Car hit whilst parked - which policy?

[MappedRedBullCan]

Chaps,

I am currently using my friend's vehicle whilst mine is in for some repairs.

• I am insured fully comp on my personal vehicle, and have 3rd party 'drive other cars' extension
• Friend's vehicle is insured fully comp on his end

Unfortunately the vehicle was hit whilst parked/unattended in a public car park today when I went to do some shopping. A note was left so I have requested the details of the person at fault.

My question is, who initiates the claim and will take the 'hit' so to speak? Is it me (as I am using the car and had taken it there), or my friend (because the car was not in use so his policy is covering it at that point)?

Many thanks

[ScoobyChris]

Can you not just claim directly from the 3rd party insurer?

Chris

[MappedRedBullCan]

ScoobyChris said:

Can you not just claim directly from the 3rd party insurer?

Chris

Would my/mates insurance not have to be informed as well?

[ScoobyChris]

MappedRedBullCan said:

Would my/mates insurance not have to be informed as well?

As I understand it, you/your mate can claim directly from the 3rd party and not involve your insurer in the claim at all. Come renewal time, you/your mate will have to declare you have made a non-fault claim.

Chris

[randlemarcus]

You claim off the 3rd party insurance. Your friend informs his insurer of the incident involving the vehicle. You don't need to inform your insurer, as neither you, nor the vehicle they insure is involved.

Morally, you need to stand by your mate, including if their policy costs go up. Sadly, it looks like a lot of policies are more expensive this year, which isn't your fault, but might be your problem.

[anonymous-user]

If you can't claim from the 3rd party, It is my understanding that the claim would be against your policy as you were the person to have parked the car.

[randlemarcus]

CheesecakeRunner said:

Bluequay said:

If you can't claim from the 3rd party, It is my understanding that the claim would be against your policy as you were the person to have parked the car.

Except the ‘driving other vehicles’ cover on his policy likely only covers liability to third parties and not damage to the vehicle.

And almost certainly, not damage to the vehicle when not driving, i.e when parked and unattended in a car park. I'm slightly surprised the OP thought it would be covered for that.

[CanAm]

One of the problems of relying on the DOC cover. It's fine until it all goes wrong. Let's hope the TP or their Insurers pay up with no quibbles.

[deckster]

randlemarcus said:

CheesecakeRunner said:

Bluequay said:

If you can't claim from the 3rd party, It is my understanding that the claim would be against your policy as you were the person to have parked the car.

Except the ‘driving other vehicles’ cover on his policy likely only covers liability to third parties and not damage to the vehicle.

And almost certainly, not damage to the vehicle when not driving, i.e when parked and unattended in a car park. I'm slightly surprised the OP thought it would be covered for that.

Indeed. Some misunderstanding of what the term "third party" means.

[anonymous-user]

deckster said:

randlemarcus said:

CheesecakeRunner said:

Bluequay said:

If you can't claim from the 3rd party, It is my understanding that the claim would be against your policy as you were the person to have parked the car.

Except the ‘driving other vehicles’ cover on his policy likely only covers liability to third parties and not damage to the vehicle.

And almost certainly, not damage to the vehicle when not driving, i.e when parked and unattended in a car park. I'm slightly surprised the OP thought it would be covered for that.

Indeed. Some misunderstanding of what the term "third party" means.

This is from a typical insurance policy booklet, which would indicate that the friends comprehensive insurance may not pay out either

We will not pay for any loss, damage or liability directly or indirectly caused or contributed to by:

1. Your vehicle being:
a. used by a person or for any purpose not shown on your current Certificate of Motor Insurance

[ResQ1]

The vehicle was insured on your friend's policy when it was parked.

It's only insured under the DOC part of your policy when you are in the car and driving it.

That's why for you to be able to drive a car under the DOC extension of your policy, the vehicle has to be insured in it's own right as otherwise the car would be uninsured when it was parked and you weren't in it.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

ResQ1 said:

The vehicle was insured on your friend's policy when it was parked.

It's only insured under the DOC part of your policy when you are in the car and driving it.

That's why for you to be able to drive a car under the DOC extension of your policy, the vehicle has to be insured in it's own right as otherwise the car would be uninsured when it was parked and you weren't in it.

This isn't true. The courts have established DOC cover covers the vehicle whilst it is being driven by, or under the charge or control, of the person whose DOC is covering it. Not all DOC extensions stipulate that the car has to have it's own insurance.

If the OP was not a named driver on the owners insurance, the owners comp insurance wouldn't cover this loss as the vehicle was in the charge of someone not covered under the policy. But the OP's tpo DOC cover would have covered it is he'd been at fault. As it happens, the OP wasn't at fault, so the OP claims off the guilty party as if is was his own car. It's got nothing to do with the owners insurance. The problem comes if the guilty party won't play ball. Then you have a problem, because only tpo insurance applied at the time of the loss.

[Sheepshanks]

Regardless of who pays, OP has to declare the incident on any policy he is named on.

[Mr Tidy]

Sheepshanks said:

Regardless of who pays, OP has to declare the incident on any policy he is named on.

A claim on the insurer of the person responsible would probably be the only way to go.

But sadly both OP and owner will have to declare it.

[KungFuPanda]

Sheepshanks said:

Regardless of who pays, OP has to declare the incident on any policy he is named on.

I’d disagree with that assertion. At the time of the incident, the OP’s DOC cover wouldn’t have been active as he wasn’t driving the car. The OP’s mates insurer would have been on cover at that time. The OP hasn’t been involved in and accident nor was his insurer on cover at the time of the collision when the vehicle was parked.

[ScoobyChris]

Mr Tidy said:

But sadly both OP and owner will have to declare it.

The claim will be attached to the person who made it so the owner will only have to declare it if OP is a named driver on his policy.

Chris

[TwigtheWonderkid]

ScoobyChris said:

Mr Tidy said:

But sadly both OP and owner will have to declare it.

The claim will be attached to the person who made it so the owner will only have to declare it if OP is a named driver on his policy.

Chris

Correct. The owner lent his car to someone else who was insuring it themselves elsewhere. This person is not a driver on the owners cover.

The owner has not had an accident, nor has he had a claim. No different to your car being in the garage for a service, the mechanic driving it to see if all is ok, crashing it, and the garage claiming on their insurance to fix it. Nothing to do with you or your insurers. The driver had the accident, the garage had the claim.