Minor collision going to court - what to expect?
Discussion
Over 1 year ago I was in a minor collission. 5mph, scraped against the side of another car. I claim the driver swerved into my lane, which they did but it’s irrelevant as it cannot be proved. £1500 was my cost which the insurer covered; theirs would have been similar or less. No-one was hurt in any way.
They did not accept the blame, my insurer offered 50/50 to theirs which they refused. They (through their insurer) have now submitted their defence, claiming that fault is entirely mine.
Admiral inform me that this may go to court and that I may have to attend.
What’s the worst case scenario? Can I be liable for some additional costs, or is the worst case that I lose my NCB?
They did not accept the blame, my insurer offered 50/50 to theirs which they refused. They (through their insurer) have now submitted their defence, claiming that fault is entirely mine.
Admiral inform me that this may go to court and that I may have to attend.
What’s the worst case scenario? Can I be liable for some additional costs, or is the worst case that I lose my NCB?
Been here with this, wife has minor accident on a narrow road that should have resulted in shared blame dragged out for 3 years by the other sides insurance company and eventually ends up with the other sides insurance threatening court during lockdown 1. Eventually decided to just accept the liabilty and move on as it was never going to 100% the fault of the other side given the location and nature of the accident and the stress of maybe having to give evidence on a minor accident 3 years previously was just not worth contesting it, NCB would have been lost either way. What was really stupid was the repair costs the other was clsiming was less that the cost of the insurance company dragging it throught the court !
ldn_mx5 said:
Over 1 year ago I was in a minor collission. 5mph, scraped against the side of another car. I claim the driver swerved into my lane, which they did but it’s irrelevant as it cannot be proved. £1500 was my cost which the insurer covered; theirs would have been similar or less. No-one was hurt in any way.
They did not accept the blame, my insurer offered 50/50 to theirs which they refused. They (through their insurer) have now submitted their defence, claiming that fault is entirely mine.
Admiral inform me that this may go to court and that I may have to attend.
What’s the worst case scenario? Can I be liable for some additional costs, or is the worst case that I lose my NCB?
I cannot think for one minute this would end up in court. If the other insurers want to play it like that, it's up to Admiral to sort it out and pay out to them if they lose. Most of the time it they do lose, your premium will increase as you have an at fault claim.They did not accept the blame, my insurer offered 50/50 to theirs which they refused. They (through their insurer) have now submitted their defence, claiming that fault is entirely mine.
Admiral inform me that this may go to court and that I may have to attend.
What’s the worst case scenario? Can I be liable for some additional costs, or is the worst case that I lose my NCB?
It's what you pay them for, although it's Admiral.
NikBartlett said:
Been here with this, wife has minor accident on a narrow road that should have resulted in shared blame dragged out for 3 years by the other sides insurance company and eventually ends up with the other sides insurance threatening court during lockdown 1. Eventually decided to just accept the liabilty and move on as it was never going to 100% the fault of the other side given the location and nature of the accident and the stress of maybe having to give evidence on a minor accident 3 years previously was just not worth contesting it, NCB would have been lost either way. What was really stupid was the repair costs the other was clsiming was less that the cost of the insurance company dragging it throught the court !
I’m not that worried about the hassle - ultimately I assume it’ll be half an hour appointment somewhere local (we’re in London so the court will also be) where I talk for 2 minutes and say “I stayed in my lane, she didn’t” and the other driver says the same. My slight concern was we have a number of holidays booked and will the court date interfere with that but Admiral are asking me now to provide a list of dates I won’t be available so I’m assuming (?) there are ways to make sure the court date isn’t when I’m on hols.Between my premiums (we have 3 cars on multi car policy) going up if blame is 100% mine, or 50/50 for the cost of having to show up in court once, I choose the latter.
I was only worried that there might be additional costs involved (when taking out insurance I recall declining some kind of extra “legal cover”)
Forgot to add - the other driver is some kind of big shot (and very arrogant) legal executive, I was given the business card at time of accident.
Which makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
Which makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
ldn_mx5 said:
Forgot to add - the other driver is some kind of big shot (and very arrogant) legal executive, I was given the business card at time of accident.
Which makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
She may be thinking she will push it to court on the basis you will fold and take the blame for it. Many court cases gewt sorted out before anyone enters a court room and she may be playing a game of seeing who backs down firstWhich makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
ldn_mx5 said:
Between my premiums (we have 3 cars on multi car policy) going up if blame is 100% mine, or 50/50 for the cost of having to show up in court once, I choose the latter.
