winter warning regarding your insurance cover

lisyloo

Hi Red Cat,

I believe the normal understanding of anti-freeze is the stuff (pink/green) that goes in your coolant to stop it freezing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze

The stuff you put on your windscreen is generall called "De-Icer".
That's what they have on the tims where I live anyway

We use hot water.

olly300

Red_Cat wrote: »

Anti freeze and coolant, whilst having some chemical similarities do different things.

Remember, coolant stops your engine overheating when warmed up and stops the coolant liquid freezing in winter (potentially cracking the engine cylinder block or head).

Anti freeze helps defrost ice on the car, making it easier to scrape off.

I have two bottles on my kitchen floor.

One says "Engine coolant with anti-freeze" and the other simply says "De-icer". No where on the "De-icer" does it mention the word anti-freeze.

When I google anti freeze all the links talk about protecting the "cooling system" of an engine.

olly300

lisyloo wrote: »

I presume they mean the stuff you can put on your windscreen, which will end up on the floor once it's washed off.

Called "De-icer".

Both can take the paint of your car hence you shouldn't be liberal with it anyway.

JS101

I was just referring to normal de-icer. I know people who have put too much on, then scraped the windscreen, de-icer has hit the floor and have skidded on it. Very dangerous.

Another problem I have heard, a work colleague has cleaned his windscreen with de-icer, it has cleared up but cannot clean the windscreen with the wipers because the water is frozen from overnight. Then travelling to work the salt from the roads mixes with the de-icer and gradually the vision is impaired without being able to wash it away. By the time he got halfway he was travelling blind on the A1 and could only see the outline of other vehicles. Needless to say, he crashed. Very dangerous.

I have been using boiling water in the windscreen tube in the morning and warm water on the windscreen itself.

rjayne15

cheekycheeks000 wrote: »

be nice this is my first post:o
i live in a wee village on a hill, i couldnt get my car home on sunday night due to bad snow so i parked it at the local shop at the bottom of the village where on monday morning it was hit by another car luckily (or so i thought) she lives in the village too and had left her details on my windscreen.cut a long story short she is fully comp and now has a courtesy car at her door,we are third party fire and theft and because SHE HIT US when her car SKIDDED ON ICE we are not entitled to a courtesy car, we also have been informed that we need to wait for her insurance comp to contact us (which wont be until new year) then we need to submit 3 independent assesors results then wait AGAIN for them to decide which one to use then WE HAVE TO PAY TO FIX OUR OWN CAR ansd then submit a small claims through a lawyer to get the money back.and all this 4 days before xmas !!!!!!!!!!!!!BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!! apparently this is common policy for all accidents where snow involved...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Hi, similar happened to me this morning - a woman hit my parked car (parked cos Id skidded 5 mins earlier so had stopped and put hazards on) because she was not driving at a speed suitable to the driving conditions.

I have to wait and see if she admits liability, I mean who is going to? If she just says the car skidded on ice then what can I do?

Sorry for all those who jumped on you and attacked about only having 34rd party, what you need at a time like this is a "you poor thing" not a "serves you right"

lisyloo

I don't think anyone said "serves you right".
A couple of us gave some facts about what the policy does and does not entitle you to as we thought this was helpful information.
Shame on you for interpreting the free help that way,

I'd like to think that I would be honest if I had an accident.
However it would not be my decision to decide who is liable. The insurer makes the decisions not the policyholder. The policyholder can only be honest (or not).

If she just says the car skidded on ice then what can I do?

For future reference, independent witnesses are crucial.
This does not include anyone travelling with you.
Pictures can also be useful and a lot of mobile phones have cameras these days, but they don't show how the accident occured so witnesses are vital.
Most insurers won't go to court when it's one persons word against another without witnesses, so unless liability is crystal clear then it's often gets settled 50/50 or some other ratio between insurers.

You say she wasn't driving at a suitable speed, but you also did a skid?
I'm not judging just pointing out that the insurer may pick up on a contradiction here.

