Insurance - What to claim for?

[jon_w]

Evening all,

A couple of months ago someone went into the back of my Chimaera resulting in over £3k damage and 4+ weeks repair work. The other party has admitted fault and is going through their insurance. The car is booked in for the work and their insurance are providing a car for the duration of the work.

Several people I've spoken to have suggested claiming expenses as well - so my question is what sort of things are reasonable to claim for. If anyone has experience of this I'd be grateful to know how sucessful you were.

Suggestions for expense claims were:

• Phone calls (for quotes, booking repair work, etc)

• Petrol (Driving to and from bodyshop for quote and repairs)

• Time off work (3 days leave used up for quote and repairs)

• Insurance premium (I'm 25 driving a 5 litre high performance car - insurance isn't cheap and I'm effectively paying for a months insurance without the use of the car - the insurance company are giving me a Megane (or equivalent) as a replacement, which although better than nothing, isn't quite the same )

Thanks
Jon

>> Edited by jon_w on Thursday 8th December 20:38

[purpleheadedcerb]

Lifes too short mate. Seriously, is it worth the hassle? Just rag the nuts off of the megane for a month. That's got to have some value!

[number 7]

I have claimed for, and been paid by the other side, relating to an accident which was not my fault, telephones/fax/post costs, travelling to and from repairer (in my case IIRC 3 round trips of 100 miles each, at whatever the Inland Revenue scale is)plus a four figure sum for diminution of value, based on my argument that a car which has been involved in an accident, however well repaired, will always be less attractive to a buyer than one which has not. It took a lot of work on my part, and eventually got a ccj against the other side (he was not talking to his own insurer) before his insurer paid up. And of course, your excess.

Good luck.

7.

[jezzaaa]

Hi Jon - I certainly wouldn't be putting up with a Megane!!

My Boxster got rear ended in the summer, and the third party IC admitted liability. They offered me a Fiat Seicento while mine was being fixed. Having told them in no uncertain terms what I thought of that idea, I insisted on a like-replacement. I told them it's the summer and I bought a convertible sports cars for a reason (my stance was mainly due to advice recieved on PH). They argued a bit, and I mentioned one of those exotic hire car companies that bill the Ins Co directly.....they immediately made an M3 convertible available, and delivered it the following day. If it's their fault, and they've admitted it, don't be fobbed off. Glad I didn't - my car was in the shop for 2 months.

Only thing is, when i got my Boxster back, it felt a bit slow after the M3!! ;-)

Good luck mate.

Cheers,
J.

[Plotloss]

You could contact an accident management company.

Would mean something like a Boxster rather than a Megane...

[jon_w]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

purpleheadedcerb said:

Lifes too short mate. Seriously, is it worth the hassle? Just rag the nuts off of the megane for a month. That's got to have some value!

I can see your point, and previously I would have probably agreed. However the whole incident is hassle I could have done without. As a result of the damage I've had limited use of my car over the last month or so, and will be without it now until at least mid-January. My understanding is that insurance is there for such situations, and as such you should not loose out as a result of someone else's lack of observation on the road.

jezzaaa said:

Hi Jon - I certainly wouldn't be putting up with a Megane!!

I know, but it was going to be a Fiesta originally. I told them they might like to reconsider that offer. I could push them, but providing I get Megane or bigger I'll survive, as because it's a hire car it'll be the fastest car in the world while I have it

Jon.

[anniesdad]

jon_w said:

Thanks for the comments everyone. purpleheadedcerb said: Lifes too short mate. Seriously, is it worth the hassle? Just rag the nuts off of the megane for a month. That's got to have some value! I can see your point, and previously I would have probably agreed. However the whole incident is hassle I could have done without. As a result of the damage I've had limited use of my car over the last month or so, and will be without it now until at least mid-January. My understanding is that insurance is there for such situations, and as such you should not loose out as a result of someone else's lack of observation on the road. jezzaaa said: Hi Jon - I certainly wouldn't be putting up with a Megane!! I know, but it was going to be a Fiesta originally. I told them they might like to reconsider that offer. I could push them, but providing I get Megane or bigger I'll survive, as because it's a hire car it'll be the fastest car in the world while I have it Jon.

The insurance company won't pay for a sports car now as you've already said you could manage with a smaller car. Otherwise, I could have given you a Boxster.

Good luck with the uninsured loss claim. Chances are they'll mess you around and certainly won't be falling over themselves to pay up, but everything you've mentioned I see no reason can't be recovered. A bit of pressure might be required.

Good luck.