the wife's crashed the car - help - what to do?
Discussion
the wife had a bit of a bump yesterday in the car, and we have never had an accident before so arent sure what to do.
the car in front of her stopped suddenly, no brake lights.(said it stalled). she ran in the back of him. she was then hit from behind by another car. ambulance called, police arrive and swap details for us. i arrived and we went straight to hospital in ambulance.
not sure what to do now - phoned the guy in the front car who my wife hit. he admitted it stalled, and said he was happy not to go through the insurance as damage to his car was minimal and the front of our car just has a broken headlight.
the car who hit the back of ours has minimal damage, but the back of our car is badly damaged ( boot floor creased, bumper damaged etc). i spoke to the driver of the car and she is sorting insurance details out for us.
however, the car is only worth £500 or so, and the excess is £350 so if we go through our insurance, will i have to pay excess and then claim it back?, or can i just go straight to her insurance company, as it wasnt her fault?
any help appreciated, as ive just had to buy another car today, and cant afford to shell out for the excess unless unless i have to. also, can i swap the insurance onto the new car whilst a claim is still in progress??
cheers in advance. i just dont know what to do.
the car in front of her stopped suddenly, no brake lights.(said it stalled). she ran in the back of him. she was then hit from behind by another car. ambulance called, police arrive and swap details for us. i arrived and we went straight to hospital in ambulance.
not sure what to do now - phoned the guy in the front car who my wife hit. he admitted it stalled, and said he was happy not to go through the insurance as damage to his car was minimal and the front of our car just has a broken headlight.
the car who hit the back of ours has minimal damage, but the back of our car is badly damaged ( boot floor creased, bumper damaged etc). i spoke to the driver of the car and she is sorting insurance details out for us.
however, the car is only worth £500 or so, and the excess is £350 so if we go through our insurance, will i have to pay excess and then claim it back?, or can i just go straight to her insurance company, as it wasnt her fault?
any help appreciated, as ive just had to buy another car today, and cant afford to shell out for the excess unless unless i have to. also, can i swap the insurance onto the new car whilst a claim is still in progress??
cheers in advance. i just dont know what to do.
You are responsible for the damage to the car driven into, claiming for that will lose any no claims bonus you may have.
The driver that collided with the rear of your car is responsible for that and claiming will not be detrimental to your NCB. If the car cannot be legally used you may also be able to claim the cost of hiring a car whilst the claim/damage is sorted out.
If you insure through a broker he should sort it all out for you
The driver that collided with the rear of your car is responsible for that and claiming will not be detrimental to your NCB. If the car cannot be legally used you may also be able to claim the cost of hiring a car whilst the claim/damage is sorted out.
If you insure through a broker he should sort it all out for you
Get on to the insurerer's claims line ASAP as more than likely then bloke at the front of the queue will be claiming against your wife. She in turn has a claim against the bloke who shunted her.
The RAC have an accident help line for members, may be the AA do too.
And don't post anything incriminating on public forums. You don't know who might read it.
The RAC have an accident help line for members, may be the AA do too.
And don't post anything incriminating on public forums. You don't know who might read it.
gtitim said:
the wife had a bit of a bump yesterday in the car, and we have never had an accident before so arent sure what to do.
the car in front of her stopped suddenly, no brake lights.(said it stalled). she ran in the back of him. she was then hit from behind by another car. ambulance called, police arrive and swap details for us. i arrived and we went straight to hospital in ambulance.
not sure what to do now - phoned the guy in the front car who my wife hit. he admitted it stalled, and said he was happy not to go through the insurance as damage to his car was minimal and the front of our car just has a broken headlight.
the car who hit the back of ours has minimal damage, but the back of our car is badly damaged ( boot floor creased, bumper damaged etc). i spoke to the driver of the car and she is sorting insurance details out for us.
however, the car is only worth £500 or so, and the excess is £350 so if we go through our insurance, will i have to pay excess and then claim it back?, or can i just go straight to her insurance company, as it wasnt her fault?
any help appreciated, as ive just had to buy another car today, and cant afford to shell out for the excess unless unless i have to. also, can i swap the insurance onto the new car whilst a claim is still in progress??
cheers in advance. i just dont know what to do.
Don't believe the person in front when they say they won't claim against you...they might get home or to the body shop and learn (as I did on one occasion) that there's loads of stuff underneath that needs changing even though the outside looks ok. the car in front of her stopped suddenly, no brake lights.(said it stalled). she ran in the back of him. she was then hit from behind by another car. ambulance called, police arrive and swap details for us. i arrived and we went straight to hospital in ambulance.
not sure what to do now - phoned the guy in the front car who my wife hit. he admitted it stalled, and said he was happy not to go through the insurance as damage to his car was minimal and the front of our car just has a broken headlight.
the car who hit the back of ours has minimal damage, but the back of our car is badly damaged ( boot floor creased, bumper damaged etc). i spoke to the driver of the car and she is sorting insurance details out for us.
however, the car is only worth £500 or so, and the excess is £350 so if we go through our insurance, will i have to pay excess and then claim it back?, or can i just go straight to her insurance company, as it wasnt her fault?
any help appreciated, as ive just had to buy another car today, and cant afford to shell out for the excess unless unless i have to. also, can i swap the insurance onto the new car whilst a claim is still in progress??
cheers in advance. i just dont know what to do.
I have done "off the books" repairs when I have shunted someone before but I wouldnt recommend it with 3 cars involved, could get complicated.
Best bet is to claim on your insurance, pay the excess, and suck up the increased premiums for the next few years. It might cost that bit more but its peace of mind, and thats what you have it for anyway!
