Hit during a police chase

[KamSandhu44]

Hi All,

MY car was hit during a police chase.

The car they where chasing was stolen.

I was stationary in a line of traffic.

I am not sure if it was the police car or the stolen car that hit me.

I am waiting for the police to view the dash footage from the police car and get back to us.

Am I right in thinking....

If the police car hit me I can claim of their insurance?

Or, if it was the stolen car, then there is no one to claim off (apart from my own insurance)?

The a$$ caused so much carnage, at least 15 cars were damaged.

[ikarl]

Logically that sounds about right to me unfortunately, if it was the police car they will get your car repaired, whereas if it was the stolen car you'll probably have to go through your own insurance.

However, I'm sure someone will come along soon to tell you something different.

[ZX10R NIN]

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

[KamSandhu44]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

I believe the thief was arrested.

Guess I will have to wait for the police to get back to me before taking it further.

[The Surveyor]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

That doesn't seem fair, what difference does it make to the insurance liability. Arrested or not, the car was still being driven without the owners consent and I'd hope that they would honour any 3rd party damage caused as a result of the theft regardless.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

The Surveyor said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

That doesn't seem fair, what difference does it make to the insurance liability. Arrested or not, the car was still being driven without the owners consent and I'd hope that they would honour any 3rd party damage caused as a result of the theft regardless.

I agree it doesn't seem fair. Or logical. But that's just the way it is.

It's not very fair on the owner of the stolen car either. He's done nothing wrong, and he has a possible tp claim against him on his insurance record.

Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Thursday 16th July 09:53

[Aretnap]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

Though you can claim off the MIB under the untraced drivers agreement, provided you can identify the car involved. By most accounts it's a slow process which might leave you wishing you'd just claimed off your own policy instead.

If neither the driver nor the car can be identified then you're left with claiming against your own policy - assuming you have comprehensive insurance.

[Aretnap]

The Surveyor said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

That doesn't seem fair, what difference does it make to the insurance liability.

It's because of the way the law is written. If you obtain a judgement against the driver then (in most cases) the insurer must cover that judgement - even if the driver was not covered by the policy (url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/151]link[/url]. But in order to get a judgement against the driver, you have to know who he is. You can't issue court proceedings against "that scrote who hit my car".

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Aretnap said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

ZX10R NIN said:

As long as the stolen car was insured you claim off of the stolen cars insurance if it was the Police then they'll pay for repairs.

Only if the thief was apprehended. If the thief got away, then you can't claim off the stolen car's insurance.

Though you can claim off the MIB under the untraced drivers agreement, provided you can identify the car involved. By most accounts it's a slow process which might leave you wishing you'd just claimed off your own policy instead.

If neither the driver nor the car can be identified then you're left with claiming against your own policy - assuming you have comprehensive insurance.

I thought you could only claim off the MIB if you had TP cover on your own car so weren't insured for the damage. If you have Comp, then I don't think you can claim off the MIB, as insurance is in place to cover the loss.

[KamSandhu44]

For anyone that is interested...

After speaking to my insurance company.

If the police admit liability, they will be paying for repairs.

If it turns out that it was the stolen car that hit me, then they will be chasing the cars insurer for liability.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

KamSandhu44 said:

For anyone that is interested...

If it turns out that it was the stolen car that hit me, then they will be chasing the cars insurer for liability.

Was the thief apprehended? If so, then that's the right answer. If not, then they can chase all they want. They won't get a bean.

[KamSandhu44]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Was the thief apprehended? If so, then that's the right answer. If not, then they can chase all they want. They won't get a bean.

Yes, he was arrested.

[Truffles]

"alleged" thief at this stage I assume.

[Retroman]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Was the thief apprehended? If so, then that's the right answer. If not, then they can chase all they want. They won't get a bean.

If you have a car which is insured and you let someone drive without insurance and they crash into another car, your insurance company would still pay out to the third party as the vehicle itself was insured.

What guideline / legislation negates this when the car is stolen?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Retroman said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Was the thief apprehended? If so, then that's the right answer. If not, then they can chase all they want. They won't get a bean.

If you have a car which is insured and you let someone drive without insurance and they crash into another car, your insurance company would still pay out to the third party as the vehicle itself was insured.

What guideline / legislation negates this when the car is stolen?

The insurance would pay out because if they didn't, you would sue the person who hit you, get judgement in your favour, and insurers of the car are obligated to pay. But if you don't know who the driver is, you can't sue anyone, so insurers don't have to pay.

Luckily OP has confirmed thief was caught so the car insurers will pay.

[Retroman]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

The insurance would pay out because if they didn't, you would sue the person who hit you, get judgement in your favour, and insurers of the car are obligated to pay. But if you don't know who the driver is, you can't sue anyone, so insurers don't have to pay.

Luckily OP has confirmed thief was caught so the car insurers will pay.

Got you, makes sense now.

[Sheepshanks]

I thought the Police's insurer always paid - even if the Police car wasn't involved in the actual contact.

I might be getting confused with the definition of a Police Accident (polacc) though.

[un1corn]

Won't the insurance company for the stolen vehicle refuse, on the basis that the vehicle was being driven by an uninsured driver?

[Sheepshanks]

un1corn said:

Won't the insurance company for the stolen vehicle refuse, on the basis that the vehicle was being driven by an uninsured driver?

Yes. Happened to my brother. His car was written off.

Apparently of there's a big personal injury claim then the MIB force the insurer to pay.