I hope it works out for both of you.

cheekycheeks000

she called her insurance straight away to tell them she hit my car and gave them my reg number.i do have witnesses and someone at the scene took mobile photos. surely tho if you hit another car then you are liable. i was hit this time last year and i had a replacement car and my car taken to a garage within an hour. difference is only that he didnt skid on snow and as for the 3rd party insurance im a single parent with 2 kids not everyone can afford the comprehensive level but i thought that at least having some sort of insurance,if i hit someone else they would at least get there car fixed even if i cant,but clearly this seems hardly worth the money eithr. i was not at fault, my car was visible the roads were gritted athough still had a lot of snow on them and im still being penalised for someone elses mistake......surely not right

Ian_W

cheekycheeks000 wrote: »

she called her insurance straight away to tell them she hit my car and gave them my reg number.i do have witnesses and someone at the scene took mobile photos. surely tho if you hit another car then you are liable.

MOSTLY, yes the person who collides with a stationary car is responsible - even in snowy conditions. If you have witnesses who saw the accident and photos that may help. But you don't have to do the things her insurer apparently told you or wait on their convenience. IF she is liable you have to mitigate your losses but she (her insurers) must put you back in the financial position you were in before the accident.

Is your car undriveable or can you still use it? What exactly do the witnesses say? Can you get copies of the photos?

There are accident management co's who, if they are convinced the other party is at fault, will arrange a replacement vehicle and for yours to be repaired without their insurers faffing you about as they appear to have told you.
If you can still drive it or if not having over the Christmas period isn't to much of an inconvenience I'd wait until after the holidays if not try then to-morrow.
Google accident management companies, there are 2 results here:
http://www.driveassist.co.uk/clientservices.html

http://accidentmanagement.co.uk/?gclid=CKjigvma7Z4CFVtn4wodyD8pIw

I don't know or recommend either co BUT stress to them you will only use their service if they guarantee IN WRITING that you will not be responsible for the costs if they don't recover them from the other side.

On the face of it you have good grounds to recover your costs, have your car repaired and have the use of an alternative vehicle whilst this is done.

someone else they would at least get there car fixed even if i cant,but clearly this seems hardly worth the money eithr.

The money is to compenate someone in your position - isn't that worth it? Oh, and you can't drive without at least 3p insurance.

lisyloo wrote:

You say she wasn't driving at a suitable speed, but you also did a skid?

I don't think the OP said that, she said she couldn't get up the hill and left it parked at the bottom. In any case the accident took place the following morning, some time after the OP parked up.

Hadrian

lisyloo wrote: »

Hi Red Cat,

I believe the normal understanding of anti-freeze is the stuff (pink/green) that goes in your coolant to stop it freezing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze

The stuff you put on your windscreen is generall called "De-Icer".
That's what they have on the tims where I live anyway

We use hot water.

Hot water WILL crack your windscreen.

Hadrian

cheekycheeks000 wrote: »

be nice this is my first post:o
i live in a wee village on a hill, i couldnt get my car home on sunday night due to bad snow so i parked it at the local shop at the bottom of the village where on monday morning it was hit by another car luckily (or so i thought) she lives in the village too and had left her details on my windscreen.cut a long story short she is fully comp and now has a courtesy car at her door,we are third party fire and theft and because SHE HIT US when her car SKIDDED ON ICE we are not entitled to a courtesy car, we also have been informed that we need to wait for her insurance comp to contact us (which wont be until new year) then we need to submit 3 independent assesors results then wait AGAIN for them to decide which one to use then WE HAVE TO PAY TO FIX OUR OWN CAR ansd then submit a small claims through a lawyer to get the money back.and all this 4 days before xmas !!!!!!!!!!!!!BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!! apparently this is common policy for all accidents where snow involved...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

Any vehicle parked or stationary at the side of the carriageway, unless parked in a designated and marked parking bay, is technically an obstruction.