Car insurance enquiry involving an Accident

cliptomaniac · 21 July 2005 at 6:54PM

I was recently involved in a car accident, which i was not to blame but had to make claim on my insurance.

To cut a long story short, i was driving on a motorway and a dog ran in the road. i swerved and miss it but hit the side and ended up crashing in the central barrier. My car was written off. The dog owner eventually came on the scene but the police did not press any charges against him.

i was told by my insurance company because the owner did not have pet insurance i cannot do anything and i have to make a claim. Obviously i am very disappointed because next month my NCD would be 4 years and now my premium has skyrocketed.

does anyone know if there is anything i can do regarding this? ie, is there any other insurance i could use against the dog owner because this was his fault for not having his dog on the lead next to a motorway, but im the one who has to pay for it.

Thanks

maclean2 · 21 July 2005 at 7:09PM

Hi - the careless guy with the dog does not have pet insurance but does he have home contents insurance ? Press him a bit harder for the policy details and make sure he reports it to them.Contents policies usually include "personal liability" cover which includes dog liability.

If he does not have contents insurance you can still take out a small claims action against him and your local county court will help you with the paperwork which is fairly straightforward.He will then have to pay it from his own wallet !

Best of luck

Bossyboots · 21 July 2005 at 7:53PM

I agree with maclean2. You can sue him direct, regardless of any insurance he may or may not have.

You could push your insurance company to sue, as if you have made a claim which they have paid out you can only recover your uninsured losses such as excess. If your insurance company were to recover their outlay, your NCD would be safe.

cliptomaniac · 22 July 2005 at 6:23PM

Thanks for replying. I really appreciate the help.

I have basically been put off by solicitors and Tescos insurance and i knew i was in the right but they made me feel that because i was not killed or seriously injured, that i should not bother trying to get some compensation.

I received a letter from the guy who's dog it was that & he said his 13 year old son dog (Sob story) was holding his lead and a deer came out of the bushes, scared the dog and then they went looking for it. However, i called the police station yesterday and they said the guy was Rabbiting with the dog and his son and the dog went missing.

Hopefully this will make the solicitors take note.

I have been using the No Win No Fee solicitors and they only do that if they know they will definately win the case. they are now talking about charging me.

Has Martin covered the No Win, No Fee solicitors?

Bossyboots · 23 July 2005 at 7:40AM

I can't see why you would not win. The man was responsible for the dog, even if the 13 year old did have the lead. The question really is whether any money can be recouped even if you get a Court order. If the man owns a house then a court order can be attached to the house but you may have to wait a while to get your money. Alternatively if he is working you can get an order attached to his earnings to pay out bit by bit.

Ask your solicitors the basis on which they want to charge you. Read your client care letter carefully. I am not even sure, now that they have said they will take it no win, no fee that they can charge you for the work. Your retainer with them is on a no win, no fee basis and I am sure they cannot back down from that now.

telly-addict · 25 July 2005 at 4:05PM

Bossyboots wrote:

I can't see why you would not win. The man was responsible for the dog, even if the 13 year old did have the lead.

I'm not so sure that liability will be quite so clear-cut and that's probably why the solicitors are having second thoughts about taking on the case.

For you to succeed in a claim, you will need to show that the person in charge of the dog was negligent. Without going into the legal arguments, you will need to show that this owner did (or didn't do) something that a reasonable and prudent owner would not (or would) have done.

There's clearly some conflicting stories aboutwhat the dog owner was doing when the dog got loose. Momentary inadvertence won't be sufficient to prove negligence. You've got more chance if the police's version is correct, but will they back you up?

Agree that you've got more chance of success if there is some insurance in the background. Really depends on just how far you want to take things.

Good luck if you decide to pursue the matter.

Car insurance enquiry involving an Accident

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