crazy claim for a bump??

vicki98_2

hi all, haven't been about on here for ages so please bear with me while i find my feet again!!

Am i right in thinking that the insurance system has gone slightly mad? or is the following normal procedure?? any advice/words of encouragement greatly appreciated!!

before i begin, this incident has happened just 3 weeks before my OH renews car insurance to give him 4 years no claims (hence our annoyance!!)

on his way home from work OH has been sat at a set of traffic lights behind another car .. the lights have changed and all have begun to move off. The car infront of OH has stalled and he has continued into the back of this car .. what he describes as a little bump, at no more than 5 miles per hour .. anyhow, the only damage to either vehicle is a small crack in the other cars bumper. Obviously, OH hit the other car so therefore he is liable for the accident etc etc (making us pig sick due to the timing - 3 weeks before the 4 years!). After exchanging details and my OH offering to pay for damage out of own pocket if needed (trying to protect his upcoming 4 year bonus) both have driven off and no more said between them.

tonight we have received a call from the husband of the other driver to inform that they will be claiming off the insurance as he has sought advice from his company and they have advised him to do so .. incase there are any future problems. He has also informed OH that he has had to get a courtesy car (is this a little bizarre??) as his car is not drivable, cannot be repaired until Mid March and he needs to get to his hospital appointments.

OH is now a very unhappy bunny, not only at the thought of the loss of a potential 4 year bonus, but also at the prospect of having to sell the car due to the potential rise in premiums.

I am just gobsmacked!! is this normal procedure .. a courtesy car for a small crack in a bumper? Remembering an accident i had myself, where the car was written off after I was hit by a 3rd party, I could not get a courtesy car as they had to determine liability as the other driver involved may have had a medical reason for causing the accident - even though he was clearly at fault!

what are your views?

Bossyboots

Are they still saying there is only a crack in the bumper or is there suddenly extra damage.

I would say though that I was hit from behind by a vehicle that had been barely moving. The bump was so light, that had my daughter not been in the car I am not sure I would even have realised. There was no visible damage but when I went to open my boot I couldn't. It ended up with a £600 repair bill to the damaged boot.

However, my car was drivable then and indeed was still drivable after my accident last year when I was hit by a car travelling much faster. I find it hard to believe therefore that this car is undrivable and I suspect it has been involved in another accident, the damage for which will be laid at your OH's door.

The only thing your OH can do is tell his insurance company his side of events and the damage he saw.

This happened to my OH's cousin but his insurer arranged for a paint chip test (or something like that) which established that the damage to the car he hit was done at two different times because the major damage was clearly new whereas the damage he had actually caused was rusty.

vicki98_2

having not heard from the insurance company as yet, we do not know what exactly it is they are claiming for, except what he said over the phone about the car being undriveable and the need for the courtesy car. from piecing together what they have said so far, it seems like they have taken the car to a garage that hasn't been arranged by their insurance company and asked for it to be repaired. they said that their car is currently in the garage waiting to be repaired in mid march! why they have got a courtesy car is beyond me, unless like you say, they have been involved in another accident, or there is more damage than was visible at 1st.

Ivrytwr3

Whether they get paid a £1 million or just the cost of the repair you will only be hit with a bill for your excess. Don't worry about it, that's why we pay for insurance, yes it's a !!!!!! you won't make your 4 years no claims, but it could have been much worse. People are nice as pie at the scene of an accident, but unfortunately some people after having time to think start to see the £ signs!!!!

PS Go through Quidco for your next insuance, i have just got £80 cashback on a £300 insurance with Zurich.

peter999

vicki98 wrote:

Am i right in thinking that the insurance system has gone slightly mad? or is the following normal procedure?? any advice/words of encouragement greatly appreciated!!

what are your views?

Yes, you are right.

People exagerrate claims & falsely add whiplash etc.
Insurance companies won't contest these smaller claims, when it's pretty clear whose fault the accident was.
They look at the final cost if it went to court & claim was contested.

