Insurance claim
Discussion
Firstly apologies for posting such a numpty question.
My OH was involved in a minor shunt at the weekend. Minor damage to her car and the other driver has admitted responsibility. He initially said he would pay for the damage in cash without involving his insurance but an estimate has revealed the cost to be higher than he expected so he is going down the insurance route.
My question is, does my OH have to involve her insurance company? My view is that she does. They will then organise her repairs, courtesy car, etc and then claim the cost of this from the other driver's insurance. But she has been told but other people that as the other driver has admitted responsibility it's for his insurance company to sort out completely.
Thanks.
My OH was involved in a minor shunt at the weekend. Minor damage to her car and the other driver has admitted responsibility. He initially said he would pay for the damage in cash without involving his insurance but an estimate has revealed the cost to be higher than he expected so he is going down the insurance route.
My question is, does my OH have to involve her insurance company? My view is that she does. They will then organise her repairs, courtesy car, etc and then claim the cost of this from the other driver's insurance. But she has been told but other people that as the other driver has admitted responsibility it's for his insurance company to sort out completely.
Thanks.
Your OH will need to phone her insurers and report the accident. Give them the 3rd parties details over the phone, and the claim will be set in motion.
They will then send out a claim form for her to fill in and send back - details of the bump etc.
Then in about 48hours she will start getting text messages, emails and recorded messages on your home phone telling her she's entitled to £3k in compo.
They will then send out a claim form for her to fill in and send back - details of the bump etc.
Then in about 48hours she will start getting text messages, emails and recorded messages on your home phone telling her she's entitled to £3k in compo.
Humpy D said:
My question is, does my OH have to involve her insurance company?
No she doesn't have to involve her insurance company, if the other company is contacting you and doing everything you need to get the car back to pre-incident condition and not inconveniencing your other half.She does have to inform them of a non-fault incident though, certainly at renewal time, and possibly before then, i.e now.
She should inform them but thats all.
If she claims through them they will treat it as they would any fault claim. They'll remove her NCB, they'll give her a 1 litre Aygo courtesy car, etc etc. Then afterwards they'll recover the cost from the third party insurer, reinstate her NCB and it'll go down as a non-fault claim but can you really be bothered with that?
Go through his insurer if they are prepared to help.
If she claims through them they will treat it as they would any fault claim. They'll remove her NCB, they'll give her a 1 litre Aygo courtesy car, etc etc. Then afterwards they'll recover the cost from the third party insurer, reinstate her NCB and it'll go down as a non-fault claim but can you really be bothered with that?
Go through his insurer if they are prepared to help.
Whilst not the easiest route, when this happened to me, I dealt with the other parties insurance directly.
This has the advantages:
- you are an injured party and have clear rights in law to be put back into an equivalent condition
- you are in control - YOU decide if it goes knock-for-knock etc, not your insurance company
- you don't have to worry about the T&C you signed - as you would when you deal with your own insurance company.
One benefit I discovered, is that if your own insurance company decide to right off your vehicle, they usually take ownership of the vehicle. This is legal because you have signed a contract with them, which states it. If your car is an insurance right off, a third party insurance company have no right to take your car.
Easiest route (assuming fully comp) is to claim on your insurance and get them to sort it.
As stated previously - you MUST tell your insurance ompany - they will know anyway, and failure to disclose......
This has the advantages:
- you are an injured party and have clear rights in law to be put back into an equivalent condition
- you are in control - YOU decide if it goes knock-for-knock etc, not your insurance company
- you don't have to worry about the T&C you signed - as you would when you deal with your own insurance company.
One benefit I discovered, is that if your own insurance company decide to right off your vehicle, they usually take ownership of the vehicle. This is legal because you have signed a contract with them, which states it. If your car is an insurance right off, a third party insurance company have no right to take your car.
Easiest route (assuming fully comp) is to claim on your insurance and get them to sort it.
As stated previously - you MUST tell your insurance ompany - they will know anyway, and failure to disclose......
I had a similar incident.
I used a management accident company because they agreed to give me a new courtesy car straight away (it's essential I'm on the road ASAP) and also because I would get a better courtesy car. At the time, I had an Octavia, and had gone through my insurance company, would have been given something equivalent to a corsa, which is not big enough (despite my numerous complaints!)
In the case above, you do have to tell your insurance company that you have been involved in an accident, but that you will be using a different company to settle the claim as it was the other parties fault.
In any case, you always have to tell the insurers that you have had an accident, because it will go onto a database anyway, so if you're invovled in another and you don't tell them about this one, they can refuse to pay out.
I used a management accident company because they agreed to give me a new courtesy car straight away (it's essential I'm on the road ASAP) and also because I would get a better courtesy car. At the time, I had an Octavia, and had gone through my insurance company, would have been given something equivalent to a corsa, which is not big enough (despite my numerous complaints!)
In the case above, you do have to tell your insurance company that you have been involved in an accident, but that you will be using a different company to settle the claim as it was the other parties fault.
In any case, you always have to tell the insurers that you have had an accident, because it will go onto a database anyway, so if you're invovled in another and you don't tell them about this one, they can refuse to pay out.
I would try and find another garage and see if it can be done cheaper. Wouldn't fancy getting a quote next year and you will have to declare it for 5 years. It's bullocks but that's the truth, I would deal with this in private if possible
Edited by frosted on Monday 13th August 14:07
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