You've had a claim, so it won't change your premium whether it's decided 100% or 50%-50% against you. The only way it would affect your premium less is if the court decides it was 100% the 3rd party's fault...and it may still go up a bit due to 'just having an accident'.My renewal went up all of £10 when I had a £15k accident (me at fault) - which was less than the £50 it went up when a lorry scraped past and caused £3k of damage (3rd party at fault).
I think the damage has already been done with the claim being made and however the court decides to apportion the blame it will make little difference to what happens at renewal.
Based on your description of the other party it appears they are trying to bully you into capitulating by going all the way to court. Based on this alone I would go the distance as I dislike bullies.
I wouldn't be surprised if it gets to court, the court applies 50/50 and wonders why the other party went all the way.
Based on your description of the other party it appears they are trying to bully you into capitulating by going all the way to court. Based on this alone I would go the distance as I dislike bullies.
I wouldn't be surprised if it gets to court, the court applies 50/50 and wonders why the other party went all the way.
I had a motor-bike belt up behind me on a blind bend just before a roundabout. It was 6.00am on a sunny morning and he admitted he was late for work.
Obviously I couldn't see him approaching at speed. I pulled onto the roundabout and he came up my inside and cut across the front of me to go across whilst i was going left (large roundabout under flyover etc).
He clipped the front of me but it threw him off balance and he headed into the grass verge.
No liability accepted and went to court (district court so quite informal and relaxed).
Judge said he was 80% to blame and my 20% was because I should have checked for someone on my inside (even though there was only enough room for a bike).
I did a lot of legwork for the insurance company (Co-op at the time) and the legal protection (DAS) sent a young useless girl called a barrister (a barista would have put my case better).
Upshot was I saved the Co-op about £8000 vs my £300 repair. They deducted 2 years NCD from me.
Obviously I couldn't see him approaching at speed. I pulled onto the roundabout and he came up my inside and cut across the front of me to go across whilst i was going left (large roundabout under flyover etc).
He clipped the front of me but it threw him off balance and he headed into the grass verge.
No liability accepted and went to court (district court so quite informal and relaxed).
Judge said he was 80% to blame and my 20% was because I should have checked for someone on my inside (even though there was only enough room for a bike).
I did a lot of legwork for the insurance company (Co-op at the time) and the legal protection (DAS) sent a young useless girl called a barrister (a barista would have put my case better).
Upshot was I saved the Co-op about £8000 vs my £300 repair. They deducted 2 years NCD from me.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 31st December 20:28
Thanks all. The other driver definitely came across as arrogant and a bit of a bully so it might be just that.
I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
ldn_mx5 said:
Thanks all. The other driver definitely came across as arrogant and a bit of a bully so it might be just that.
I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
On the availability question, they are trying avoid obvious clashes, they need their witness to turn up on the day.I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
ldn_mx5 said:
Thanks all. The other driver definitely came across as arrogant and a bit of a bully so it might be just that.
I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
Yes, if you tell the court you aren’t available they won’t schedule on those dates. You can’t go changing your mind afterwards though unless there’s good reason. I was mostly worried about additional costs but if that’s unlikely I’ll take my chances and go to court.
When Admiral are asking me for my days of availability does it mean I can make sure court date won’t be on a day I’m unavailable (on holidays etc)?
Jamescrs said:
ldn_mx5 said:
Forgot to add - the other driver is some kind of big shot (and very arrogant) legal executive, I was given the business card at time of accident.
Which makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
She may be thinking she will push it to court on the basis you will fold and take the blame for it. Many court cases gewt sorted out before anyone enters a court room and she may be playing a game of seeing who backs down firstWhich makes it more surprising that she’s willing to risk taking this to court, I would have thought she’d be quite conscious of her precious time being wasted
She’s playing hard ball, hoping you’ll be scared of court, accept full liability and therefore protect her no claims.
You have nothing to fear - this is what your insurance company are for. Just turn up if/when they tell you to and tell the truth.
What people seem to forget is that each insurance company has to consider that what their insurer is the truth, unless there is clear, independent evidence to the contrary.
There are two sides (or more) to every story, and as you can see in this case, it's one persons word against the other, the Courts (and insurers) problem is who are they supposed to believe ?
Some people play this to their advantage, knowing that if they argue long enough or just say that the other person was in the wrong, that they will shift some of the blame to the other person, providing there aren't any witnesses to say otherwise.
