Should I claim?

[Poko]

Hi all,

I was crashed into earlier today and I'm not sure whether I should claim as the damages on my car only appear to be circa £250 and wondered what the wise strangers of the internet would recommend.

Background on what happened; coming out of a blind countryside corner, I had a car in the wrong lane coming at me.. The elderly lady behind the wheel was not looking at the road and was looking behind her as it seems the previous car had hit her wing mirror. Tried to stop and veer to the side, but it was too late and we hit with my car veering up the side.

Damage to my car consists of scratches to front wing, door and rear wing.. Wing mirror completely destroyed and the tracking is out.. But doesn't appear to be any damage to the wishbone etc. Now, I'm not too bothered about the scratches on the wings as they're enough to buff out with some small dents, I'm ok with that. So a used door at £100, wing mirror and alignment doesn't add up to much.. But it does still out me out of pocket.

I have a witness that saw the car on my side of the road (I actually think it may be the car that hit her wing mirror tbh, but she gave me her contact details and then drove off) and I have another witness that can confirm the other driver saying she was looking behind her and not on the road.

Although it was entirely her fault, I know these things have a horrible way of biting back and affecting my NCB, excess, future insurance etc etc. I havnt actually contacted either insurer yet, but I think I'll call hers in the morning - am I even required to tell my own?

The biggest kicker - the car was just fitted and mapped with a turbo just 10 minutes before she hit me. Insurance was only renewed on Tuesday and they are aware of the modifications etc

[Ekona]

Honestly? I'm not sure I'd bother.

It's a crappy situation, and I feel massively sorry for you considering it's not remotely your fault, but if this went to the end conclusion of court I reckon it'd go 50/50 and then you're really out of pocket.

Did she admit liability?

[Poko]

That's my thought too.. for a couple hundred quid I can save myself the huge headache these things bring. My fear is that she claims on me and gives me a headache anyway.

She didn't accept liability, but she did admit to not looking at the road at all..

[ging84]

your insurance T&Cs will say that you do have to inform them right away, if it was the sort of claim that you would still choose to claim off your insurer if the 3rd party denied liability or turned out not to be insured i would let them know, but if it was the sort where you'd just leave then i wouldn't tell them except at renewal, but insurers are well known for going out into the street and dancing and chanting terms and conditions terms and conditions when it later turns out your broke a seemingly trivial rule unrelated to the current issue so be prepared for that.

[LoonR1]

There's an independent witness so all this talk of 50/50 is bks. If you want to claim then claim, if you don't, then don't. You'll probably find £250 is below your excess anyway so your insurer won't be covering the outlay.

Not sure I believe this story either. Too many moving parts to it and throwaway comments that are critical.

Edited by LoonR1 on Tuesday 12th August 08:27

[With these feet]

When you look into the costs properly it will be much more than a few £100.

I got tapped in the rear turning into a junction off a main road. Scraped a wheel and small amount of bumper damage.
Guy wanted to pay outside of insurance - I said £350 to which he said no I will pay £200.

Told him my way or highway, took it to a bodyshop and the quote was over £700.

Either theres more to the story or you dont mind spending money where its someone elses fault.

So the old lady had already lost a mirror off one car, then hit you? 2 accidents one after the other? Bad luck or should she be driving!

[Mr2Mike]

LoonR1 said:

There's an independent witness so all this talk of 50/50 is bks. If you want to claim then claim, if you don't, then don't. You'll probably find £250 is below your excess anyway so your insurer won't be covering the outlay.

Surely he'd be claiming from the third parties insurance so his excess is irrelevant?

[Poko]

Thanks for your comments.

My initial thought was that it was such a small amount that I'd pay the £x it came to and put it behind me.. Paying for someone else's mistake yes, but ignoring the headache.

I've been on the phone to my insurance co this morning and they've contacted the witness I have who back my story up and therefore they will be claiming from the other party.
I've never claimed before and am 22, with 4 precious NCB and already have high insurance costs - Which is why I was hesitant on the problems in the future this'll cause me.. But after sleeping on it, but thoughts are f*** it, I wasn't at all at fault and it's what I have insurance for so we'll see how it goes.

[LoonR1]

Mr2Mike said:

Surely he'd be claiming from the third parties insurance so his excess is irrelevant?

He will, but as you see he's doing it via his insurer rather than directly from the TPI. His insurer would probably have advised him to go directly to the TPI were it not for the witness, as they don't want to get involved in claims where they will have no outlay.