When I told my insurance company the other party's claim for whiplash was a lie & a joke
-they didn't want to know.

peter999

Ps: I grazed the other car at maybe 1mph.
He jumped out, was running around, phoned his friend to come with camera.
Mysteriously a claim for whiplash appeared on his insurance claim.
-What a liar !!

Mrs_pbradley936

I am no expert but I thought the insurance company arranged for the car to be assessed by a garage and then took account of that. I know they take photos because in a claim I had (which was settled only recently) both drivers versions were looked at because I would not agree to a 50/50 settlement the insurance company solicitors threatened court action.

Ask to see a copy of the damage report, I was given photos of the other drivers’ damage. In my case there was no dispute about the amount of damage just who was at fault.

ftbworried

Whether the third party get a hire car or not it really if of now affect to you. Like another poster said, whether his claims sums to £10 or £10,000 your premium will still go up. I had a rear end shunt once (i was the one shunted) and like the other poster the car appeared to be fairly ok, but i couldnt open the boot and it transpired that it had actually buckled the chasis etc and it was undrivable.

Lets face it, if the guy needs a courtesy car then he needs a courtesy car. He is the one that has been inconvenienced due to the actions of your OH so he is entitled to it. The size of the claim is not proportional to the size in your premium hike.

I once backed into a guy who was also reversing in a car park. He tried to settle 'outside of insurance'- infact he wanted ME to pay for it. I wasn't sure I was totally at fault so I rang the insurance company who said that it was 50/50 liability. I rang the third party and told him the news - I never heard from him again- he never contacted his or my insurance about it. I never claimed on insurance as the damage was minimal. So, it cost the insurance company NOTHING, no one claimed. But when my renewal came through my premium went up just because i had an accident. The claim cost was £0 but my premium still went up. I might have well claimed for a million pound for all it was worth.

mattymoo

To clarify this a bit
- You are liable for cost of repairs. Even a bumper for an Astra or Focus will set you back £500-800 excluding fitting and painting costs. They are all one piece items now and unrepairable. If this car is an exotic or from the far east expect a higher cost.
- You are also liable for hire car costs if incurred although the other driver has a duty to mitigate his loss. If the car is driveable then he should only hire for the time the car is being repaired - typically 3-4 days.
- There may be a claim for whiplash. Some people are more susceptible than others.

You do not have to pay an excess. This is only payable if you claim for repairs to your own car from your insurers (if fully comp). I think your original post stated no damage to your car.

You will lose 2 yrs ncd. Typical scales are like this.
1 yr = 30%
2 yr = 40%
3 yrs = 50%
4 yrs = 60%
5 yrs = 65%

So at 3 yrs you are paying 50% of base premium. Lets say you pay £500 and base premium is £1000.
Next year you will pay £700 then £600 the year after.
Had you earnt the NCD (e.g. no accident) then you would pay £400 at next renewal and £350 the year after. So premium difference will be
£1300 - £750 = £550.
So the claim would need to cost less than £550 to make it unecomic to
deal via your insurers. Whiplash alone would be £1500 and repairs around £900 easily. Obviously you need to do your own maths based on the calculation method above and using your insurers NCD scale.

Astaroth

If it is a courtesy car then there is no cost for it any way. I would however suspect that it is a hire car and most likely a credit hire car which the garage has referred them on to (and will have received payment for doing so - obviously a question on if their advise that the car is undrivable or not is actually independent or not)

Obviously you can mention it is minor damage to your insurers and dont consider the vehicle to be undrivable so your insurers will look into it when they get the bill. As has been stated though, damage can be much more than what is visible.

clark1982

A simlar accident happened to me. I had stopped to join a Q of traffic. The other driver was to busy looking at bill boards and run in to the back of me. He was prob going no more than 20mph, this caused £1200 damage. Although the damage looked minor, when I looked under the carpet in the boot, the underside of the car was all caved in. My car was off the road for 3 weeks, throughout this period I was given a hire car from Enterprise rentals.