Had a little bumper bashing what happens next ?

roswell

Evening all,

I need some views / opinions, This evening i had a little bumper bashing session I was approaching a open T junction with give way sign planning to turn left, car in front slowed I slowed and looked right for on coming traffic none ... looked forward car in front moving off looked right *Bang* car in front had stopped there no imediate traffic and one car coming over the brow of a hill approx 700 meters away.

The good news is no one was hurt, there was an exchange of paint on the bumpers and possible some scuffing. Now with 8 years no claims and no previouse experance of this situation i dont know what to do next, We exchanged names / addresses and the other driver said he will access the damage in day light, before parting I checked his car there was no feel able scratches (so no deap damage) and not broken fixings.

Do i wait for him to advise how he wants to progress or should i report the incident to the police now and my insurance company ?

all advice welcomed.

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle

Or if you don't want to take it through the insurance companies, ask him to get a couple of quotes to repair and offer to pay. He gets his car fixed quicker and you don't lose any no claims.

nemo183

If nobody was hurt, you certainly don't need to report it to the police. If you feel it was your fault, then in your position, given the damage was minor, I'd offer to pay for it.

There is a small problem here - in theory, even if you pay from your own pocket, you may also have a duty to report it to your insurance company. This would obviously be a bad thing to do, so do what 99.9% of us would do - pay the bill, and forget it.

roswell

Thanks everyone, Well a little update firstly im going to wait for the other driver to contact me, Looking at my car this morning with a friend there is no paint off his car on mine and recon at worst a wash and some t cut will take out the scruff, friend recons the damage to the other car will be the same and said he wouldnt expect the other driver to make a claim unless they were pulling a fast one for wiplash etc

So i will just see if the other driver contacts me today and take it from there.

Thanks everyone, hopefully my NCD will live another year or 8.

Astaroth

It may be that the TP simply goes straight through his insurance or worse still through the credit option in which case they will contact your insurance company directly so the first you may hear is your insurers asking why they have been told you had been involved in an RTA when you havent told them as required by your policy.

Astorette

You may want to check but I think you will find you are liable under the T & C`s of you motor insurance contract to report any accident.

If you report it to the insurers as information only and the third party does decide not to pursue it then you wont lose your NCD.

However if the third party does (as Ast suggests) go directly through their insurer then you have done your bit and have your version of events recorded, if the third party decides to inflate the claim a little.

Bossyboots

Just because there is no visible damage does not mean there is none. I was rear ended and couldn't see any damage on my car. When I tried to open the boot to get pen and paper I could not do so. It was only standing side on and looking along the back of the car that you could see when it had gone in. Whether it was a trick of the light or what we couldn't work out because looking at the car straight on, it looked fine.

I was hit by a people carrier though so it wasn't bumper to bumper so hopefully in this case there is no other damage.

roswell

Thanks, i shall check my policy tonight, Thanks to the power of day light I have wiped my bumper with a damp cloth and let it dry, total damage is a small black mark smaller than a 5 P and 2 smaller black marks the size of a pen nib and all 3 look like they will polish out I cant see how he would get a whiplash claim out of that but think the idea of having my side documented could be good.

Astaroth

You have simple bad luck.... in once case I dealt with the policyholder hit a stationary vehicle at about 5 miles an hour but the driver of the other car died as a direct result of the accident (exceptional bad luck that the side window shattered and a shard punctured an artery)

If there is a personal injury claim put in then your insurers will investigate it and ensure it is genuine.

Have to admit I do find it amusing.... when people are the ones claiming off their insurance they post on here saying it is like getting blood from a stone to get money from the insurance company and yet when people have their insurance company paying out to a third party they think that their insurer will be handing out money like it is going out of fashion

Little_John

Its amazing how people will claim for whiplash injuries especially when the payout is a few grand and the TP has nothing to loose it will be your insurance company that pays and your 8 years no claims that will be lost.

Cars now with plastic bumpers hide a lot of damage they just pop back out and all looks ok, the TP may find that when he opens his boot if it opens he wont be able to close it again. I have had a fair share of accidents so I know they all claim whiplash even when they hit me as they may aswell get somthing out of it to help pay towards the insurance increase.

Whatever you do dont admit liability to anyone, dont phone the other person and if they contact you just refer them to the insurance company, contact your insurance company within 24 hours and let them know about the accinde give them your side of the story make a diagram and email it to them so they get a better picture of what happened. If you are seen to be proactive then they are more likley to fight your corner.

Bossyboots

Little_John wrote:

I have had a fair share of accidents so I know they all claim whiplash even when they hit me as they may aswell get somthing out of it to help pay towards the insurance increase.

You can't claim off your own insurer for whiplash if you caused the accident as far as I am aware.

After my accident I was offered £1000 for my whiplash without having to produce any evidence whatsoever that such an injury existed so you can understand why people try it on if it is that easy. (I was genuinely injured by the way and am still undergoing treatment).