maxofe Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 morning folks. i have never had to make a claim on my car insurance, so am a little unsure how things work and am looking to you lot for some help i damaged another car (rear end) she was illegally parked. i have offered to pay for the damage, but do not want to involve my insurance company, losing full no claims. i have just received a message on my answer machine from her insurance company, they are going to ring back later. i have spoken to my company, but they dont want to answer any of my questions until i "log" the accident with them. my questions are.... can i be forced to claim on my insurance? is the fact that she was parked on double yellows even an issue? how do i sort it privately if she has asked her ins. company to deal with it? many thanks in advance max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 You won't be claiming on your insurance..she will... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 The fact she was illegally parked is going to be irrelevant to who is to blame. If you hit a stationary object, you are entirely to blame without question. (Suppose a car had broken down there...) I don't know whether her insurance company will accept you paying the costs directly, or if they will insist on talking to your insurance company and doing it "through the book" as it were. I see no legal reason why you should not be allowed to pay directly and avoid your own insurers being involved, but that doesn't mean there is no reason. It might just mean that I don't know about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 my questions are.... can i be forced to claim on my insurance? is the fact that she was parked on double yellows even an issue? how do i sort it privately if she has asked her ins. company to deal with it? many thanks in advance max 1. No you can pay direct. 2. Probably not. - it's entirely separate (You could report her for parking there, but that wouldn't get you any reduction. You aren't entitled to ram people who are parked illegally. - Unfortunately. 3. Her insurance company will get in touch with you and you go from there. By electing not to involve your insurance company you may protecting your No Claims Bonus, but that doesn't mean that the insurance company can't increase your premium next year. The basic premium cost (before NCB and any other discounts) is [supposedly, at least] calculated bearing in mind your accident record. You haven't claimed against your insurance company (so your NCB isn't affected adversely) but you have had an at-fault accident, so the gross premium could rise. With the benefit of hindsight, it might've been better to have taken out NCB insurance - that way the Insurance company would've paid for the acident without you losing any NCB, (but they would still probably put your premium up next year.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxofe Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 thank you for the replies so far. i accept she is not to blame in any way. i presume that if i opt for the pay it myself option that she will be the one who choses who does the work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 thank you for the replies so far. i accept she is not to blame in any way. i presume that if i opt for the pay it myself option that she will be the one who choses who does the work? Well,wouldn't you in her position? But I suppose that's something you'd have to sort out between you.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 You can say to her "if you have the work done at Garage X where my friend is a mechanic, I'll pay the bill" but it would not be in her best interest to accept any such offer, and nobody would advise her to do so. (Chiefly because, quite often, people who make that sort of offer are trying to pull a fast one and the mechanic won't be trustworthy. That doesn't apply to you, but it usually applies when an offer like that is on the table.) So in practice, I think your only two choices are either to grit your teeth and pay what she tells you it has cost, or have it done through your insurance and lose the no-claims bonus. Obviously if she tries to claim a bill of £10,000 for repairing a bumper, you want your insurance company to deal with it (and contest the claim). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxofe Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 Well,wouldn't you in her position? But I suppose that's something you'd have to sort out between you.. obviously, but if i own a bodyshop and she insists on using the main dealer the difference in price would be huge!! **just an example, i dont own a body shop** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxofe Posted October 7, 2010 Author Share Posted October 7, 2010 You can say to her "if you have the work done at Garage X where my friend is a mechanic, I'll pay the bill" but it would not be in her best interest to accept any such offer, and nobody would advise her to do so. (Chiefly because, quite often, people who make that sort of offer are trying to pull a fast one and the mechanic won't be trustworthy. That doesn't apply to you, but it usually applies when an offer like that is on the table.) So in practice, I think your only two choices are either to grit your teeth and pay what she tells you it has cost, or have it done through your insurance and lose the no-claims bonus. Obviously if she tries to claim a bill of £10,000 for repairing a bumper, you want your insurance company to deal with it (and contest the claim). many thanks, that makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Well,wouldn't you in her position? But I suppose that's something you'd have to sort out between you.. obviously, but if i own a bodyshop and she insists on using the main dealer the difference in price would be huge!! **just an example, i dont own a body shop** Yep,as I said,it's something you'd both have to agree on although I reckon she's got the upper hand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.