contacted me. Said I could send photos or take it for an estimate. As the damage was barely visible I opted to take it somewhere they recommended, who managed to pad an estimate up to over £2K as they included things like blending the paint into the boot lid and rear wings. So Hastings decided my 2005 car was a Cat N, and nearly a month later they told me and made a pitiful offer. I managed to get a bit higher valuation and opted to keep the car as it still drove perfectly so I got half what I had paid for it 4 years previously and the car.
Added photos to show how little damage there was.
popeyewhite said:
Lucky how?
A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
If you had a collision resulting in damage/a broken light how is that not an accident? A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
Patio said:
E-bmw said:
popeyewhite said:
Patio said:
Obvs report to insurance
Why is that obvious?Your premium has gone up, that's all. And not even without your consent. You're told what the quote is before you have to pay. You don't have to renew with them, you can go elsewhere, or even sell the car and not buy insurance.
Ffs, give your heads a wobble!
GasEngineer said:
popeyewhite said:
Lucky how?
A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
If you had a collision resulting in damage/a broken light how is that not an accident? A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
popeyewhite said:
GasEngineer said:
popeyewhite said:
Lucky how?
A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
If you had a collision resulting in damage/a broken light how is that not an accident? A minor coming together with another motorist, sorted amicably at the roadside..say one of my lights is bust, he's ok. No one injured, only my car damaged isn't even classed as an accident.
It clearly is an accident, hence my question.
OP here with an update.
Valuation people have assessed the (tiny) damage to my car and say it's a total loss and offered a fair amount.
Insurance company email today to say other vehicle was uninsured. Surprise surprise.
So what's the best thing to do? I'm so confuse about it, especially as I seem to be dealing with three separate entities. My insurance company, who are just a kind of reseller, AXA, who appear to be the actual underwriters, and the valuation company.
The first two I've sent emails with no reply, tried to call but gave up after hours on hold. The third keeps ringing me every day to get my decision on the payout, but I can barely understand what he's saying with a bad line and thick Indian accent.
So it's in limbo until I can figure out the best way to proceed. I can live with the scratch and repaired the caved in light myself last weekend. Took half the day to get the bumper off but anyway... So I'd rather just drop the whole thing and move on rather than constantly worry about getting shafted somehow down the line, either by loss of NCB, or if they can't get the money from the third party so decide to reclaim it back from me.
If they're offering me money for the car, I still want to keep the car so not sure how that works. And if they do give me money, who do they reclaim it from if the other driver has no insurance? He could just say "wasn't me" and there were no witnesses.
Valuation people have assessed the (tiny) damage to my car and say it's a total loss and offered a fair amount.
Insurance company email today to say other vehicle was uninsured. Surprise surprise.
So what's the best thing to do? I'm so confuse about it, especially as I seem to be dealing with three separate entities. My insurance company, who are just a kind of reseller, AXA, who appear to be the actual underwriters, and the valuation company.
The first two I've sent emails with no reply, tried to call but gave up after hours on hold. The third keeps ringing me every day to get my decision on the payout, but I can barely understand what he's saying with a bad line and thick Indian accent.
So it's in limbo until I can figure out the best way to proceed. I can live with the scratch and repaired the caved in light myself last weekend. Took half the day to get the bumper off but anyway... So I'd rather just drop the whole thing and move on rather than constantly worry about getting shafted somehow down the line, either by loss of NCB, or if they can't get the money from the third party so decide to reclaim it back from me.
If they're offering me money for the car, I still want to keep the car so not sure how that works. And if they do give me money, who do they reclaim it from if the other driver has no insurance? He could just say "wasn't me" and there were no witnesses.
Forget the other driver, uninsured and its going to be a world of pain to chase that scumbag for money
Let your insurance company deal with everything and if you want to keep it, ask them for a figure to buy back the car.
As what category of 'total loss' it is, its probably beyond economic repair but if its on safety grounds, they might not let you buy it back.
Just chalk it up to experience and let the insurance take the pain away, thats what they are there for
Let your insurance company deal with everything and if you want to keep it, ask them for a figure to buy back the car.
As what category of 'total loss' it is, its probably beyond economic repair but if its on safety grounds, they might not let you buy it back.
