Car insurance accident query...
Car insurance accident query...
Author
Discussion

CubanPete

Original Poster:

3,806 posts

218 months

Wednesday 27th December 2017
quotequote all
Friend of mines car was crashed into whilst parked outside her home.

The insurance details she has been given are apparently a bit sketchy, though she does have a photo and the number plate.

Her insurers have said they can't do anything without knowing who was driving as the other cars policy has more than one driver.?

I have said they are giving her a line, and to get back onto them, and on to the police and get the photo circulated.

Any other thoughts?

Cheers CP



(She is a lawyer...!)

SydneyBridge

11,788 posts

188 months

Wednesday 27th December 2017
quotequote all
She should report it to the police if not done so already
get the insurance details herself (easy to do an online MID check) and call the defendant's insurers herself- see if they have reported it

I don't see that it matters who was driving as long as the insurance covers the vehicle- sounds like a big fob off from her insurers

xjay1337

15,966 posts

148 months

Wednesday 27th December 2017
quotequote all
SydneyBridge said:
She should report it to the police if not done so already
get the insurance details herself (easy to do an online MID check) and call the defendant's insurers herself- see if they have reported it

I don't see that it matters who was driving as long as the insurance covers the vehicle- sounds like a big fob off from her insurers
Correct.

If any doubt it'll be chalked up against the main policy holder.

anniesdad

14,589 posts

268 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
CubanPete said:
Friend of mines car was crashed into whilst parked outside her home.

The insurance details she has been given are apparently a bit sketchy, though she does have a photo and the number plate.

Her insurers have said they can't do anything without knowing who was driving as the other cars policy has more than one driver.?

I have said they are giving her a line, and to get back onto them, and on to the police and get the photo circulated.

Any other thoughts?

Cheers CP



(She is a lawyer...!)
Hi OP, when you say "Her insurers have said they can't do anything..." do you mean by that that they won't pay for the repairs to your friends car? Or do you mean that they will repair the car but don't expect to get their money back?

I'm assuming she is comprehensively covered?


ralphrj

4,090 posts

221 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
SydneyBridge said:
I don't see that it matters who was driving as long as the insurance covers the vehicle- sounds like a big fob off from her insurers
Are you sure about that? When I buy insurance it covers my vehicle when it is driven by the people named on the policy not any driver.

If the injured party can identify the vehicle but the driver is untraced then a claim for property damage can be made to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).

Assuming that the injured party has comprehensive insurance then they should claim on their own policy and their insurer will recover their costs from the MIB. Once their insurer has been reimbursed they will reinstate the injured party's no-claims bonus and cancel any premium increase.

Details of how to make a claim from MIB

Edited by ralphrj on Thursday 4th January 19:42

No ideas for a name

3,255 posts

116 months

Thursday 4th January 2018
quotequote all
ralphrj said:
If the injured party can identify the vehicle but the driver is untraced then a claim for property damage can be made to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).
I thought that the MIB only covered claims when the vehicle had NO insurance. If the vehicle IS insured, then it is down to the insurer of that vehicle to deal with... It would be for them to claim back from their own policyholder if the driver had no insurance.

I reserve the right to be wrong on this point though.

ralphrj

4,090 posts

221 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
No ideas for a name said:
I thought that the MIB only covered claims when the vehicle had NO insurance. If the vehicle IS insured, then it is down to the insurer of that vehicle to deal with... It would be for them to claim back from their own policyholder if the driver had no insurance.

I reserve the right to be wrong on this point though.
Not according to the MIB unless I have misinterpreted the information on their website.

Damage caused by someone with no insurance = Claim for property damage on your own policy but claim personal injury costs from MIB.

Damage caused by unknown driver = Claim for property damage on your own policy but your insurer recover from MIB.


For example:

I take my car to a garage with a problem. An employee of the garage takes the car for a road test. The employee hits another vehicle with my car but does not stop to exchange details. A witness gives the 3rd party the vehicle registration.

My insurance would not be liable for the damage to the 3rd party as it covers damage caused when the vehicle is driven by me or any other named driver on the policy. The garage would be liable for the actions of their employee.



bradjsmith88

117 posts

158 months

Friday 5th January 2018
quotequote all
She isn't a great lawyer to be recommended then.

Section 151 of the RTA states an insurer must pay if:

it is a liability, other than an excluded liability, which would be so covered if the policy insured all persons or, as the case may be, the security covered the liability of all persons, and the judgment is obtained against any person other than one who is insured by the policy or, as the case may be, whose liability is covered by the security.

So it doesn't matter who the driver is, as long as they are an identified person.

Her insurer are probably saying that they won't waive her excess and she will have to use the terms of her comprehensive (assumption) policy to claim.

If the driver is unidentified (i.e. stolen car) then she can still claim from her comp policy - but her NCB may be impacted as insurer cannot claim money from MIB under their articles of association (namely article 75).

She can however claim her uninsured losses (i.e. excess) from the MIB.