Another pothole problem

[Who me ?]

Week or so back, I found a large pothole doing about 45-50 . Really solid clunk on nearside, but there seemed to be no damage, car drove without problems or so it seemed. Couple of days later nearside developed a clunk when steering turned, getting worse as time progressed. As MOT was due, I took car in ,mentioning this noise. Car failed with severe damage to McPherson strut and broken spring.
I'd reported the pothole as dangerous to LA and got a reference. Checking back with LA I found that pothole had been repaired that day . LA site says that any POTHOLE greater than 100mm will be attempted that day, so I'd not have been able to get a photo . however, I've checked on the repair and the dimensions of the repair are 60cm wide and 66 cm long ( direction of travel) , but due to speed of repair I've not been able to get depth, although on 14" tyres it was a fair old bump. I've had the items repaired and got a receipt, along with taking posession of damaged items. Main point to me was speed of repair.
Q1 is do I need to inform insurance company , and Q2 is that as I've got legal cover, would it be best to pass this on to them ,rather than trying to make the claim my self ?
It's not an excessive amount , circa £200, but to me that's a month worth of private pension.

[Red Devil]

Who me said:

I found a large pothole doing about 45-50

'Kin 'ell. At least the ones I encounter don't move! Makes it easier to drive round them.

Who me said:

Q1 is do I need to inform insurance company ,

A common question on insurance proposal forms/renewal is

Suffered any loss or circumstance which has, or might have given rise to a claim under this type of insurance in the last five years?

It's the bit in bold that's the killer.

That said I reckon a great many people would rather take the financial hit and say nothing.
Morally and contractually suspect, but how would the insurer ever find out if you repaired it yourself?

Who me said:

and Q2 is that as I've got legal cover, would it be best to pass this on to them ,rather than trying to make the claim my self ?

In most cases, the LA will have a policy/process it is supposed to follow. One key element of that is when the problem is first brought to its notice.
If you're unlucky enough to be the 'guinea pig' (i.e. the first victim of the hole) you may not win irrespective of which route you go down.

Who me said:

It's not an excessive amount , circa £200, but to me that's a month worth of private pension.

I fully understand where you're coming from. However it's why I have a 's**t happens' contingency fund in my annual motoring budget.

[Who me ?]

Thanks, RD. Took me a bit to hit it as it wouldn't stay still
Since found that my "legal cover" only applies if I make a claim ,and at 150 -200 worth of damage and excess of 100, it's hardly worth it as I'd possibly get stung in increased premiums, and it would be one of my two under the "protected" policy. Still got the claim form and a "co operative" garage and as pothole was filled in with indecent haste, I'll give it a try ,with the help of a letter i found on line.

[PaulD86]

Go onto local authorities website. Search for their road safety inspection policy/procedure. Have a read. You seem to be aware of some of what it must say as you know that any 100mm edge defect will be attended to within a day. There is no set legal intervention level for safety defects and it is, to an extent, up to each LA to decide upon a response time. If the LA committed to repair any 100mm defect within a day and did so then there is a good chance your claim may fail. When these things have been tested in court it has been accepted that a LA has If they knew about it for a week then you should be successful. So request the relevant information as an FOI request. Authorities also carry out routine inspections of their network at pre-determined intervals. Ask for inspection records to see if an inspection was missed. This would add weight to your claim. At £200 I highly doubt the LA would pass it to their insurance. Too low a sum, Taking legal action on your part should be wholly unnecessary.