Had A Crash, Not My Fault - What To Do?

[mbrijun]

Good morning,

Yesterday a car bumped into the back of my car while I was queueing to pass a bridge. It has never happened to me before and I am not sure how to proceed.

The police saw the incident, they checked the other guy's details and gave the the reference number. The result of the crash - my boot door is jamming.

On one hand, I would like the car fixed, on the other hand, I don't want to cause too much hassle for the other driver (I can be in his place one day).

Please advise on what to do and what not to do. Thanks very much.

[cfc1]

Report it to you insurance company.. with the others drivers details.. and the deatails of the police involvement... your insurance company should help you from there.

[T600]

Yes. I'll second what Davey said.

Your insurance company probably sent you some advice on what to do with your insurance policy - like getting names of witnesses, writing down exactly what happened straight away, draw a diagram of the road layout etc, etc.

You have the best witnesses possible so you should be fine. But you need to have the car properly repaired - if the boot's not closing properly then it's going to be more than a few quid to sort it out.

Do not worry about the other driver. He should have insurance to cover this. By telling your insurance company you're only doing what everyone else would do in the circumstances.

Depending on your cover, they may arrange to get the car repaired for you. Make sure you're happy with the repairer.

And make sure that it doesn't go 'Knock for Knock'. Some lazy companys go down this route too easily to save the hassle of arguing with the other guy's insurance company. But if they do that it will affect your no claims bonus.

Good luck.

[Demonic Angel]

It wont cause any hassle for the other driver - its all done via your insurance companies anyway and beings as he hit you from behind, it was his fault - and the fact you have witnesses will help.

Good luck - its a daunting thing all this insurance malarky, but you'll get your car fixed and all should hopefully go swimmingly.

Shouldnt affect your no claims bonus though, was the other guys fault so although you "lose" it by making a claim, you should get it back!

[jay dh]

On one hand, I would like the car fixed, on the other hand, I don't want to cause too much hassle for the other driver (I can be in his place one day).

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you need to get ur car fixed, yes u may be in that situation one day but it was the guys fault so it needs to be sorted...

hope its not too much hassle

Jay

[toyota rally]

you will need to take your car to a few dealers to get a quate on the work to be done this will help the insurance companys decide if its beyond economical repare or your insurance company should tell you which one to take it to . untill thats done then your stuck with a sticky boot. lucky you had the old bill there its a open and shut case.

[sotal]

I think it's actually a legal obligation to report any accident to your insurance company whether you claim or not. By not telling them you would invalidate your insurance so in the future if you did bump someone else and they claimed and your insurance company found out about your boot, they could refuse to pay out, and the 3rd party would have to personally sue you.

Easiest thing to do is report it. Failing that if you feel sorry for the guy and don't mind risking your own insurance, then get a quote and see if he wants to pay to have it fixed

[Gnome]

Didn't think it was a legal obligation to notify your insurance of an accident?

I know it is for the police.

[sotal]

It says it is on my policy document!! Even say you bumped into a concrete post and damaged your car and wanted to go fix it - it says you should report it to them

[Gnome]

Best check mine out as well then in that case.

[sotal]

I think it's one of those rules which is there in the favour of the insurance company but nobody really pays much attention to it!

[Gnome]

Aye. I think if there's no 3rd party involved, no witnesses, and you just get the car fixed, then it shouldn't be a problem.

I suppose it's there to stop people who've had a prang, then get involved in another accident, trying to claim for the original damage as well as the new damage to the car.

Just wonder how it would affect your premium if you told them about a prang in the drive, etc?

[Blue84]

I work for a Motor Insurance Company and yeah you are meant to report any accident that you have to your insurer but really this is where there is another party involved/damage to immobile property. If I was to bump my car on a post or something and not claim I wouldnt report it as long as there was no damage so said post.

Are you claiming through your own insurance policy for the repair or are you going to call his insurer directly?

If you need any advice then give me a shout, my job is taking Motor Insurance Claim Reports and I've done it for over 2 years

[Gnome]

That's the impression I was under. As long as no damage is done to public/ council property, then I'd leave it.

Saying that, how many people who accidentally reverse into a post in the street, call their insurers to report it, if they're going to pay for it by themselves anyway?

Blue - would reporting something like that, and not claiming, affect your premium?

[sotal]

Gnome - I reported an accident I had on my bike last year (or even the year before that) nobody else was involved and I had third party insurance they said they didn't care! If I was Fully comp they would have wanted to come and inspect the vehicle whether I wanted to claim or not. My premiums weren't affected at all. I had to report it as I wanted the legal cover - which was well worth it as I managed to claim of the owners of the private ground I was on for spilling diesel everywhere!

[Demonic Angel]

You have to report it to them, just incase theres any comeback from the other parties insurance, but you dont have to physically make a claim per se....

