Insurance company waiting for me to give up

Helen_J_3

Right, thanks for the replies everyone!

Last night I spoke to the witness who said right at the beginning the bus was not involved, and I double checked with her that that's what she said. She said the bus wasn't even behind him it was in another lane!! It's quite obvious he is lying to try and escape liability. What exactly do I do now, as this 'information' needed from the Police about the bus doesn't even exist since the bus was not involved?

Astaroth

You are not asking the insurers of the vehicle to admit liability but to deal with you as an innocent party and therefore on a without prejudice basis..... it doesnt matter to you who is liable out of the bus or the car, what matters to you is getting your car repaired rather than who pays it (as long as it isnt you or ultimately your insurers).

Unfortunately these things take time. The police wont release a copy of their report until the criminal file is closed as they cannot prejudice the CPS. Unfortunately a minor motor accident is not top priority for the police and it can take months (or longer) for reports to be finished and it be decided that no criminal prosecutions should happen. You then have to wait for the police to remember they have an outstanding report request and get round to photocopying it and posting it.... of cause they will have banked the cheque they get from the insurer months ago.

I havent been a claims handler for a while now but certainly 7 years ago an insurer could deal with an agreed innocent party and sort out those costs after liability is agreed between the parties that are arguing liability. I haven't heard of any changes in the law that would prohibit this from happening.

Helen_J_3

Astaroth wrote: »

You are not asking the insurers of the vehicle to admit liability but to deal with you as an innocent party and therefore on a without prejudice basis..... it doesnt matter to you who is liable out of the bus or the car, what matters to you is getting your car repaired rather than who pays it (as long as it isnt you or ultimately your insurers).

Unfortunately these things take time. The police wont release a copy of their report until the criminal file is closed as they cannot prejudice the CPS. Unfortunately a minor motor accident is not top priority for the police and it can take months (or longer) for reports to be finished and it be decided that no criminal prosecutions should happen. You then have to wait for the police to remember they have an outstanding report request and get round to photocopying it and posting it.... of cause they will have banked the cheque they get from the insurer months ago.

I havent been a claims handler for a while now but certainly 7 years ago an insurer could deal with an agreed innocent party and sort out those costs after liability is agreed between the parties that are arguing liability. I haven't heard of any changes in the law that would prohibit this from happening.

What I don't understand is why the Police are even involved at my end. I reported the accident to my insurer but not the Police. I think the driver that went into me reported it to the police to try and cover up this bus story. But there were no Police at the scene as there was no crime??

Why does there need to be a criminal report? It's a simple Car A drove into Car B by accident so Car B needs to be fixed by Car A's insurers.

Astaroth

Anything reported to the police results in a police report.... hence why police hate taking calls for minor vandalism etc which they know they will never catch anyone over. The police report will identify the name of the bus driver (if he has been identified) and also include his statement along with any witnesses (independant or otherwise).

Companies like bus companies tend to be much more talkative to the police than they are to insurance companies and it also means that the insurers don't have to keep chasing the bus company for a statement etc. Given their is a potential crime committed by the bus (failure to stop, failure to exchange details) the police would have to investigate if they accept a report.

Unfortunately it is not that simple, it can be that Car A was pushed into Car B by Bus C therefore making both A and B innocent parties and C's insurance liable for the damages to all the vehicles. If B has comprehensive insurance they would normally claim off their own insurance and allow their insurers to argue with A and C over who should be reimbursing them.

Helen_J_3

Astaroth wrote: »

Anything reported to the police results in a police report.... hence why police hate taking calls for minor vandalism etc which they know they will never catch anyone over. The police report will identify the name of the bus driver (if he has been identified) and also include his statement along with any witnesses (independant or otherwise).

Companies like bus companies tend to be much more talkative to the police than they are to insurance companies and it also means that the insurers don't have to keep chasing the bus company for a statement etc. Given their is a potential crime committed by the bus (failure to stop, failure to exchange details) the police would have to investigate if they accept a report.

Unfortunately it is not that simple, it can be that Car A was pushed into Car B by Bus C therefore making both A and B innocent parties and C's insurance liable for the damages to all the vehicles. If B has comprehensive insurance they would normally claim off their own insurance and allow their insurers to argue with A and C over who should be reimbursing them.

But my problem now is that my thoughts about the bus have been confirmed - the bus never hit the person behind me, it was in another lane and that's why it didn't stop to give details. The driver behind me had no damage to the back of his vehicle. So should I ring the police about this accident and tell them my story?

stef73

At the moment im dealing with a crash where i was hit , other person was insured gave her details but wont tell her insurance . My insurance company has wrote to the other parties insurance and they have wrote to there client (who wont write back ) . My insurance company have told me that the other party has 90 days to contact her insurance or her insurance have to by law accept fault and pay out (and also cancel her insurance for failing to follow T&C 's) . Dont know if you could ask your insurance company about the 90 day bit ?

Astaroth

90 day law? There is no such thing that I ever heard of!!

There are timescales set out for legal action and fairlure to meet with them allows someone to issue court proceedings (the legal system encourages people to resolve issues outside of the courts and whilst it doesnt stop people going to court earlier it does change fees payable if the court thinks people didnt try hard enough to resolve things out of court)

The police would have contacted you if they wanted your version of events or statement... as I say, the police tend to be even more ponderous than insurers when dealing with these things.

Helen_J_3

stef73 wrote: »

At the moment im dealing with a crash where i was hit , other person was insured gave her details but wont tell her insurance . My insurance company has wrote to the other parties insurance and they have wrote to there client (who wont write back ) . My insurance company have told me that the other party has 90 days to contact her insurance or her insurance have to by law accept fault and pay out (and also cancel her insurance for failing to follow T&C 's) . Dont know if you could ask your insurance company about the 90 day bit ?

I have heard of the 90 day law idea but my insurance company told me that it varies from insurer to insurer and could be anything up to 6 months.

Helen_J_3

Astaroth wrote: »

90 day law? There is no such thing that I ever heard of!!

There are timescales set out for legal action and fairlure to meet with them allows someone to issue court proceedings (the legal system encourages people to resolve issues outside of the courts and whilst it doesnt stop people going to court earlier it does change fees payable if the court thinks people didnt try hard enough to resolve things out of court)

The police would have contacted you if they wanted your version of events or statement... as I say, the police tend to be even more ponderous than insurers when dealing with these things.

The Police don't want my version of events because they have only heard his story and are obviously waiting (if doing anything at all) for this bus information. But my problem is the bus wasn't involved at all! The driver of the car behind me is lying. Therefore if I wait for the information from the Police I will be waiting until the day I die.

bikingbarney

im having a problem with my insurance at the moment too.

i had a collision on a roundabout where the 3rd party left his lane and drove into the side of my car.

i informed my insurance and gave them the details of the 3rd parties insurnace(saga)
the accident happended on boxing day and my insurance have still not got hold of saga, saying they kep getting put on hold or they wont respond to letters etc.

apparently saga have 90 days(3 months) to repond to any letters under motor insurance law or something ??