Non fault accident advice

[T-J-C]

Hi all,

I was recently in an accident. It was not my fault, however the other driver seems to think otherwise. I have informed my insurance at this stage for information purposes. I had a call back from Kindertons, which is apparently the company that operates on behalf of my insurance company.

Having looked online and had advice from a solicitor friend, I'm concerned that this claims management company may not act in my best interests. They seem to be interested in pushing for credit hire cars etc.

Would I be ok using them or should I look for someone else? The fact they are appointed by my insurance surely means they should be pretty good but I've heard of horror stories of innocent parties having to settle for 50/50 etc as the companies can't be bothered to pursue properly. Are there any firms that are particularly recommended?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

T-J-C said:

but I've heard of horror stories of innocent parties having to settle for 50/50 etc as the companies can't be bothered to pursue properly.

It's often not so much that they can't be bothered, but that with 2 differing accounts and no independent witnesses, it's not always possible to settle in any other way. You expect your insure to believe your account, so the tp insurer will believe their client's version, even if he's is lying to his insurer.

Also, very often genuine accounts of what happened can differ greatly, with both parties recalling the incident differently. See Rashomon effect.

[Dashnine]

As above, so therefore avoid any costs (hire cars, etc.) that potentially you could end up paying for in a ‘knock for knock’ type settlement between the insurance companies.

[jondude]

Agree with above, your company will just consider the chances of them winning a full or partial payout, then weigh up which is most cost-effective. The only way you 'win' is if blame is clear and indisputable.

The only area the other person can safely be said to be wrong is if he drove into the back of you. Many drivers feel it is the fault of the car that suddenly stopped.

If your situation is based on lane changes, swerving or roundabouts but no footage or independent witnesses....well it ain't gonna be easy to get past 50-50 if he/she disputes your version.

[vonhosen]

jondude said:

The only area the other person can safely be said to be wrong is if he drove into the back of you. Many drivers feel it is the fault of the car that suddenly stopped.

And not always then.
ie Crash for cash.

[Aretnap]

Dashnine said:

As above, so therefore avoid any costs (hire cars, etc.) that potentially you could end up paying for in a ‘knock for knock’ type settlement between the insurance companies.

"Knock for knock" settlements have not been a thing in UK car insurance since the knock for knock agreements between insurance companies collapsed in the early 1990s.

In the event that the accident management company cannot make a full recovery of costs from the third party insurer, the credit hire agreement will nearly always be set up so that the customer does not end up paying for the hire car himself. Either by including a "free" insurance policy that will pay the hire fee if it cannot be recovered, or by adding a clause to the hire agreement limiting the customer's liability to the third party's liability.

The only common exceptions are if the customer misleads the accident management company about the circumstances of the accident, or if he refuses to assist them in pursuing the third party for their costs, eg by signing claims forms, or giving evidence in court if necessary. Assuming the OP doesn't plan to do either of those things, there is no risk to him in accepting a hire car if it is offered, whatever the insurance companies ultimately agree.

[martinbiz]

OP I really wouldn't get to hung up about it, its just an accident if they go 50/50 so what, yes it may annoy you if you feel you were completely innocent, but it happens all the time where there are only the drivers accounts to go by and no other witness's, I'm not sure I'd go quite as far as classing it as a horror story. Let your ins co deal with it, that's what you pay them for and ignore people who will tell you your premiums will quadruple for the next 20 years, they wont. Chill and move on

[jondude]

vonhosen said:

jondude said:

The only area the other person can safely be said to be wrong is if he drove into the back of you. Many drivers feel it is the fault of the car that suddenly stopped.

And not always then.
ie Crash for cash.

Ah yes, fair point.

Although I imagine they are hugely frustrating and likewise hard to prove without footage or witnesses?

[paintman]

T-J-C said:

Hi all,

I was recently in an accident. It was not my fault, however the other driver seems to think otherwise. I have informed my insurance at this stage for information purposes. I had a call back from Kindertons, which is apparently the company that operates on behalf of my insurance company.

Having looked online and had advice from a solicitor friend, I'm concerned that this claims management company may not act in my best interests. They seem to be interested in pushing for credit hire cars etc.

Would I be ok using them or should I look for someone else? The fact they are appointed by my insurance surely means they should be pretty good but I've heard of horror stories of innocent parties having to settle for 50/50 etc as the companies can't be bothered to pursue properly. Are there any firms that are particularly recommended?

Are there any independent witnesses or other means of establishing what actually happened such as camera footage of the incident?

If not then you're both saying 'It was the other driver's fault'. And who is correct?

Edited by paintman on Saturday 9th October 22:10

[BertBert]

What's your plan OP if you are not going to claim from your insurance company and the other guy denies liability?