Motor Insurance Claim Advice

MLMer

Looking for advice on the best way to proceed with a motor insurance claim to make the most of a bad start to the week.

Rammed from the rear whilst queueing on the M1 this morning.

Tips on getting the best out of the insurance co. (direct line) re: Hire car, choice of repair garage, speed of repair work, any extras to claim for (time lost from work, neck strain?)

vansboy

Simply hand ALL the repair agro over to the insurer & let them do what you pay them for.

Ask what the procedure is for consequential loss - your earnings-but be able to prove it.

Same for personal injury - asuming you ARE injured!!

Don't start getting involvede with repairers & the other driver, yourself, theres no need!!

VB

rhartley

Sorry to hear about the accident.

I agree with the post above. If you are comprehensively insured then now is the time to find out what all those benefits are for.

Firstly, decide if you are happy to use the insurer's own approved repairer. If you do so, then the repair process will usually be much simpler.

Generally speaking, decent insurers will provide the following services (via their approved repairer network): collection and delivery of the damaged vehicle (or recovery if immobilised); a courtesy car whilst your vehicle is repaired; rapid authorisation of repairs with no need to wait for estimates; guaranteed workmanship on repairs which should match or exceed manufacturers' own bodywork warranties.

Ask your insurer if the policy you bought includes legal expenses cover to pay for the costs of pursuing a compensation claim against the party who caused the accident. This cover is often called Uninsured Loss Recovery (ULR). If you have suffered an injury then a specialist RTA lawyer should be instructed by your ULR provider. The lawyer will seek medical reports and assess the correct level of claim to make against the Third Party.

Other uninsured losses might include: your policy excess, loss of earnings, travel expenses, miscellaneous out of pocket expenses (phone calls etc.). If you cannot obtain a suitable loan car from the repairer then you may also need to hire a replacement vehicle and the costs can be included in your claim against the other driver.

An efficient ULR provider will deal with all this and keep you informed of progress at regular intervals.

Once you succeed in recovering your own losses, the insurer will generally agree to reinstate your no claims discount, irrespective of whether or not it has itself made a recovery. This can be very important when both parties are insured by the same company.

I hope both car and driver are soon fully repaired.

MLMer

Hey, thanks for comprehensive reply.

The insurance claims dept wheels are in motion.... car will be collected Sat (that was my chosen date) and hire car arranged for the same day (invoiced directly to the other parties insurance co.).... so far I can definitly recommend Direct Line for the claims handling process..... we'll see what the outcome is following repairs next week!

Fortunately no damage to myself other than a bit of a stiff neck this morning.