You can either just inform them courteously, or make a claim..... thats the way I thought it worked anyway, I only ever make claims so its not applicable to me!

[Blue84]

That's the impression I was under. As long as no damage is done to public/ council property, then I'd leave it.

Saying that, how many people who accidentally reverse into a post in the street, call their insurers to report it, if they're going to pay for it by themselves anyway?

Blue - would reporting something like that, and not claiming, affect your premium?

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I've not spoken to any that have done that, and I work very hard if people do report it they either have damage to their car which they wanna claim for, or the lampost is at an odd angle and half the street saw them do it so they couldn't get away!

If there is no money paid out on the claim then you'll keep the NCB intact, but where an accident like that would be classed as a "fault" accident you make get a small premium increase because you are more at risk for having another accident..don't ask me how or why cos I don't know, I work in claims not underwriting

[dazwan]

Must be the season for it. I was rear ended on Wednesday night in my Avensis.

Are you fully comp or 3rd party F&F?

I phoned my insurers straight away and they sent me to an apporved repairer within 12 hours of my accident. I got a courtesy car (horrible horrible horrible Vauxhall Agila) and the repairs should be complete for the weekend. Seeing as I'm fully comp my insurers have paid for the repairs and will claim back the cost from the other guys insurance.

However it's worth mentioning that within 2 days of the accident I got a letter from the 3rd party's insurance saying they'd claimed responsibilty and they were asking if I wanted either a cash settlement or for them to fix my car. Seeing as my car was already in the garage I just told them my insurance would be in touch (I am curious to know how much they would be willing to settle for though).

Have you sustained any injuries? if you've suffered any headaches or dizzyness get straight to your GP/casualty and let the insurance know about it (DO NOT go anywhere near on of those no-win no fee cowboys, you insurance will provide solicitors for you if they are needed) and make sure you record any losses you have made as a result of the accident (days off work, taxi's, trains hire cars etc.) if it's the 3rd parties fault you will be able to claim back expenses, just make sure you get it approved before hiring out a Ferarri to put you on whilst your car is fixed.

And yes, it is all confusing, I'm finding this out as I go along as I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do, I just keep phoning the insurance and they are telling me what to do at every step. Don't be afraid of phoning your insurance company up if you have any questions or new information (no matter how minor it may prove useful later on), after all that's what you pay them for.

[Blue84]

Must be the season for it. I was rear ended on Wednesday night in my Avensis.

Are you fully comp or 3rd party F&F?

I phoned my insurers straight away and they sent me to an apporved repairer within 12 hours of my accident. I got a courtesy car (horrible horrible horrible Vauxhall Agila) and the repairs should be complete for the weekend. Seeing as I'm fully comp my insurers have paid for the repairs and will claim back the cost from the other guys insurance.

However it's worth mentioning that within 2 days of the accident I got a letter from the 3rd party's insurance saying they'd claimed responsibilty and they were asking if I wanted either a cash settlement or for them to fix my car. Seeing as my car was already in the garage I just told them my insurance would be in touch (I am curious to know how much they would be willing to settle for though).

Have you sustained any injuries? if you've suffered any headaches or dizzyness get straight to your GP/casualty and let the insurance know about it (DO NOT go anywhere near on of those no-win no fee cowboys, you insurance will provide solicitors for you if they are needed) and make sure you record any losses you have made as a result of the accident (days off work, taxi's, trains hire cars etc.) if it's the 3rd parties fault you will be able to claim back expenses, just make sure you get it approved before hiring out a Ferarri to put you on whilst your car is fixed.

And yes, it is all confusing, I'm finding this out as I go along as I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to do, I just keep phoning the insurance and they are telling me what to do at every step. Don't be afraid of phoning your insurance company up if you have any questions or new information (no matter how minor it may prove useful later on), after all that's what you pay them for.

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Yep all expenses what Dazwan has mentioned can be claimed back.it's not your fault so why be out of pocket! Your insurance policy wont cover those expenses..you'll need a Legal Expense Policy/Uninsured Loss Recovery to claim those back...some Solicitors claim them too..but it varies from Company to Company.

The Third Party Insurers will offer you assistance in some cases too..if you go down this route (this is just general info btw) there will be no excess to pay, you'll still be able to use an Insurance Approved Repairer, get a courtesy car and it will all be dealt with by the TPI.

If you both get confused feel free to give me a shout too! ;)

[mbrijun]

Hello all,

thanks for so many replies! It really made my life easier - got the accident reported to my insurer and they are picking up the car for repairs first thing next Monday.

Luckily, noone was injured in the accident, but the sence of two cars colliding is not a pleasant one....

The insurance is fully comp, and I have to say that so far the process looks ok (both the repair company and the car rental company that will provide my courtesy car have phoned me up already and made arrangements).

Thanks again for your friendly support!