Damage to car

Whiteknight

Bit of a strange post really but was looking for some advice - the problem is I caused some damaged to other car

Try to keep this brief -

I was a passenger in my friends car (the three of us were going away for the weekend) and had we had just pulled into a service station as I was getting out of the car the door hit and marked the car in the next parking space. I was sitting in the back and and am not sure if it was a sudden gust of wind or if I just didn't know my own strength but needless to say the other car had a small dent and there was some paint transfer, there was no damage to my friends car.

I don't know what my friend would have done regarding leaving contact details but that is a mute point as the car was occupied and the driver was out of the car and asking for insurance details from my friend as soon as he saw the damage.

In my opinion the damage looked worse that it really was because of the paint transfer which I am sure would have come off fairly easily. I have since discovered that my friends insurance has paid in full for the repairs but I feel that he is a little annoyed as the damage was not actually caused by himself and get the impression that he would have liked me to have paid for the repairs as I caused the damage.

I think this would be unfair as his insurance has already paid and he is not out of pocket himself as he had protected his no claims bonus.

Should he expect me to pay or should I offer to pay??

Quentin

Morally you could see if this actually has affected his premium (he has protected his no claims bonus, but that won't mean his premium isn't affected by this incident).

If it is affecting his premium, then you could reimburse him this.

The other problem is that your carelessness has used up one of his protected "lifes" which will come into play if he needs to make another claim soon. Maybe cross that bridge if it ever arrives!

matty538

Depends what your friendship is like really I guess.
Its ok saying he isnt out of pocket because he has protected no claims but you do realise that his premium (before NCB) will increase because of the claim for the next few years.

gordikin

Why did you not offer to pay in the first place? Even though the NCD is protected your friend will in all likelyhood find that their insurance premium will rise due to the claim.

skintstudentnurse

This is one of my pet hates! About a year ago I was parked in a carpark,when a man bumped my car twice with his door he mouthed sorry and said oh it 's alright. When he had driven off and I got out of the car to fetch my children from school there was actually a dent about the size of the top of my finger. That'll teach me to be so trusting! My car was only a year old at the time.

So yes I think you should have offered to pay, it may have been an 'act of God' but it wasn't your friends fault was it?

Rolandtheroadie

I'd have offered to pay immediately as it was my fault.

cyclonebri1

Quentin wrote: »

Morally you could see if this actually has affected his premium (he has protected his no claims bonus, but that won't mean his premium isn't affected by this incident).

If it is affecting his premium, then you could reimburse him this.

The other problem is that your carelessness has used up one of his protected "lifes" which will come into play if he needs to make another claim soon. Maybe cross that bridge if it ever arrives!

Bang on Quentin.
OP your mate will no doubt say, its fine don't worry, but it will cost him. Sounds like you have a true friendship or you would'nt have asked, so find some way to make it good

Hintza

When my son was young he threw the car door open and hit the car next door just as the were reappearing from a shop. Long and short was he insisted it went through insurance. I then contacted insurance company got the bill and paid it.

What was the bill? You probably should offer to pay or at least make a gesture if it still remains an insurance claim.

goldspanners

Whiteknight wrote: »

In my opinion the damage looked worse that it really was because of the paint transfer which I am sure would have come off fairly easily.

your opinion means nothing to be honest, the other guy was stting there minding his own buisness and you damaged his car, whether it looked bad or not to you doesnt matter, it wasnt there before clumsy old you arrived on the scene.

you should have offered to pay the repair yourself, why should your mate be out of pocket when insurance renewal comes for the next 5 years as he will have to declare this to any insurance company for the next 5 years so his premium will rise.

seen as you cant now pay the damage bill you could and probably should pay your friend whatever thier insurance goes up by.

if you owned a car and were parked and someone came along and damaged it you would want it repaired aswell.

Viper_7

My pet hate as well. I wonder what would have happened if the other vehicle wasn't occupied...
If I was the other party I'd make sure it went through the insurance too and create a whole world of pain for the careless persons involved.

I doubt the premiums will go up due to this, as said the policy holder has now lost a "life". Usually allowed two lives in a 3 year period. If they do end up losing their no claims bonus down the line, then it could get very expensive.

As they are the driver, they are responsible for the vehicle and the occupants, so allowing you as a passenger he's accepted anything that occurs is under their insurance.

Keeping_Positive

Should he expect me to pay or should I offer to pay??

You have to ask???