Claim on insurance?
Discussion
Would appreciate some advice on what to do please on an incident that happened today. I work as a GP in a semi rural area and was parked up in a quiet residential road about to visit a patient at their home. The road is quite narrow with cards parked half on the pavement on both sides (and no restrictions on parking) and I had parked up similarly leaving what I feel was enough room to pass when compared to the cars parked in front and behind me.
As I was about to get out, a car coming towards my direction clipped the rear nearside with their car. They stopped immediately and I got out and saw it was actually another patient and has a history of car accidents. His car already looked like it’s been in a few scrapes and he felt there was no new damage. My car on the other hand whilst 7 years old, is in pretty good nick and has a scuff across the rear 3/4 panel, which may polish out but possibly may need a respray/SMART repair (doesn’t appear to have gone down to the primer). A car that was coming from the direction I had come down the road, went by afterwards without hitting me!
We exchanged insurance details but now having second thoughts on reporting it to my insurance as my excess is something like £400 so not sure it’ll be worth it and also may affect my renewal quote even though I feel I wasn’t at fault and he agreed on the scene (sadly no witness). I also don’t like the idea of having to declare it if I switch to another insurer for the next 4-5 years even though it may be confirmed to be a non-fault accident. However, I’m worried that if I don’t report that he may report it instead to his insurance (doubt it as he didn’t seem bothered at all about his car) and then mine will ask why I hadn’t reported it. The other option I have is to ask him to cover the cost of a smart repair but as a patient that I may see in the future not sure this is the right thing to do?
Sorry for the long post but never been in a situation where I have known the person who has hit me!
As I was about to get out, a car coming towards my direction clipped the rear nearside with their car. They stopped immediately and I got out and saw it was actually another patient and has a history of car accidents. His car already looked like it’s been in a few scrapes and he felt there was no new damage. My car on the other hand whilst 7 years old, is in pretty good nick and has a scuff across the rear 3/4 panel, which may polish out but possibly may need a respray/SMART repair (doesn’t appear to have gone down to the primer). A car that was coming from the direction I had come down the road, went by afterwards without hitting me!
We exchanged insurance details but now having second thoughts on reporting it to my insurance as my excess is something like £400 so not sure it’ll be worth it and also may affect my renewal quote even though I feel I wasn’t at fault and he agreed on the scene (sadly no witness). I also don’t like the idea of having to declare it if I switch to another insurer for the next 4-5 years even though it may be confirmed to be a non-fault accident. However, I’m worried that if I don’t report that he may report it instead to his insurance (doubt it as he didn’t seem bothered at all about his car) and then mine will ask why I hadn’t reported it. The other option I have is to ask him to cover the cost of a smart repair but as a patient that I may see in the future not sure this is the right thing to do?
Sorry for the long post but never been in a situation where I have known the person who has hit me!
Edited by ha03274 on Tuesday 2nd August 19:37
The first thing I would do is to get a couple of quotes to repair the damage. If it’s around £500 and your excess is £400 I would pay for it myself. As you say, it’s a hassle having to declare it each time come renewal time. Is he likely to contact the insurance company himself? Could you ask him?
Captain_Morgan said:
evoivboy said:
If you claim off his insurance there's no excess to pay, only if you claim off yours
Unfortunately it still requires reporting to your insurer & subsequently for the next five years when asked about any accidents, claims or convictions.GasEngineer said:
Captain_Morgan said:
evoivboy said:
If you claim off his insurance there's no excess to pay, only if you claim off yours
Unfortunately it still requires reporting to your insurer & subsequently for the next five years when asked about any accidents, claims or convictions.piddy44 said:
ha03274 said:
I got out and saw it was actually another patient and has a history of car accidents.
Doubt he'll be wanting to report anything! I'd be phoning him to go over a couple of options - if the scuff doesn't polish out then you're happy to go with a smart-repairer if he wants to deal with it away from the insurers, or does he just want you to get a couple of quotes from repair shops & let his insurer handle it.Is this guy even fit to be driving?
Edited by ha03274 on Wednesday 3rd August 07:34
ha03274 said:
GasEngineer said:
Captain_Morgan said:
evoivboy said:
If you claim off his insurance there's no excess to pay, only if you claim off yours
Unfortunately it still requires reporting to your insurer & subsequently for the next five years when asked about any accidents, claims or convictions.As others have advised, I would be minded to check to see how much it would cost to have any damage privately repaired.
You could even negotiate any other existing scuffs, dings etc into the price.
However, before getting to that stage, consider whether the damage is something you can live with or do later on such as if/when you come to sell the car. Even then it may not be worth it.
As annoying as it is at first, sometimes we learn to live with these things. You've also got the reassurance that it wasn't a hit and run whilst you were away from the car.
However, I do have a theory that cars that look unloved, damaged or uncared for are liable to being damaged further because some may think the owner simply doesn't care and "it was damaged anyway".
That in turn depends on your usual driving and parking habits and how vulnerable you make your car, such as frequently using public parking spaces or car parks and in the vicinity of other cars (one reason why I park at the empty end of a car park where only the most idiotic of drivers would want to leave all the other empty isolated spots and squeeze their car in besides mine - it still happens).
You could even negotiate any other existing scuffs, dings etc into the price.
However, before getting to that stage, consider whether the damage is something you can live with or do later on such as if/when you come to sell the car. Even then it may not be worth it.
As annoying as it is at first, sometimes we learn to live with these things. You've also got the reassurance that it wasn't a hit and run whilst you were away from the car.
However, I do have a theory that cars that look unloved, damaged or uncared for are liable to being damaged further because some may think the owner simply doesn't care and "it was damaged anyway".
That in turn depends on your usual driving and parking habits and how vulnerable you make your car, such as frequently using public parking spaces or car parks and in the vicinity of other cars (one reason why I park at the empty end of a car park where only the most idiotic of drivers would want to leave all the other empty isolated spots and squeeze their car in besides mine - it still happens).
Captain_Morgan said:
ha03274 said:
GasEngineer said:
Captain_Morgan said:
evoivboy said:
If you claim off his insurance there's no excess to pay, only if you claim off yours
Unfortunately it still requires reporting to your insurer & subsequently for the next five years when asked about any accidents, claims or convictions.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff