Accident - how to force other party to accept liability?
Discussion
Hi guys, could use some advice...
I park my car on the street and one day in June I found it with extensive damage to all panels on one side. There was a note from someone who turned out to be a witness, not the driver who caused the damage. The witness had taken pictures of the vehicle who had scraped mine (a lorry) and noted down the reg. I filed a police report (police came back saying they do not consider worth pursuing the case themselves) and reported it to my insurance company (Admiral). I took it in for an estimate which came out to approximately £2,800. I have a large excess (£1,250) and since the damage was cosmetic only (door opens fine, car is perfectly driveable) I opted to wait until the other party accepted liability before going ahead with the repair to avoid paying the excess, lowering my NCB and increasing my premiums.
My insurance contacted their insurance, which found the owners but unfortunately *four months later* all they can get from the other insurance company is that they are still "investigating", i.e. they will neither accept nor deny liability. Obviously stonewalling, which is particularly infuriating as this is a company-owned commercial vehicle that's probably part of some package insurance deal which will cost them almost nothing to claim on.
Now, Admiral tell me that the only way they will pursue the matter legally (I have legal cover) is if I claim on my insurance and pay the excess, after which they will try to reclaim both my excess and their cost, however they cannot guarantee that they will so I am very wary of going down this route. I fully expect Admiral to pocket my excess, consider it's not worth litigating for ~£1,500 and I'm left out of pocket for both the excess and the increased premiums over the next few years.
Which would you recommend:
1. I claim on my insurance and hope Admiral recover my excess
2. I start legal proceedings on my own before claiming
3. I just sort out the damage on my own since I can probably get a lower quote from a different shop that will probably be the same if not cheaper than paying £1,250+increased premiums for 2-3 years
4. Something else I haven't thought of
I park my car on the street and one day in June I found it with extensive damage to all panels on one side. There was a note from someone who turned out to be a witness, not the driver who caused the damage. The witness had taken pictures of the vehicle who had scraped mine (a lorry) and noted down the reg. I filed a police report (police came back saying they do not consider worth pursuing the case themselves) and reported it to my insurance company (Admiral). I took it in for an estimate which came out to approximately £2,800. I have a large excess (£1,250) and since the damage was cosmetic only (door opens fine, car is perfectly driveable) I opted to wait until the other party accepted liability before going ahead with the repair to avoid paying the excess, lowering my NCB and increasing my premiums.
My insurance contacted their insurance, which found the owners but unfortunately *four months later* all they can get from the other insurance company is that they are still "investigating", i.e. they will neither accept nor deny liability. Obviously stonewalling, which is particularly infuriating as this is a company-owned commercial vehicle that's probably part of some package insurance deal which will cost them almost nothing to claim on.
Now, Admiral tell me that the only way they will pursue the matter legally (I have legal cover) is if I claim on my insurance and pay the excess, after which they will try to reclaim both my excess and their cost, however they cannot guarantee that they will so I am very wary of going down this route. I fully expect Admiral to pocket my excess, consider it's not worth litigating for ~£1,500 and I'm left out of pocket for both the excess and the increased premiums over the next few years.
Which would you recommend:
1. I claim on my insurance and hope Admiral recover my excess
2. I start legal proceedings on my own before claiming
3. I just sort out the damage on my own since I can probably get a lower quote from a different shop that will probably be the same if not cheaper than paying £1,250+increased premiums for 2-3 years
4. Something else I haven't thought of
Small claims against the driver would probably be your best bet. Once the judgment is made they or their insurers will need to pay you. You shouln't need to go through your insurance unless you want to.
Remember the person who hit you is liable, the insurance company just pay out for their liability.
Remember the person who hit you is liable, the insurance company just pay out for their liability.
I was with Admiral when my previous car got bumped but the steps I think are similar to what Admiral have advised.
I had to arrange repair with Admiral, pay excess on collection, then wait whilst Albany/Admiral had the third party admit liability. Then I got my excess back and the world when back to normal.
Took about 10 months, which isn't uncommon in the world of Insurance I'm told.
But you'll get your car fixed and they'll do the donkey work for you. You'll have to chase - and chase and chase and chase and chase and chase - and eventually you'll get your money back, but at least you are dealing with the insurer, and not an individual.
Just my two pence worth.
I had to arrange repair with Admiral, pay excess on collection, then wait whilst Albany/Admiral had the third party admit liability. Then I got my excess back and the world when back to normal.
Took about 10 months, which isn't uncommon in the world of Insurance I'm told.
But you'll get your car fixed and they'll do the donkey work for you. You'll have to chase - and chase and chase and chase and chase and chase - and eventually you'll get your money back, but at least you are dealing with the insurer, and not an individual.
Just my two pence worth.
the Admiral legal cover is entirely on their terms. You cannot force them to litigate. I had an open and shut case (someone drove into my car while it was parked on my driveway). September they finally moved to litigate, the other side accepted liability straight away.
That was over a month ago (accident over a year ago), still waiting on the cheque...
No claims reinstatement and policy refund was not automatic either.
That was over a month ago (accident over a year ago), still waiting on the cheque...
No claims reinstatement and policy refund was not automatic either.
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