How long does a third party have to make a claim against me?

Goldfinger2

Hello,

A little over a month ago. I was involved in a fairly low speed shunt. The car at the front that caused it promptly sped off, so it seems that basically everyone is liable for the damage to the back of the car in front of them. I was the last car of 3 cars.

There was no visible damage to the car in front. I have pictures to show this. There may have been internal damage though, who knows? There was some minor damage to my car which I got fixed for a couple of hundred quid and paid for myself.

My insurance company (Swiftcover) were promptly informed of the incident, given the other drivers details and have admittted liability on my behalf for the car in front of me, however the insurers of that vehicle (a fleet car) have it seems yet to make any sort of claim. My question is how long can they leave this before it becomes invalid? Presumably the claim must time out at some point?

I would imagine they have to get a damage figure agreed and repairs made promptly or the car could be damaged further, have other incidents etc and they could try and stick me with the bill.

Am I right to think their claim will time out soon?

If it does not how do I protect myself against having to pay for damage that I did not cause? At the time of the incident the other car already had scuffs at the back indicating this was not the first time it had been damaged. I just don't want to end up being the patsy.

Crazy_Jamie

Under the Limitation Act 1980 a party has six years to bring a claim for damage to property, and three years for personal injury. Realistically things will happen a lot quicker than that, but those are the absolute limits.

You don't have to worry about protecting yourself against damage that you did not cause. That is the job of your insurance company. Just let them know what happened from your perspective, including the non related damage that you observed (and, crucially, why you think it wasn't caused by the accident, be it due to its position or some other reason), and let them handle it.

On a side note, it is interesting that say that this was caused by the driver in the front car. If the driver deliberately slammed on his brakes to cause the accident, he would not then leave the scene. If, on the other hand, he had or believed that he had a legitimate reason to brake, which is most likely, the fault for the accident lies with the vehicles behind him who were not paying adequate attention and/or did not leave enough of a distance from the car in front to stop safety. Of which you are one.

InsideInsurance

The law of limitations applies from the date of knowing not the date of the incident. In car accidents it is normal that you know about injuries/ damage etc almost straight away etc but if children/ minors are involved then the the clock starts ticking from their 18th birthday (so effectively the limit is their 21st birthday)

The reality is most happen in the first 9 months, it then goes quiet up to the about 30 months after at which time there is another small peak as claims management companies/ ambulance chaser remind people they only have 6 months left to claim