Car Insurance Claim

SPENCER

Could any one please offer any advice on the following incident.

My brother's car was stationary behind another car on a car park. The other driver then reversed into his car (someone was coming out of a car parking space) as he did not check his rear view mirror. The other driver got out and apologised but said he could not see any damage so would not hand over his insurance details. A witness came over who saw the incident and offered to be a witness for my brother. The other driver was not happy and also demanded the witness details (my brother gave them to him). He kept saying he could not see any damage.

It has now been more than three months since the incident. The other driver has now implied that my brother drove into him and the witness has not returned his statement. He has paid out his excess of £175.00 following the repair. His insurance co. said they will probably have to do a deal of 50/50 liability. He is pretty annoyed about this. The insurance co. said he does have protected no claims but this is not the point. The other driver reversed into him. The other driver's insurance co. has also not been very communicative. He does have legal protection so the insurance co. said they would write and threaten legal action but will probably end up doing a deal any way.

Does anyone have any advice for him?.

Thanks

SamDude

Chase up the witness?

Bossyboots

Sometimes people are a bit slow sending things back. He should contact the witness and ask if they have received anything from the insurers. It is possible something has gone missing in the post.

It is also possible of course that the witness has been contacted by the other driver and decided not to get involved.

nadnad

i work as a claims handler - tell your brother to get back on to the insurance company and ask them firmly to chase the independant witness - this is the only real chance you have. If the witness doesn't come forward then its just one word against another and the 50:50 deal will most likely be the only option for the insurance company. You have to understand that they (as an industry) get told untruths by policyholders all the time and there is no way to prove your brother is telling the truth.

Let this be a lesson to everyone - if you have an accident no matter how small then ALWAYS call the police. Theres no way to prove it otherwise. Sorry if thats not much help but the witness is your only real hope - unless of course the other party gets a conscience and owns up that it was him who reversed into your brother - I doubt it.

SPENCER

Thanks for all your advice. (He said he did not know that you could call the police if no one had been injured).

The other driver could well have contacted the witness. I told my brother the witness could have been paid off!. The other driver seemed very well off as the business card the other driver gave him was quite a large business and his own and also lived in very expensive property.

Thanks

nadnad

yes - the police should always be called - even if there is no injuries, we all know that whiplash doesn't happen straight away and when someone REALLY has it - they truly suffer, calling the police at the time of the accident usually means that there is proof of who the person at fault is - therefore making it easier to claim for both personal injuries and damage. also if you have an accident take photos if you have a photo phone - showing the position of the vehicles, and try not to move the cars until the police come.