Scraped in a car park

[john_p]

Woman in a Kia-MPV-thing scraped my rear arch and bumper while driving into a parking space next to my (parked) car. She was good enough to hang around and give me her details, and did not seem fussed about avoiding an insurance claim, so I will go that route (it's a Motability policy if that changes anything)

What's best to do now? The rear quarter is pushed in a bit and paint scraped off. I suspect a new rear quarter will write off the car (2000 E46 328) but I think the damage will repair OK.

Will RSA (her insurer) deal with me directly, provided she admits fault?

Or should I go entirely via my insurance co ? Not fussed about a courtesy car, provided it's a day repair..

Edited by john_p on Monday 4th July 11:16

[boobles]

Do not contact your insurance company unless she suddenly denies it.

I has simular experience & thought out of courtesy I would let my insurance company know. Biggest mistake I ever made because they tried putting my insurance up by £400 & said I had made a "non fault claim" Biggest load of bks I have ever encountered. Don't tell them, let her insurance deal with it.

[JonnyFive]

boobles said:

Do not contact your insurance company unless she suddenly denies it.

I has simular experience & thought out of courtesy I would let my insurance company know. Biggest mistake I ever made because they tried putting my insurance up by £400 & said I had made a "non fault claim" Biggest load of bks I have ever encountered. Don't tell them, let her insurance deal with it.

Yep, my insurance company loaded my policy when I had a no fault claim.

bds.

[john_p]

Hmm, I suspect I have an obligation to tell them .. plus they'll find out anyway .. but I do agree with the sentiment.

[boobles]

I am not sure if by law you have to tell them, perhaps somebody can clarify this?

If not, don't because you will regret it. I don't understand what right the insurance company has in putting the premium up if they didn't have to spend out. Biggest con ever.

[john_p]

boobles said:

I am not sure if by law you have to tell them, perhaps somebody can clarify this?

If not, don't because you will regret it. I don't understand what right the insurance company has in putting the premium up if they didn't have to spend out. Biggest con ever.

The general reason is "because you have been in an accident once you are statistically more likely to be involved in another". Ridiculous, I know. (Especially as I wasn't even in the car!)

That said, I don't know what the Nautically Named insurance company's policy is on such matters.. anyone know?

[kambites]

boobles said:

I has simular experience & thought out of courtesy I would let my insurance company know. Biggest mistake I ever made because they tried putting my insurance up by £400 & said I had made a "non fault claim" Biggest load of bks I have ever encountered. Don't tell them, let her insurance deal with it.

That's very odd. "Non-fault claim" usually means "claim on your insurance" not "claim on any insurance". They will still put your premium up for having had an accident, but you're legally obliged to tell them about that anyway.

[kambites]

john_p said:

The general reason is "because you have been in an accident once you are statistically more likely to be involved in another". Ridiculous, I know. (Especially as I wasn't even in the car!)

It's not ridiculous at all, even if you weren't in the car. If nothing else, it indicates that you tend to park in the kind of car parks where accidents of this nature happen.

I believe you only have to tell them if (1) it stipulates that you do in your policy or (2) they ask you. In my experience, (1) is always the case.

[wolfie1978]

john_p said:

The general reason is "because you have been in an accident once you are statistically more likely to be involved in another". Ridiculous, I know. (Especially as I wasn't even in the car!)

That said, I don't know what the Nautically Named insurance company's policy is on such matters.. anyone know?

The same as all the rest i would imagine, prepare the lube you're about to be shafted

[boobles]

kambites said:

boobles said:

I has simular experience & thought out of courtesy I would let my insurance company know. Biggest mistake I ever made because they tried putting my insurance up by £400 & said I had made a "non fault claim" Biggest load of bks I have ever encountered. Don't tell them, let her insurance deal with it.

That's very odd. "Non-fault claim" usually means "claim on your insurance" not "claim on any insurance". They will still put your premium up for having had an accident, but you're legally obliged to tell them about that anyway.

This is why I was confused. I had explained everything to them & told them that the other insurer was dealing with it etc yet they still insisted it was a "non fault claim" I changed insurer very quickly & got my premium down by another £300. It pays to shop around.

[kambites]

boobles said:

This is why I was confused. I had explained everything to them & told them that the other insurer was dealing with it etc yet they still insisted it was a "non fault claim" I changed insurer very quickly & got my premium down by another £300. It pays to shop around.

I'm not surprised you moved. When I had a non-fault accident my premium went up as you'd expect, but it wasn't classed as a claim.

[matt21]

if its just a scrape can you resolve outside the insurance?

[john_p]

kambites said:

It's not ridiculous at all, even if you weren't in the car. If nothing else, it indicates that you tend to park in the kind of car parks where accidents of this nature happen.

What, a supermarket car park ?

Why is it an 'accident' ?

Edited by john_p on Monday 4th July 12:10

[steve singh]

Someone damaged my car when parked - admitted liability - insurance claim went through fine.

Next 3 years my premium went up by £200 per annum over and above what the price would have been had my car not been damaged.

Apparently the fact my car was damaged, even without me in it, put me in a higher risk category.

[tim-b]

kambites said:

john_p said:

The general reason is "because you have been in an accident once you are statistically more likely to be involved in another". Ridiculous, I know. (Especially as I wasn't even in the car!)

It's not ridiculous at all, even if you weren't in the car. If nothing else, it indicates that you tend to park in the kind of car parks where accidents of this nature happen. ....

Yeah, like the time I was just asking to be rear-ended* at a junction by carelessly positioning my car in front of a dimwitted old lady...

And yes although she accepted fault and was insured, my premium went up due to the selective (mis)reading of statistics...

BTW kambites do you work for an insurance company? With that attitude maybe you should

.* no bum-sex jokes please

[zollburgers]

john_p said:

kambites said:

It's not ridiculous at all, even if you weren't in the car. If nothing else, it indicates that you tend to park in the kind of car parks where accidents of this nature happen.

What, a supermarket car park ?

Why is it an 'accident' ?

I park in supermarket carparks but I try and park away from the retards. If somebody repeatedly had non-fault claims then this would indicate they either park badly or park where all the idiots do.

Having said that though, if it is a non-fault accident then your own insurance company should claim for their time etc. so they are not left out of pocket and consequently have no reason to put your premium up.

[T16OLE]

I thought law was coming in to stop your premiums being increased if you involved in a non fault claim

[entwisi]

What statue is in law that defines how long a claim can last? Could it not be that you claim the increase in premiums over say the next 3 years as uninsured losses(based on no "fault claims" against you, could get complex if you have anumber of non faults but lets talk hypothetically for now)?

[Daston]

Can you not make a claim against the individual for being out of pocket due to increased premiums? I thought the whole idea of insurance was that a non fault accident should put the victim back to where they were before the accident ie not out of pocket and with the car as it was.

[john_p]

zollburgers said:

I park in supermarket carparks but I try and park away from the retards.

But this just isn't possible - they will come and find you eventually. And when you do, you'll be judged as a higher risk and pay higher premiums as a result. Even if you were half a mile away at the time..

Such is the law of insurance.