Best bet is to claim on your insurance, pay the excess, and suck up the increased premiums for the next few years. It might cost that bit more but its peace of mind, and thats what you have it for anyway!
Not saying this applies in this case (maybe I read too much)but what described is a typical scam operated by some of our immigrants etc. Front car stops without warning causing accident and third car runs into rear of no 2. Big Insurance claims follow from 1 and 3.
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dvd
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dvd
Edited by Dwight VanDriver on Monday 30th July 07:40
jezzaaa said:
Don't believe the person in front when they say they won't claim against you...they might get home or to the body shop and learn (as I did on one occasion) that there's loads of stuff underneath that needs changing even though the outside looks ok.
And don't assume that they will tell the truth if there's £4k of whiplash holiday to be claimed. MRS Alison C , Employee of Tesco knows what I'm talking about. Admits fault at the scene, says she's not hurt only shocked, but three days later she's lying through her slimmy teeth.
jacko lah said:
jezzaaa said:
Don't believe the person in front when they say they won't claim against you...they might get home or to the body shop and learn (as I did on one occasion) that there's loads of stuff underneath that needs changing even though the outside looks ok.
And don't assume that they will tell the truth if there's £4k of whiplash holiday to be claimed. MRS Alison C , Employee of Tesco knows what I'm talking about. Admits fault at the scene, says she's not hurt only shocked, but three days later she's lying through her slimmy teeth.
neither driver was an immigrant - i was more suprised than anyone. on hold with my insurance company now. going to let them sort it all out, but we wont get a courtesy car which is a pain. wife has sore neck today and backache which she says is due to pregnancy but i dont remember her having it friday. going to play it by ear and make sure shes ok before deciding what to claim for.
Robin Hood said:
You are responsible for the damage to the car driven into, claiming for that will lose any no claims bonus you may have.
The driver that collided with the rear of your car is responsible for that and claiming will not be detrimental to your NCB. If the car cannot be legally used you may also be able to claim the cost of hiring a car whilst the claim/damage is sorted out.
If you insure through a broker he should sort it all out for you
I'm afraid that doesn't apply in this case.The driver that collided with the rear of your car is responsible for that and claiming will not be detrimental to your NCB. If the car cannot be legally used you may also be able to claim the cost of hiring a car whilst the claim/damage is sorted out.
If you insure through a broker he should sort it all out for you
If the car in front has no brake lights he is guilty of at least a Constructions and Use offence and is clearly responsible for the accident.
Just try following a vehicle that has no brake lights and it will become crystal clear to you how difficult, if not impossible, it is to realise it is stopped or slowing.
Make sure all insurance parties are fully aware of the brake light problem and stick to your guns. Don not accept liability for this one.
jacko lah said:
MRS Alison C , Employee of Tesco knows what I'm talking about. Admits fault at the scene, says she's not hurt only shocked, but three days later she's lying through her slimmy teeth.
Had a similar situation, I stopped (parked on roadside) behind another parked car, the lady driver then put into reverse and hit the front of my car. She admitted fault, apologised etc then the next day (probably after speaking to husband/insurance co) claimed that I had run into her and that it was my fault and was going to claim for all sorts of damage, injury etc. Luckily for me there were 2 witnesses that corroborated my story and it all ended OK.
Good Luck & Beware.......
Sooooo, I know how some people would state the case:
Car in front stops suddenly. For whatever reason.
Middle car is driving sensibly, just about , and stops just in the nick of time. almost bumper to bumper with the car in front. But not actually touching because enough gap was left when driving.
Then suddenly and immediately, the 3rd car which wasn't leaving enough space, plough into the back of car two, shunting it into the rear of car 1.
All the blame falls on driver of car 3..............
edit for tpyos!
Car in front stops suddenly. For whatever reason.
Middle car is driving sensibly, just about , and stops just in the nick of time. almost bumper to bumper with the car in front. But not actually touching because enough gap was left when driving.
Then suddenly and immediately, the 3rd car which wasn't leaving enough space, plough into the back of car two, shunting it into the rear of car 1.
All the blame falls on driver of car 3..............
edit for tpyos!
Edited by $lowpoke on Monday 30th July 14:34
cheers for all the advice, appreciate it. its now in the hands of the insurers, they collect the car in the morning. explained exactly what happened, they recorderd that the car in front admitted stalling (stopping with no brake lights), insurance were fine, said they wont worry about it unless they receive notice of a claim from him. cant have a courtesy car, as its likely to be a total loss claim.
to top it all off, the wife has now been signed off work, due to neck and back pains, and shock as shes 6mths pregnant. shall now be pursuing for loss of earnings etc as we could do without the loss of income etc.
to top it all off, the wife has now been signed off work, due to neck and back pains, and shock as shes 6mths pregnant. shall now be pursuing for loss of earnings etc as we could do without the loss of income etc.
I hope the wife is OK. Someone ran into the back of Mrs Big Dunc when she was 6 months gone. ( Taking her boss's car to the garage to get some other damage sorted, just to complicate things ). She had lots of aches & pains for a week ( as well as a distressed baby ) but it all turned out OK.
I am sure you have done this, but make sure your wife gets a good check up at her maternity unit just to be safe.
I am sure you have done this, but make sure your wife gets a good check up at her maternity unit just to be safe.
Dwight VanDriver said:
Not saying this applies in this case (maybe I read too much)but what described is a typical scam operated by some of our immigrants etc. Front car stops without warning causing accident and third car runs into rear of no 2. Big Insurance claims follow from 1 and 3.
?
dvd
Why would 3 be able to claim if they went into the back of 2??
dvd
Edited by Dwight VanDriver on Monday 30th July 07:40
A dishonest 2 could of blamed 3 for the entire accident
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