Insurance claim & uninsured/untaxed drivers

[COLONEL_SMITH]

I managed to rear end a car last night and we exchanged details,they had all there docs with them so I thought everything was ok especially as it was my fault..I have now checked and found the car is not insured or taxed but the policy they gave me was a trade one so it could be insured.
Now my point is if I roll over and accept everything as my fault they get there car repaired but if they are uninsured and untaxed I want to make it difficult for them..
What is the best thing to do or should I just let them get away with it??

[JustinP1]

If they have not taxed their car they are bad people.

Do they deserve to have someone drive into their car, leave them damage and not pay?

Morally, iffy. Legally no.

[COLONEL_SMITH]

I mentioned it when I made the claim and they said even if they were uninsured they can still claim so they are going to get there car fixed..What I am asking is if I should maybe report the accident to the police and tell them I think they are illegal or try and drag the claim out by claiming 50/50 fault.

[JustinP1]

COLONEL_SMITH said:

I mentioned it when I made the claim and they said even if they were uninsured they can still claim so they are going to get there car fixed..What I am asking is if I should maybe report the accident to the police and tell them I think they are illegal or try and drag the claim out by claiming 50/50 fault.

If it is a simple case of you driving into the back of them then you are at fault 100%.

What numbers were on their tax disc did not contribute to the accident so it is still 100% your fault. It also does not matter in this scenario if they are not insured - they do not need to be to resolve the claim.

In legal terms, you will be deemed to have been negligent in your driving. As such the other party is entitled to claim damages from that negligence from you. In this case they need to get their car repaired to make it how it was before it happened.

What insurance is is basically insurance to that they will pay these damages for you.

Whilst I completely agree having an untaxed or uninsured car on the road is bad - it unfortunately does not affect the 'legal' situation in this scenario.

Edited by JustinP1 on Thursday 1st November 13:08

[COLONEL_SMITH]

I have admitted fault to my insurance company so I was in the wrong all I want to do is make there life as difficult as possible if it turns out to be they are illegal...It may seem petty but I pay a fortune every year to be 100% legal so I dont want to give an illegal driver an easy ride..

[NugentS]

Friends of mine have trade insurance as opposed to car specific insurance (one is a mechanic and one is a car electrician). They tend to work together on project cars of which they normally have one or two at any one time. Essentially they buy manky old cars, do them up and sell them for cash. Thus they both use trade insurance which covers them to drive any car. Tony has borrowed my car from time to time - and its always on his insurance as it covers any car he is driving.

I understand that the excess is a little larger than normal though...

Sean

[billybasic]

Trade insurance is produced to police and MOP after accidents fraudulently, as there are not any names on the documents. There are many conditions applied to these policies, one of the most common ones generally state if its a trade policy for mechanic for example it won't cover personal vehicles, only those being used for the purpose of business. so for example if it was at 0100 in the morning the "mechanic" can hardly say he was taking it for a road test. These documents can be photocopied and sold. He may have offered you the document to avoid you calling the police so his/her car wasn't seized and the driver taken to court. Now if there was any injury involved of any of the drivers or occupants then you are legally required to report it to the police. If you have ANY suspicion of the insurance not being valid then report it to the police. Basically it has to be report if there is any injury or offences alleged (plus other conditions).
If you send all the details to your insurance company they will deal with the rest. any correspondance from the other party just send it on, don't reply to anything!
As stated, if a party is at fault they will be responsible regardless of whether insurance cover is present, however i would bear this in mind, If there was no injury then hopefully the accident won't have caused too much damage. will an uninsured driver want to risk getting prosecuted by claiming against somebody?
If it was me, i would report it to police if i had an doubt the driver was uninsured.

[JustinP1]

Agreed.

I might be tempted to report the possible lack of insurance and lack of tax to the police.

However, this would not change the insurance scenario, legally that is.

Hypothetically the OP might want to call their bluff. For example, if he is pretty sure they have no tax or insurance if he doesnt contact them again, they will hardly be able to 'get things sorted' through their insurance company!