Car insurance advice please

goldfinger1

My daughter had a prang with her car this morning and hit the back of another car. There is not much damage to her car that we can see ( a smashed headlight, fog light and a scraped bumper). She says the other person's car wasn't too badly marked and he will need a new rear light cluster and possibly a scraped bumper renewed. My daughter is full comp and has a £350 insurance excess. If I do the repairs on her car (i.e I buy the parts and fit) will she have to still pay the £350 excess for the reapirs to the other parties car? If that is the case, is it more beneficial for her to put her car into the garage and get it repaired as well?

pompeyrich

The £350 only applies to damage to her car, so she wont have to pay if you repair it. You need to be 100% sure the damage is as light as it seems, nothing bent underneath etc. Unfortunately she will lose her no claims bonus and may, probably will, be considered a greater risk at renewal time, so there will be some cost later.

Exemplar

Agree with Pompey

goldfinger1

Thank you both for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it. I've had a look in the daylight and I'm not overly sure whether the bits where the light fixes on to, aren't damaged. They certainly look a bit twisted. I don't want to shell out for new lights and then find that they wont fix on. I'm now starting to think that she might be as well getting it professionally repaired. As well as being fully comp she has protected no claims bonus.

pompeyrich

OK I assumed she was a "new" driver without the benefit of protected no-claims. She will still, more than likely, be considered a greater risk, so the basic premium will probably go up, she will still get her 60%, or whatever she has, discount but of the new higher base. Might be worth doing a comparison, with and without the claim to see how much her renewal might be, add the £350 and then decide.