Car Crash Advice?

marbella

My son was coming home last night and the roads were frosty and wet and he skidded and hit the safety barrier then bounced and hit a wall. There were no other cars involved and his friend and him were not hurt but just a bit shaken. The police came and then the recovery truck and took his car away as it was undriveable. The police were great and made sure they were both ok and we came home. The question I need to ask is: he is insured third party/fire & theft, if his car is a write off or if it is repairable, either way do we need to go through the insurance company and inform them or can we either arrange to have it mended or sell it on for salvage? I have not done this before after driving for 33 years and I am a bit lost to say the least. The main thing is he didn't want to lose his no claims as he pays quite a high insurance premium in the first place. Hope someone can help. Thanks.

maninthestreet

You have to inform the insurance company of the accident - the owners of the wall and safety barrier may want to make a claim against your son.

marbella

Right thanks, that answers my question. Thanks so much I was really worried. It will mean an increase in his insurance premium but I suppose it's not worth taking the risk. Will he be covered if they do make a claim?

BenL

You will probably be responsible for picking up the tab for the recovery company and storage as well.Try to get the car back asap to minimise this risk.

Breakdown providers like the AA don't usually handle incidents like this.

maninthestreet

marbella wrote: »

Right thanks, that answers my question. Thanks so much I was really worried. It will mean an increase in his insurance premium but I suppose it's not worth taking the risk. Will he be covered if they do make a claim?

As he had a valid insurance policy in force, any third party claim will be covered - that's why you have to have 3rd party insurance cover if he use a car on the public roads.

Chippy_Minton_2

If the police called the recovery that will be £150. Do something asap with the car, as of this morning the garage will start charging £20 per day storage. What time of night are we talking about? The barriers are expensive to repair and cost even more out of hours. Get onto the insurance company if you haven't done so yet.

marbella

The recovery lorry was actually passing with another car on the back at the time so the police did't need to call them. We have been up to the garage to see his car and have been told that it will cost about £3500 to repair. His car is worth about £7500 so the garage is going to find out whether or not a salvage yard will buy it to repair or do we want it repaired and have it back to save making a claim on his insurance. I also have had a look at the barrier and the wall he hit and can't see any serious damage. I didn't realise this would be so complicated but I am working through it with all the advice. Thanks.

Chippy_Minton_2

marbella wrote: »

The recovery lorry was actually passing with another car on the back at the time so the police did't need to call them.

He'll still get charged recovery costs.

Ouch a £7.5k car and third party insurance.

maninthestreet

marbella wrote: »

The recovery lorry was actually passing with another car on the back at the time so the police did't need to call them. We have been up to the garage to see his car and have been told that it will cost about £3500 to repair. His car is worth about £7500 so the garage is going to find out whether or not a salvage yard will buy it to repair or do we want it repaired and have it back to save making a claim on his insurance. I also have had a look at the barrier and the wall he hit and can't see any serious damage. I didn't realise this would be so complicated but I am working through it with all the advice. Thanks.

Making a claim on the insurance isn't likely to help - 3rd party policies do not cover damage to the insured car.

Anihilator

What sort of moron insures a 7.5K third party! I bet comprehensive was at most a hundred quid extra

Chippy_Minton_2

Anihilator wrote: »

What sort of moron insures a 7.5K third party! I bet comprehensive was at most a hundred quid extra

Believe it or not it's often cheaper.


Those forced into TPF&T are often refused comprehensive insurance by the main companies.