Non fault claim & Drive Assist - help!

sg0102

Hi all,

When did car insurance claims become so confusing?

My car was hit over the weekend whilst parked outside a friends house; fortunately the 3rd party left a note with their details for me to find (i hadn't expected that!).

In my simple mind, i thought a simple call to my insurer, Santander, and it'd all get sorted easily...

They however have passed on my details to DriveAssist; who are about to sort out my hire car; and "if i want" the repair. They then told me, that if i didnt want them to carry out the repair, i'd have to talk to my insurer; but not Santander, no, Equity Red Star to sort it out.

I'm lost; i'd just like to know what is STANDARD practice for getting this sorted? Should i expect Santander to sort it? Can Drive Assist be trusted? Or should the 3rd party's insurer (Dial Direct) sort it for me??

Any advice anyone can offer me would be fantastic!!

Thanks in advance
Steve

InsideInsurance

Santander isnt an insurer but is a white label of Equity Direct Broking, which you will see from the footer of their webpage and the documents they've sent.

It appears that the broker has placed your business with Equity Red Star who is the actual insurer.

It isnt uncommon for insurers to sell non-fault claims to accident management companies like Drive Assist as they get paid for it and dont have to incur costs of handling your claim. The AM companies however can only operate if youre proceeding with repairs etc or have personal injury. They wont negotiate things first like some insurers will.

AndrewSmith

Do not accept a hire car unless your car in unroadworthy as a result of the damage caused. You should always if possible accept a free of charge courtesy car from the repairing garage instead of allowing these lecherous credit hire companies to get involved. All they are doing is increasing the cost of motor insurance for everyone.

Speak directly to your insurer Equity Red Star, Santander are only acting a broker in this case.

Alternatively speak to the other drivers insurer and offer them the opportunity to repair it for you and provide a suitable replacement vehicle. You may find that they treat you far better than your own insurer as they will be keen to satisfy you as opposed to having to pay out ridiculously inflated car hire bills.

Remember you are only entitled to a replacement vehicle while yours is off the road for repairs, not while waiting for parts or anything else, unless your car is unroadworthy due to the damage.