For some people, being able to say it wasn't all their fault, or being able to claw back some of the money it's cost them is all that they want.
For the OP based on the amounts you've stated, this will be a small claims Court case, very informal and most likely to be held in an "office" rather than open court. The judge will simply ask you and the other driver to state your version of what happened, supply any evidence that supports what you say and may ask a few questions to clarify things.
They will then consider hat they have been told and based on the balance of probabilities announce what they consider to be what happened and how the liability for the vent should be allocated (most likely 50/50 ) in this instance.
Providing you co-operate , attend court and that your version of events is what you have told your insurer the there shouldn't be any additional costs to you in terms of having to pay damages, court costs or interest, the insurers will pay that...that's what you pay insurance premiums for.
There are two sides (or more) to every story, and as you can see in this case, it's one persons word against the other, the Courts (and insurers) problem is who are they supposed to believe ?
Some people play this to their advantage, knowing that if they argue long enough or just say that the other person was in the wrong, that they will shift some of the blame to the other person, providing there aren't any witnesses to say otherwise.
For some people, being able to say it wasn't all their fault, or being able to claw back some of the money it's cost them is all that they want.
For the OP based on the amounts you've stated, this will be a small claims Court case, very informal and most likely to be held in an "office" rather than open court. The judge will simply ask you and the other driver to state your version of what happened, supply any evidence that supports what you say and may ask a few questions to clarify things.
They will then consider hat they have been told and based on the balance of probabilities announce what they consider to be what happened and how the liability for the vent should be allocated (most likely 50/50 ) in this instance.
Providing you co-operate , attend court and that your version of events is what you have told your insurer the there shouldn't be any additional costs to you in terms of having to pay damages, court costs or interest, the insurers will pay that...that's what you pay insurance premiums for.
Edited by ResQ1 on Friday 31st December 20:20
Edited by ResQ1 on Friday 31st December 20:20
Been there too and it was all pretty painless.
I crashed motorcycle into the back of another car. Pretty minor stuff, I assumed the insurers would just go 50 50 as he pulled into front of me as I was overtaking him.
However a few months later a ketter in post from his solicitor claiming nearly £20,000 for his cracked rear bumper and mercedes hire car for 2 months.
What he forgot was I took pics at the scene ( he didnt) and it showed his cracked rear bumper and the judge asked him to explain how £17,000 of rebuild repairs were needed.
He looked an idiot.
Anyway he was left with all costs, his huge repair costs ( he basically had his car fully restored and assumed I would be liable as I had ran into the back of him)and £3000 hire car bill. His insurers paid fir my repairs.
Anyway on the day the solicitor appointed by my insurer to defend it met me and went over my claim form statement. Once in front of judge he gave his evidence and was questioned by judge and my solicitor. I then gave my version and was again questioned by judge and his solicitor.
Judge thought the other party evidence not credible, the amounts being claimed to be ludicrous and 100% sided with my testimony
Either way it is painless and needn't be stressful. Just tell it as it happened.
Like others said sounds like it will go 50 / 50 unless other evidence available
I crashed motorcycle into the back of another car. Pretty minor stuff, I assumed the insurers would just go 50 50 as he pulled into front of me as I was overtaking him.
However a few months later a ketter in post from his solicitor claiming nearly £20,000 for his cracked rear bumper and mercedes hire car for 2 months.
What he forgot was I took pics at the scene ( he didnt) and it showed his cracked rear bumper and the judge asked him to explain how £17,000 of rebuild repairs were needed.
He looked an idiot.
Anyway he was left with all costs, his huge repair costs ( he basically had his car fully restored and assumed I would be liable as I had ran into the back of him)and £3000 hire car bill. His insurers paid fir my repairs.
Anyway on the day the solicitor appointed by my insurer to defend it met me and went over my claim form statement. Once in front of judge he gave his evidence and was questioned by judge and my solicitor. I then gave my version and was again questioned by judge and his solicitor.
Judge thought the other party evidence not credible, the amounts being claimed to be ludicrous and 100% sided with my testimony
Either way it is painless and needn't be stressful. Just tell it as it happened.
Like others said sounds like it will go 50 / 50 unless other evidence available
Edited by Longy00000 on Friday 31st December 20:32
mmm-five said:
You've had a claim, so it won't change your premium whether it's decided 100% or 50%-50% against you. The only way it would affect your premium less is if the court decides it was 100% the 3rd party's fault...and it may still go up a bit due to 'just having an accident'.
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