Insurance advice - car written off when parked
Discussion
A young family member had their car hit while parked outside their house in the early hours of this morning.
It’s a wide 30 mph road through a residential area and their car ended up on the pavement a long way down the road facing a different direction having bounced off another parked vehicle
It was worth around £4-5k so is definitely a write off.
Police attended and breathalysed the other driver which they passed but clearly they were speeding given the damage to all the vehicles and where they ended up.
They do have insurance and were getting very upset that their Mercedes was also probably a write off.
Family member has fully comp insurance and will obviously need to let them know, but is it better to make a claim directly from the third party insurers or does it not make much difference when liability is this clear cut.
They need a car to get to work, but I’ve let them know not to rush to accept any hire car from claims management firms.
I expect insuring a replacement will be a pain until this is settled as this was their first year driving.
It’s a wide 30 mph road through a residential area and their car ended up on the pavement a long way down the road facing a different direction having bounced off another parked vehicle
It was worth around £4-5k so is definitely a write off.
Police attended and breathalysed the other driver which they passed but clearly they were speeding given the damage to all the vehicles and where they ended up.
They do have insurance and were getting very upset that their Mercedes was also probably a write off.
Family member has fully comp insurance and will obviously need to let them know, but is it better to make a claim directly from the third party insurers or does it not make much difference when liability is this clear cut.
They need a car to get to work, but I’ve let them know not to rush to accept any hire car from claims management firms.
I expect insuring a replacement will be a pain until this is settled as this was their first year driving.
I’m currently going through something similar that happened a few weeks ago when my car was written off sat on my drive.
I’ve dealt the the third party insurance so far who have been very good and will offer a hire car to keep their costs down which should help and make them want to resolve quickly to keep their costs down.
I’ve let my insurance know what’s happened and that I’m dealing with the TP and they just want to be kept in the loop.
Get ads of identical cars from Autotrader for value arguments as you will need to although these aren’t sold for prices but should give a clear indication of what you can expect value wise.
I’m using the facts I haven’t gone the accident management route or my own insurance (I also didn’t need the curtesy car) as things that have saved them money to help maximise my payout but no idea if this will have any bearing yet on what they finally offer.
I’ve dealt the the third party insurance so far who have been very good and will offer a hire car to keep their costs down which should help and make them want to resolve quickly to keep their costs down.
I’ve let my insurance know what’s happened and that I’m dealing with the TP and they just want to be kept in the loop.
Get ads of identical cars from Autotrader for value arguments as you will need to although these aren’t sold for prices but should give a clear indication of what you can expect value wise.
I’m using the facts I haven’t gone the accident management route or my own insurance (I also didn’t need the curtesy car) as things that have saved them money to help maximise my payout but no idea if this will have any bearing yet on what they finally offer.
Had two cars hit when parked. The first I went though the 3 party insurance and the second my own. Not really any difference in the process. I would get a incident/crime reference number from the police, I assume you have the car registration and go via your own insurance. The only issue I had was that during the process my car insurance came up for renewal. Until the claim was fully resolved they logged the accident as open and it caused the renewal figure to be quite high. I had to claim a refund for the difference once the claim was fully resolved.
I’m hoping that they can claim off the third party, then buy a replacement vehicle and swap their policy onto it, so they get a full year’s NCB at renewal.
If they claim off their own, as it’s going to be a write off, then the policy will be terminated and they’ll need to start again.
If they claim off their own, as it’s going to be a write off, then the policy will be terminated and they’ll need to start again.
Alex Z said:
If they claim off their own, as it s going to be a write off, then the policy will be terminated and they ll need to start again.
I’ve heard of that but I don’t think it generally happens - it certainly didn’t when daughter’s car was rear-ended and written off and she claimed on her own policy I have had 2 claims fur being hit by other drivers, both times they were dealt with by the other insurance company (fairly promptly I might add) I was directed to places to get my car repaired, all done to a good standard, birth weee reported to my insurance company, there was no change/ difference to my renewal, so it is possible to deal with the other company and not suffer
Drawweight said:
I also have gone directly to the third party s insurance.
However I ve been confident that I had a pretty watertight claim and the other driver wasn t going to change their mind.
I don t think I d do it if it wasn t.
This couldn’t be more clear cut. He hit a parked car and was arrested at the scene. However I ve been confident that I had a pretty watertight claim and the other driver wasn t going to change their mind.
I don t think I d do it if it wasn t.
Alex Z said:
Sheepshanks said:
I ve heard of that but I don t think it generally happens - it certainly didn t when daughter s car was rear-ended and written off and she claimed on her own policy
I had it when a bike was stolen but that s a long time ago and possibly outdatedhttp://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications...
The current version of the Ombudsman's guidance is less detailed - they've removed a lot of the useful infomation to make it more "user friendly", but AFAIK the underlying policy hasn't changed.
Alex Z said:
This couldn t be more clear cut. He hit a parked car and was arrested at the scene.
Things can get stuck if the third party doesn’t inform, or respond to, their insurer. Happened on a claim I made years ago and on daughter’s write off more recently. In the latter case her insurer had to commence legal proceedings.Same thing happened to our car about 6 months ago. I just called our insurance company with the reg of the other vehicle and let them deal with it. Hire car turned up next day, settlement was in our bank account a couple of weeks later. Never heard any more of it.
We switched the policy onto the new car after purchase for a negligible amount.
No need to over think or complicate things!?
We switched the policy onto the new car after purchase for a negligible amount.
No need to over think or complicate things!?
I've been hit by the car behind twice and both times claimed directly against the insurer of the driver responsible and had no real issues, other than the valuation of my car that became a Cat N in 2023 - but I expect my insurer wouldn't have been any better!
The benefit of that it I didn't have to pay the excess and wait to get it back, and didn't have an outstanding claim on my policy.
The benefit of that it I didn't have to pay the excess and wait to get it back, and didn't have an outstanding claim on my policy.
Alex Z said:
There s a slight complication in that they don t have the drivers name, as the police took him away, but I expect his insurers will give him the details of who to claim from.
Your friends insurance company wont give the other drivers details. If details weren't exchanged at the roadside you'll either need to claim via your insurance.
Get the insurance details via MIB and call them. They (the other company) may not process anything without the drivers details .
The police shouldn't provide the name. They may do, but shouldn't.
Personally I would just go via my own insurance.
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