Claiming for accidental damage

thebigstillmeister

Morning,.....

Wonder if someone could help... I have never claimed on my car insurance before which is why i'm asking...

Over Christmas, I was driving out of my car port,. not paying much attention and clipped the side of my wheel arch,... not that bad, but a few scrapes and a small dent,... left it thinking ill see if I can sort it out myself,

However this morning,.... whilst in a rush I actually clipped the other wheel arch,.. this time,... causing some proper damage, actually took a chuck of the wheel arch off,..?

Never hit anything or scraped anything in my whole driving life and then take both wheel arches out in 2 months??? just can't beleive it,....??:mad:

I have Swift car insurance, with protected no claims,....

Is it worth me trying to claim on my car insurance? I guess this covers accidental damage?, or would this have a negative effect on my future quotes etc?? should I just pay for the damage myself?

Thanks,

dacouch

If you make a claim on your policy for both wheel arches it will technically be classed as two seperate incidents so two seperate claims. You would therefore have to pay your policy excess twice and it could big effect on your premium as two claims can attract a largish loading.

It may be worth claiming for just one of the incidents which would mean just one claim and if there is an increase on your premium it should not be too big. Bear in mind that if you have a further claim in the next few years it could mean a bigger premium loading.

I would recommend you find out how big your excess is and then work out if it is worth claiming.

If you want to price up how much it would cost you to have the work done yourself for "Cash" speak to local bodywork garages and ask them how much the work is for "Cash" eg not with the Insurance company paying as they tend to have a higher price for insurance work than private work

thebigstillmeister

Thanks, was thinking about just claiming for 1,.... the first arch is actually not too bad,...

Checked my insurance,...apparently its £100 compulsary, and I added another £300 to bring the premium down,... (wish I had made this a little lower now,)

I may get a quote before I contact my insurance company,.. if it's alot more than £400 ill claim.......

Could always come up with some elaberate story about how I bounced off one wall and hit the other,... bit far fetched probably,...!!!

lisyloo

You need to do the maths.

Price up the damage and then compare
1) paying for it yourself
2) paying excess only but paying for insurance with 1 claim.
3) paying excess twice but paying for insurance with 2 claims.

You can use a search engine like confused.com and edit the quots quite easily.
Do you have protected NCB?
This is anecdotal but my own experience is that with 1 claim you are not penalised (although you've used a "life") but with more than 1 claim you will be penalised.

So you have to work out whether the costs of the damage are more than the extra on the insurance.

You could also consider using a franchise company like "chips direct" who are mobile and can do small repairs.
We had them do a repair and I have to say that we werenot satisfied, but it was metallic paint (which is difficult to match) and probably too large an area.
Depending on the value of your car, the size of the area and the colour, you may find that it might be a cheap but good solution in your case.

dacouch

I always advise my clients that if you have protected no claim bonus keep your excess low eg £100 then if you need to make a claim for a small bump as you do you just have to contribute £100 toward it.

People who give advice on getting cheaper insurance often recommend people increase their excess to save money, I don't always agree with this. If your premium is £250 you have probably saved around £25 for agreeing to pay another £300. This basically means you have to go 12 years (12 x £25 = £300) without a claim to make it worth saving the amount you saved. I personally don't agree with this for people on small premiums as the savvings don't add up (If you were paying say £700 it would be more worth paying a £300 voluntary excess).

When you policy is due for renewal next have a look without any voluntary excess and with a voluntary excess you will be surprised how little it saves you (Assuming you have a lowish premium). Now you have seen why having a big excess can sometimes count against you it be worth reevaluating at renewal.

thebigstillmeister

Thanks,

Yes, have protected no claims.......

1 side is not too bad, the other side IS bad,... ie, nice square peice or wheel arch missing,...!!

Just check,.. insurance excess will be £400,... just spoke to VW body shop, who said they provide a 'quick repair' or something like that where they try and see if they can patch it up, before going for more expensive options,... i'm going there on Saturday,...so if it's £500 i think ill just pay it,.... if it's £1000+ ill claim for the one,...! and when I have some cash spare pay to fix the lesser damaged side,..

Still can't beleive i hit both side in 2 months,....never had a scratch in over 13 years!!

I'll post the cost on Sat...!

dacouch

Try a local bodyshop as it will be much cheaper (Ask your friends for recommendations). You will find their are often VW approved bodyshops who offer the same service as your VW dealer but for less or people who specialises (They are often ex VW Franchise Dealers staff)