Cyclist Claim

cazzycozzy

Hi there all,

I recently had an unfortuate incident with a cyclist, whilst driving in town. I pulled out in front of him, obviously my fault, but i didn't see him.

Anyway, he's contacted me telling me his bike is a write off (despite the police feeling it was simply a buckled wheel) and the bike will cost £500 to replace.

We are a two car family, i was driving on my husbands insurance, who only has one years no claims. I have Eight years no claims on the other car's insurance. Will claiming the £500 through the insurance company affect my Policy on the other car or me getting car insurance in the future or because my husband is the main policy holder will it only affect him? Is it the car which is insured or the person driving?

Also, we are in a dilemma whether to pay the £500 quid ourselves or go through the insurance company as we don't know how much our premium will increase for next year?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

McKneff

Whether you go throuh your insurance company or not, you still have to inform them of the incident and make sure, if you are paying for it yourself that it is 'For Information Only' It is in every Insurance companies t & Cs.
Your policy may still be loaded, some do, some dont. Check with them when you inform them. and get them to confirm any info they give you in writing or email.

This is because you are more of a risk now that you were before the accident.

All insurance companies use a central data base now so even when you shop around for new insurance you have to declare this incident as they will find out from this database and if you dont declare it and it pops up, your insurance will be void.
Sorry.

Rolandtheroadie

I'd let the insurance handle it incase a further claim for injurys appears at a later date.

alistair.long

I would do the following (my insurance is more then £2k). Phone the cyclist and ask for a estimate of repair.
then write a simple agreement on paper.

I ............(cyclist name) .......... understand that I am accepting £500 as a full and final settlement in all aspects of the claim.
I understand that I should consult a solicitor but nevertheless have decided to accept.

Signed (by cyclist)
date .........

and then give him £500.

Or you can call your insurance and they will pay him £500 and it will affect your no claims. to see how much £500 will affect your bonus simply check on a comparison site.

Hope this helps.

lisyloo

Anyway, he's contacted me telling me his bike is a write off (despite the police feeling it was simply a buckled wheel) and the bike will cost £500 to replace.

The police are not experts in bicycles and sometimes you cannot tell straightaway about the damage.
If the frame is bent it could be a write-off.
However it's quite reasonable to expect a proper written quotation from a legitmate business.

I personally would not go for alistairs approach as the cyclist has 3 years to claim for personal injury.
If you do your own DIY paperwork then it might not be watertight.
You could get a solicitor to do the paperwork but then you've blown the budget for going direct.
I would go via the insurance personally.

BTW - he is not entitled to a new bike (unless the one he had was new).
If he had an old bike, he's entitled to the value of the old one.
The cyclist may genuinely not have understood this.

tomatoevousparlour

Even if it is just a buckled wheel that can easily be 500 pounds just for a wheel.

lisyloo

Yes, does depend on what type of bike it is.
I know you can get them for £69 at Halfords, but some people spend £3K on a bicycle.

But he's still not entitled to "new for old" replacement.

Andy7856

I think as suggested above I would see what no claims you stand to lose.

I would also ask the cyclist to get a written estimate from a local bike shop for the repair and ensure they write who the cheque needs to be paid out to, eg "Fred Cycles LTD". That way you will know he is not just on the look out for a free new bike! Not to frighten you too much the cyclist may want some money for bus fares for inconvenience/loss of transport.

I was knocked off my bike once, so from a cyclist point of view I can understand where he is coming from, but I'm suprised that he could claim for a new bike for an accident. If you ran over him and bust every bone then I guess the bike would be in the same condition, but by the sounds not.

challengedavid

i would pay him the £500 ask for the old bike and get him to sign as above

and i would count myself lucky that i did not cause anymore damage than the bike

tomatoevousparlour

I realise its not meant to be a new for old policy but why should he have to spend money to mend his bike when you hit him, ie it should be new for old

cazzycozzy

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all your replies, very helpful (most of them)

I guess I am not quibbling that I have to pay £500 as I agree that he shouldn't pay and I was mortified that I didn't see him especially being a rider myself. I am just trying to cover myself as I can be a bit soft and want to make sure that I deal with this as officially and sensibly as I can. Unofrtunately, we are not in a good enough position financially to just be able to give up £500. I am just worried our insurance premium will rocket as a result.

Thank you though