Someone hit my car - how to claim?

stphnstevey

Someone hit my car when it was parked in a supermarket - we got their insurance details and there was a witness who saw them do it and is willing to be a witness, although they are claiming they didn't do it.

Do I need to tell my insurance company or do I just call the other person's insurance company?

vax2002

First you need to get your witness from the stage of bystander to witness by asking them for a statement as to what they saw and are willing to say in court.
If this adds up then obtain 3 quotes for repairs to the damage and send all 3 to the other party with an invoice for the damage based on the lowest quote, you must let them insigate a claim on their insurance for their losses.
If they fail to do so, issue a notice before action and then a claim at their local county court.

stphnstevey

Can i not just contact their insurance company and make a claim?

Do I need to tell my insurance company?

hcb42

are you fully comp?

if so the easiest way is to ring your insurers and they will take care of it, including recovering from the TP, you just need to give details over phone usually, including witness details etc.

Far easier than chasing other people's insurers around, and no need for you to be doing all the legwork for quotes, that's pointless - it is one of the benefits of being fully comp!

stphnstevey

I am fully comp - does that make a difference?

I was worried that contacting my insurance might put my insurance premiums up?

thegirlintheattic

stphnstevey wrote: »

I am fully comp - does that make a difference?

I was worried that contacting my insurance might put my insurance premiums up?

Not if they claim from the other persons insurance. I would be very clear that you ONLY want it repaired IF the other person's insurance pays. Otherwise you can get it done without recking your premiums yourself if it wants fixing.

hcb42

Even if they dont recover the monies from the TP for some reason, then as long as you have a protected NCD you wouldnt even lose it then.

we pay insurance for a reason, seems mad to me to never claim when you need it, unless it is very minor!

OP it is much easier to sort that way, you are paying claims specialists to solve it for you, all you have to do is drop the car off in the garage (and some might even pick it up)

stphnstevey

But if I claim on my insurance, even with no claims discount protection, I have a to add it to every insurance quote for the next five years! Also I am sure the next insurance company I go with would take that into account and up my premiums

thegirlintheattic

stphnstevey wrote: »

But if I claim on my insurance, even with no claims discount protection, I have a to add it to every insurance quote for the next five years! Also I am sure the next insurance company I go with would take that into account and up my premiums

Not if it wasn't your fault, even if it was it may not affect it.

I had two accidents within a few weeks, one not at fault, and one where the fault was disputed but eventually landed at my door. My premium this year was about £150 cheaper than last years!

McKneff

Someone hit my car last week. They admitted responsibility.I took it for a quote and forwarded it to the TP, Their insuranc company called me on Monday, Their engineer came to inspect the car on Friday, ok ed it, car going in this week for repair, all done in a matter of days.

OP what you need to do is
A. Inform your insurance company, tell them that for the time being it is for INFORMATION ONLY, they will give you a reference.
(you must inform them, its part of your contract with them, no contact, future insurance could be invalidated)

B. Contact the third party's insurance company, if they dispute it, tell them you have independant witnesses and that if they dont admit liability you
will start the process with a claims management company, (This will cost them a lot of money on top of the claim and they know it)

C. If they dont admit responsibility, start the process with the Claims management company, that'll teach them.

Good luck and let us know how yu get on.

moneybags1957

Your insurance may well go up even if you fully recover your costs (see my post beware increased premium after no fault accident) Also even with protected NCB the insurance company can load the initial premium pre-NCB.
Finally, generally speaking,you must inform your insurance company of any incident,check your policy wording on this.
The third paty MUST by law give you his insurance details following an accident involving injury or damage to a third party,IT IS A CRIMINAL NOT CIVIL OFFENCE so if they don't make a complaint to the police,do NOT accept any "it's a civil matter nonsence" make a fuss,say you will make an official complaint if action is not taken.Finally once you have the third party details inform his insurance company anyway,this will put pressure on them.If you are the driver and one or more of the following has happened:

A person, other than yourself, is injured


Damage is caused to another vehicle or to someone else's property


An animal has been killed or injured, except in your own vehicle or trailer (an 'animal' is defined as 'any horse, cattle, sheep, pig, goat or dog')
You must:

Stop and stay at the scene for a reasonable time;


Give your vehicle registration number, your name and address, and that of the vehicle owner (if different), to anyone with reasonable grounds for asking for those details;


If you do not exchange those details at the scene, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police officer as soon as you can and in any case within 24 hours.


Where another person involved is injured, then in addition to the above you must:

Produce your certificate of insurance, if anyone at the scene has reasonable grounds to see it. If you do not, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police officer as soon as you can. This must be within 24 hours.
If you don't have your certificate of insurance at the scene of the accident, you may take it to a police station you nominate when you report the incident. You must do this within seven days of the accident. Reporting the accident to the police by telephone is not sufficient and you cannot ask someone else to report it for you.
You must do these things not only when you are directly involved in an injury accident, but also if your vehicle's 'presence' was a factor.
If you have any doubts, we advise you to complete the above steps as soon as the accident happens, regardless of who was at fault.
Failing to do the above can mean two offences are being committed: failing to stop and failing to report. It is possible to be guilty of either or both. The penalties for each offence include a maximum fine of £5,000 and five to ten penalty points on your driving licence. The court also has the power to disqualify you from driving for either offence and is likely to do so when both offences are committed on the same occasion.

Even if there was no personal injury involved, if someone holds you responsible for the accident they have the right to request your insurance details. This request can be made later and not necessarily at the time of the accident. A failure to provide that information without a reasonable excuse is also an offence.

It will also be a condition of your insurance policy that you report the accident to your insurance company within a reasonable time, even if you do not want to claim yourself. A failure to do so can give your insurance company the right to refuse to cover you in the future.