Accident - Hit and run.

itfgm

Hi,

At the weekend someone crashed into my car and damaged my rear bumper and side wing and then sped off before I got a chance to get their number plate. There was noone else around so I have no witnesses either. I contacted the police and they took the details but they said there isnt much they can do about it.

My car will probably cost about £1000 to fix and there was noone injured thankfully.

I have 8 years protected no claims on my insurance. I dont want to claim from my insurance as it will put my insurance up next year and my excess is £300 as well. Is there anything else I can do?

Thanks

irishjohn

Its a no brainer - the culprit is gone and no one will be able to locate then and force them to pay so that leaves you - I understand the desire to avoid losing your no claims history and I would shop around for prices to get as economical repair as you can and foot the bill yourself

Bigcammy

I don't suppose there were any businesses in the area with CCTV cameras overlooking the crash site? If so, you could ask if you can see the video, assuming that their system was recording at the time.

itfgm

There was no businesses in the area and I have asked the police to check for cameras. A few people have told me that I can claim the money back from the Motor Insurance Bureau(MIB) as it was a hit and run.

Francophile

Where abouts are you? Maybe someone can recommend a good place to get the repairs done. I damaged my husbands Merc. He reckoned it would cost about £1000 to get repaired at Isaac Agnews but the owner of the local petrol station recommended a guy and he did a really excellent job for £100.

irish_eyes

check your insurance policy or with the insurance company. If you have protected your noclaims bonus you should be allowed a claim without it affecting future premiums.

Bigcammy

irish_eyes wrote: »

check your insurance policy or with the insurance company. If you have protected your noclaims bonus you should be allowed a claim without it affecting future premiums.

Agreed, but they may hike your premium before the bonus is applied, making a mockery of the protected NCB, but better to have it than not.

BlameTheGame

Some insurance providers 'allow' you to make one claim before they hike up your insurance premium. Check with your insurance provider.

And if they hike up your insurance then switch to a cheaper one 'cos you are under no obligation to take up their insurance for the following year.

itfgm

Francophile wrote: »

Where abouts are you? Maybe someone can recommend a good place to get the repairs done. I damaged my husbands Merc. He reckoned it would cost about £1000 to get repaired at Isaac Agnews but the owner of the local petrol station recommended a guy and he did a really excellent job for £100.

I am in newtownabbey if anyone knows of any good, value for money bodywork mechanics.

sleepymy

Check with your insurance company, numptyboy reversed into a girl a couple of years ago on my insurance & cracked her bumper. My insurance (I'm fully comp) covered it without charging me any excess and didn't put my insurance up, they put it down as a no fault claim.

Good luck, it's shoite when !!!!!!s do this, my last two cars were hit several times while parked (and no I'm not a crepe parker!)

Normskin

A similar thing happened to me about a year ago. There was about £1500 damage to my car and I had to claim through my own insurance which was protected. I was told that I was allowed 2 claims in any 3 year period and had to pay a £100 excess. My premium did not go up the following year. It is very annoying having to claim off your own insurance when someone else is at fault. Your excess is quite high so I would weigh up how much the car is worth etc before deciding to get it fixed.