Just chalk it up to experience and let the insurance take the pain away, thats what they are there for
Gary C said:
Forget the other driver, uninsured and its going to be a world of pain to chase that scumbag for money
Hence the confusion. You say this. Then say take the payout and let your insurance deal with it. Struggling to comprehend how it can be both? Unless you think I was considering going after the other driver myself to try and get him to pay for it out of his own cash? In that case, nah, I've got better things to do 
On hindsight, always "test" the mobile number given. In that case - police could have been called.
Does your Ins Company offer the "if you are hit by an uninsured driver you won't lose your no claim" that some do? In which case, taking the money sounds like a good deal without loss of NCB.
Does your Ins Company offer the "if you are hit by an uninsured driver you won't lose your no claim" that some do? In which case, taking the money sounds like a good deal without loss of NCB.
I don't think the decision making is particularly hard.
1 tell your ins co to abandon the claim (assuming they've not written it off, if they have, go to 2...) or
2 carry on with the claim, get money from ins co, buy car back from salvage or not. Possible higher premiums, but people's experience of this is pretty varied.
Bert
1 tell your ins co to abandon the claim (assuming they've not written it off, if they have, go to 2...) or
2 carry on with the claim, get money from ins co, buy car back from salvage or not. Possible higher premiums, but people's experience of this is pretty varied.
Bert
BertBert said:
I don't think the decision making is particularly hard.
1 tell your ins co to abandon the claim (assuming they've not written it off, if they have, go to 2...) or
2 carry on with the claim, get money from ins co, buy car back from salvage or not. Possible higher premiums, but people's experience of this is pretty varied.
Bert
Thanks Bert.1 tell your ins co to abandon the claim (assuming they've not written it off, if they have, go to 2...) or
2 carry on with the claim, get money from ins co, buy car back from salvage or not. Possible higher premiums, but people's experience of this is pretty varied.
Bert
It's not when you put it like that. Cheers
Bit stressed from how hard it is to actually contact and talk to someone about it.
My main worry, if I can't get them to abandon it if the wheels are already in motion is: I take the £xxxx money. Then a year down the line my insurance company get back in touch to say - hi, we couldn't recover our losses from the third party as he said it never happened, so you owe us £xxxx.
nuyorican said:
Thanks Bert.
It's not when you put it like that. Cheers
Bit stressed from how hard it is to actually contact and talk to someone about it.
My main worry, if I can't get them to abandon it if the wheels are already in motion is: I take the £xxxx money. Then a year down the line my insurance company get back in touch to say - hi, we couldn't recover our losses from the third party as he said it never happened, so you owe us £xxxx.
If you have fully comprehensive then you have paid them to pay out. They aren’t going to ask you for the money back. If they don’t think it happened they won’t pay in the first place. It's not when you put it like that. Cheers
Bit stressed from how hard it is to actually contact and talk to someone about it.
My main worry, if I can't get them to abandon it if the wheels are already in motion is: I take the £xxxx money. Then a year down the line my insurance company get back in touch to say - hi, we couldn't recover our losses from the third party as he said it never happened, so you owe us £xxxx.
nuyorican said:
So who's actually going to take the financial hit here?
It's not him cos no insurance.
It's not his insurance, cos ditto.
So it's either my insurance or me. If the former I'm worried they'll try to claw that back.
Looking at the damage or lack of, you would probably be better off not claiming at all and just leave it or get it repaired at your cost. The loss of a chunk of NCD, a possible loading of the premium because of the accident and 30% of the cars value being wiped out if it becomes classed as a CAT N is likely to makes claiming an unviable optionIt's not him cos no insurance.
It's not his insurance, cos ditto.
So it's either my insurance or me. If the former I'm worried they'll try to claw that back.
martinbiz said:
Looking at the damage or lack of, you would probably be better off not claiming at all and just leave it or get it repaired at your cost. The loss of a chunk of NCD, a possible loading of the premium because of the accident and 30% of the cars value being wiped out if it becomes classed as a CAT N is likely to makes claiming an unviable option
Quite.If I can ever get hold of somebody I'll ask them to just cancel it.
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