No Fault Insurance

[jacktoyou]

Hi Guys

Some advice needed

Sainsbury's delivery driver scraped the drivers side of my car yesterday, whilst it was parked outside my house. He left a note with his details and to call Sopp and Sopp (the fleet management company for Saisnbury's). I've called a claim and been advised someone will call me, they will handle all the repairs etc at no cost to me. So far that sounds all great.

1. I have been reading so many negative reviews on Sopp and Sopp with many folks saying to avoid like the plague. Anyone had any experience?
2. Do I need to tell my insurance company even though I am not making a claim through them?
3. Is it better to make a claim via my own insurers and for them to claim back from Sainsbury's?

Anyone had similar issues or experiences?

Thanks

[Baldchap]

Personally I would let my insurer know. That way they can drive the process, rather than the fleet company dictating to you what they want to do, which is almost certainly not in your best interests.

[vikingaero]

You need to make a choice now to either use Sopp or go via your own Insurer.

Technically you are meant to notify your Insurer of a claim even if Sopp handle the whole situation.

I can understand why Sopp are seeking to mitigate costs, but looking at their reviews they seem appalling, so if it were me, I would just go through my own Insurer.

[jacktoyou]

Thanks guys

I am thinking the same; go via my insurer. I just tried calling Sopp and beginning to understand why there are so many negative reviews. Passed from pillar to post. Now apparently I need to call Keogh's whoa re the claim handlers (even though the claim hasn't even been officially logged by the drivers side). Keogh's also have some terrible reviews.

I'll call my insurers today and let them handle it.

[ingenieur]

Worth pointing out you can find negative comments about any organisation. The larger they are the more likely as well. So be careful not to make a silly decision based just on what you've read. How many people would have Microsoft computers if they went by just the online comments about Microsoft... for instance.

[Bobton125]

Personally I’d avoid telling the insurance unless absolutely necessary. They’re not always a walk in a park too and even when it’s not your fault they still find any excuse to raise your premiums for the next few years..
I’d kee persuing them or even get a third party accident management involved if they keep passing from pillar to post

[Dingu]

Bobton125 said:

Personally I’d avoid telling the insurance unless absolutely necessary. They’re not always a walk in a park too and even when it’s not your fault they still find any excuse to raise your premiums for the next few years..
I’d kee persuing them or even get a third party accident management involved if they keep passing from pillar to post

Chances are he will have to notify his insurance at the next renewal anyway so your advice doesn’t really benefit him massively.

And the “any excuse” is hard statistical fact. You know, the same thing that makes what you pay relative peanuts.

[jacktoyou]

I decided to tell my insurance company as I would rather be above board than have something come back and bite me in the rear at a later stage.
That said, it was notification only (not that that means much in terms of increased premiums). Decided to have Sytner Drive manage this for me as I was going to get the work done from them anyway, regardless of what Sainsburys & Co. want.

Appreciate the advice and suggestions.

[_Hoppers]

jacktoyou said:

I decided to tell my insurance company as I would rather be above board than have something come back and bite me in the rear at a later stage.
That said, it was notification only (not that that means much in terms of increased premiums). Decided to have Sytner Drive manage this for me as I was going to get the work done from them anyway, regardless of what Sainsburys & Co. want.

Appreciate the advice and suggestions.

When a friend's neighbour scratched my bumper I let Vertu (BMW) deal with the claim and repair. I even got a Merc C220 courtesy car! I checked my insurance documents (as advised by PHs) and I only need to inform my insurer at next renewal.

[vikingaero]

One issue with using a third party insurer repairer is that you don't have a lot of come back if the repair is poor. You might be able to get them to re-repair or respray the work on first instance, but what if you find something a year down the line; for example a poor repair resulting in rust that is only spotted when your mechanic has the car on a lift.

At least if your own insurer (or their agent/bodyshop) carries out the repair there is a direct complaints procedure and most of them will fold before it hits the Ombudsman stage. Some Insurers also routinely offer 2 year warranty on repairs and a few will offer "lifetime" warranty on repairs (ie for your ownership).

[Tje]

From my experience of letting the third parties insurance sort it all out, never ever again.

If they do poor repairs you have much less to work with.

I had a c30 that had a bump to the side. The car was back, and refused multiple times over 9 months. In the end they paid me to go else where. Not worth the stress.

[jamieduff1981]

You've done the right thing. It's the height of folly to conceal this from your own insurer, not least because car insurance is based upon trust and you have agreed under the terms and conditions of the policy to make them aware of any incident like this.

Providing they're able to recover their costs from the 3rd party you've little to fear in the grand scheme of things. Worst case scenario is a non-fault / fully recovered claim adds a couple of quid next year - although in my experience any such difference is lost in the noise of annual market conditions changes. In the mean time though, your interests are protected and you are completely above board. As someone said above, it's not over until your car is repaired to a standard you're happy with and having the weight of your insurer onside to back you up is helpful.