Insurance, claiming off the other driver….
Discussion
On Saturday I was returning home and a lady pulled out of a car park onto the main road and struck my wife’s car, damage is minor damaged wing and a scuff on the wheel.
We exchanged details, I said I’d get a price to repair it from a friend in the trade which I did today and it’s £600
She said had it been £2-300 she would have paid it but can’t afford the £600 so wants to go through insurance.
I’d rather not inform our insurers or get them involved in what is a non fault accident, but can I do this?
I’ve never been in this predicament before, I could happily just spend the £600 and get the car fixed and be done with it but on principle i don’t see why I should be out of pocket for someone else’s poor driving
We exchanged details, I said I’d get a price to repair it from a friend in the trade which I did today and it’s £600
She said had it been £2-300 she would have paid it but can’t afford the £600 so wants to go through insurance.
I’d rather not inform our insurers or get them involved in what is a non fault accident, but can I do this?
I’ve never been in this predicament before, I could happily just spend the £600 and get the car fixed and be done with it but on principle i don’t see why I should be out of pocket for someone else’s poor driving
After having a relatively clear cut non-fault claim (hit from behind at a junction) take over two years to resolve completely, my opinion is to go through your own insurance, and let them deal with a possibly obstinate/incompetent third party insurer.
You're paying for them, make use of them.
You're paying for them, make use of them.
skyebear said:
It's like paying for private dental and removing a tooth yourself lest next year's premium goes up.
It’s not, that would hurt. The only painful part of insurance is handing over money so you have to weigh up whether claiming would mean you paid more in the long run and is not in fact worth it.Can a £150 smart repair make it all go away? Take her £300 for the inconvenience?
I got hit in the rear in 2023 and when I got a quote I called the other driver as he had said he'd rather just pay - until I told him what I'd been quoted then he said he'd claim from his insurer!
To give him his due his insurer called me a couple of days later and I claimed direct from them.
If the other driver in your case did the same you wouldn't have a claim on your policy, although you'd need to tell them before the next renewal.
To give him his due his insurer called me a couple of days later and I claimed direct from them.
If the other driver in your case did the same you wouldn't have a claim on your policy, although you'd need to tell them before the next renewal.
If she has admitted it contact her insurer directly and start a claim directly off them. You MUST though inform your insurer as "notification" only. This is good if it all goes swimmingly (2016 or so I did this and all was well) but if not and the other party/their insurer starts messing around then you will have wanted to go via your insurer.
TBH try her insurer directly and see how it feels.
TBH try her insurer directly and see how it feels.
littlebasher said:
martin mrt said:
Thanks for the replies, the main reason I don’t want to claim off my insurance is I have a £500 excess, so it’s pointless for the small amount of damage.
There is no excess if she is at fault. They'll recover 100% of the costs from her insurerFreddie Fitch said:
littlebasher said:
martin mrt said:
Thanks for the replies, the main reason I don’t want to claim off my insurance is I have a £500 excess, so it’s pointless for the small amount of damage.
There is no excess if she is at fault. They'll recover 100% of the costs from her insurermartin mrt said:
Thanks for the replies, the main reason I don’t want to claim off my insurance is I have a £500 excess, so it’s pointless for the small amount of damage.
Similar happened me 2 years back.Third party wasn't prepared to pay £450 for my repairs so I said fine. We exchanged insurance details.
Within 24 hours I had his insurers call me wanting to deal direct. No excess. No credit hire car.
I'm also somebody who claimed directly off third party insurers (they called me and admitted liability) - I had already notified my insurers though. Notification and claiming are two different things.
It all went fine for me dealing with the third party insurers - was even offered like for like courtesy car, but declined since I didn't need it.
It all went fine for me dealing with the third party insurers - was even offered like for like courtesy car, but declined since I didn't need it.
littlebasher said:
There is no excess if she is at fault. They'll recover 100% of the costs from her insurer
Most insurers will charge the excess. But you can recover it from the responsible person or their insurer after repairs are complete. If your insurer get a full acceptance of liability off the other insurer before repairs start, they may waive the excess. Or if the same insurer covers both cars, they may waive the excess.Just over a year ago someone reversed into our car in a car park. We were in town, and returned to find the damage and, wow, a note apologising and giving details.
Called my insurer, they dealt with everything, car collected my repairers, and because it was a no-fault claim, we weee given a ‘premium’ courtesy car from Enterprise. For a month…
People underestimate how much it costs how much even simple looking repairs cost now.
Called my insurer, they dealt with everything, car collected my repairers, and because it was a no-fault claim, we weee given a ‘premium’ courtesy car from Enterprise. For a month…
People underestimate how much it costs how much even simple looking repairs cost now.
martin mrt said:
Thanks all for your replies, the 3rd party said she has notified her insurance so I guess it’s just a waiting game now in the hope they get in touch
I just hope they don’t try and write it off for a minor dent, as it’s an older car now.
You may well end up on the MIB database if the 3rd party passes your details to their insurance company.I just hope they don’t try and write it off for a minor dent, as it’s an older car now.
https://www.mib.org.uk/check-insurance-details/
Therefore it may be an idea, as previously suggested to let your insurance company know, as you are likely contractually bound to do so. If you don't it may cause issues down the line at renewal time etc.
On two previous occasions where I have not been at fault, I have contacted the 3rd party insurance company and they have sorted out the damage direct, so no excess to pay or costs to recover, but I have notified my insurance company at the time, declared at non-fault incident at renewal time, and have probably been worse off financially for doing so, however going against the terms of a car insurance policy doesn't seem very sensible to me. YMMV.
martin mrt said:
She said had it been £2-300 she would have paid it but can’t afford the £600 so wants to go through insurance.
I’d rather not inform our insurers or get them involved in what is a non fault accident, but can I do this?
You can 100% go through the 3rd party insurers only and can occasionally get a better outcome (I did) but if anything starts to get complicated just revert to your own insurers to do the fighting for you.I’d rather not inform our insurers or get them involved in what is a non fault accident, but can I do this?
You still need to inform your insurers straight away "as a courtesy call" and you will still need to tell them of the outcome & declare the accident for the next 5 years as a non-fault accident.
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