Car Insurers forcing me to settle my claim, what can i do?

sk76

Just a bit of background:

On a one way street at a stop sign when a 12ft lorry came beside me and turned into my car basically writing it off.
No witnesses and lorry drivers company not accepting liability. My insurers wrote off the car and gave me a cheque minus excess. They now after 6 months want me to settle on 50/50 basis as other party wont admit liability. I do not wish to do this as dont want to lose my NC and asked to go to court as have legal cover.
My insurers refused this as their outlay is too small (my car only worth £500), but i argued that although outlay for car may be small to them its all I could afford plus i have been spending money on buses/taxis since i havent gotten another car, also my premiums will also rise if i get another car.

I emailed them to say i will complain to ombudsman but just awaiting their final response. Can they make me settle when i do not wish to?

thx

dacouch

What are the exact circumstances eg was it a two lane one way street, were you both moving, were you parked, did the lorry turn and the back hit your car etc

sk76

It was a one lane, one way street and I had pulled out of a parked position having seen the lorry in my rear view and had gotten to the stop sign ahead of the lorry.
I was at the stop junction first and was looking right as you could only turn left, but the lorry came next to me and covered my view and then just turned left but as not enough room he hit my car from the front wheel hub and scrapped all the way onto my bonnet and took off my front bumper - he only stopped when i started beeping at him.

However, he now says I pulled out of a parked position without looking but I got to the stop sign first and was my right of way and he didnt have enough room thats why he hit me!

But, although insurers have written trying to get me to settle 50/50 claim, they say its not that they dont believe me but just that no witnesses and other driver/company not accepting liability and nothing more they can do.

Cannot believe this as totally not my fault yet they are gonna make me lose my NC which will mean i may not be able to afford insurance on another car. Am at a loss as to what to do or if there is anything further I can do or just settle with them so can get rid of this headache:(

auroan

If there are no witnesses and it's the lorry driver's word against yours..... how will going to court provide any other outcome ?

Hammyman

Just playing devils advocate here as someone who drove wagons for the thick end of two decades and experienced the following a lot...

Being completely honest about it, did you pull out in front of the lorry trying to beat it and make sure you were in front of it? Did you give consideration to the greater stopping distance the lorry needed? Could it be that you ended up in this situation because you pulled into his braking zone so the only place he had to go was alongside you?

I've had people pull out in front of me at junctions when I've been basically on top of them as in less than 20ft away. One decided to do it when I was so close that the only reason I didn't kill her is because there was a central reservation for oncoming vehicles to turn right into the road she was pulling out of and I steered into that as it was clear.

island2

Subrogation clauses give the insurer the right to settle any claim any which way they like.

sk76

Hammyman,

Thanks for ur input, but I did not pull out thinking I could get ahead of the lorry. As I said, I was already at the stop sign ahead of the lorry. The lorry drove up beside me and was (I'm assuming) only looking right for oncoming traffic as he didnt even stop at the sign, just saw the road was clear and turned left hitting my car with the back third of his lorry.

There wasnt enough room for 2 cars to turn left safely from the stop sign so what made him think his lorry could get thru I dont know...

Plus, I feel as if the insurers are trying to bully me into settling the claim. It seems all they have done thus far is ask the third party who was to blame and theyve said both of us and my insurers have said OK.
I thought the industry practice was for them to send out an investigator in such disputes whereby they make an independent assessment after seeing the road layout, junctions etc. and in my clase this has not even been considered!

Also, Can an insurance claim be left unresolved??

fivetide

Did you take pictures?


I'm not sure it can be unresolved forever but you do need to declare it as an ongoing claim for new insurance.

You may still have a policy you know. Not all insurers cancel at payout so you might be able to add another car to your existing policy instead of getting taxis all the time.

5t.

Quentin

If this is settled at 50/50, then you will be able to claim back 50% of your excess from the other side.

(If your "legal" cover is not prepared to fight this, maybe it's time to accept the situation. They won't pursue a case that they don't think has a likely chance of being successful in court, which appears the situation you are in.)

debred86

sk76 wrote: »

they are gonna make me lose my NC which will mean i may not be able to afford insurance on another car.

I have recently written off my car, my own fault and i had 5 yrs no claims, it went down to two according to my insurance. Not sure how they work it out, just thought i would tell you, might make u feel a bit better, as its not as bad as io thought. They have also said if i add a new car to the policy within 2 weeks of them paying me i wont have to pay anything until i renew in jan.

vax2002

Has the street got any cctv ? if so you can FOI request it from the council.