Car Insurance for scratched bumper

andypp_2

Hi.
I need some advise. This morning I scratched someones car bumper whilst reversing. The man concerned saw what happened and became quite irate. Although it only looked as if the paint had been scratched he insisted that his bumper was dented. We exchanged insurance details but I need to know the best way to proceed . I have an excess of £100 on my insurance so would it be cheaper to pay for it myself.
Thank you.

Bossyboots

andypp wrote:

Hi.
I need some advise. This morning I scratched someones car bumper whilst reversing. The man concerned saw what happened and became quite irate. Although it only looked as if the paint had been scratched he insisted that his bumper was dented. We exchanged insurance details but I need to know the best way to proceed . I have an excess of £100 on my insurance so would it be cheaper to pay for it myself.
Thank you.

You only pay your excess is you make a claim yourself. You don't pay it against a third party claim.

However, your premiums will go up so you still might be better offering to pay the costs yourself.

lisyloo

I know this won't help you now, but for the future and the benefit of other posters I suggest carrying a cheap or disposable camera in your glove compartment.

This is to take pictures in the event of an accident because sometimes people can try and claim a load of other damage on top which wasn't caused directly by the accident.
Ideally take some pictures before any vehicles are moved and if you can get points of reference in (side of road, white lines) then so much the better.

andypp_2

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I didn't know about not having to pay the excess on third party claims. I feel a bit better now as I have protected no claims discount.
Thank you.

gazza975526570

You could always as well let the claim go through your insurers and then when its settled call them and ask how much it was and you could always pay the claim back anyhow

shelly

andypp wrote:

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I didn't know about not having to pay the excess on third party claims. I feel a bit better now as I have protected no claims discount.
Thank you.

Please be aware that even though you have protected no claims your premiums will still go up.

nrsql

>> Please be aware that even though you have protected no claims your premiums will still go up.

How does that work?

Bossyboots

nrsql wrote:

>> Please be aware that even though you have protected no claims your premiums will still go up.

How does that work?

Your baseline premium will rise so although you will still get your full discount, it will be taken off a higher starting figure.

Seraphim

You always have to declare whether you've had any accidents when you take out insurance, so even if you still get x number of no claims, your premium will go up because you've had an accident.

mrbadexample

Colour co-ordinated bumpers aren't cheap to repair / replace. I hate the damn things - they're not bumpers, as you can't bump them without them breaking. :mad:

Whatever happened to proper bumpers? You could reverse until you hit something - you knew that was as far as you could go and it didn't write your car off. :rolleyes:

Wyndham

gazza975526570 wrote:

You could always as well let the claim go through your insurers and then when its settled call them and ask how much it was and you could always pay the claim back anyhow

While this is a good idea, often garages have two prices, one for people who are making an insurance claim, and one for people who are paying themlseves. Ones with a claim tend to be higher!

I also know that bumpers can look fine immediately after the accident, then crack as time goes on due to their "weakening" due to the bump. So while it may have looked fine, there could be deeper damage.