Help Please - Accident - Car Written Off Due to Skidding on Ice

dinosaur1234

Can anyone give me some advice please

On 7 February my sister in law was leaving her estate (with my baby nephew to go to nursery) and her car skidded on ice which was there because of a burst water main that had been reported as burst eight days prior but still had not been fixed.

The car skidded out of control and hit industrial metal fencing the car has since been declared a write off (car is Nissan Primera - L registration)

The value of the car was £575
Car seat at 3110
Loss of earnings £130
Prescription £7
Damage to fence - still unknown

My sister in law has fully comprehensive insurance with a £450 excess and is under 25

We phoned the local water board and then completed the claim form that they sent they have today replied with the following:

Thank you for returning our claim form I am sorry to hear of the damage and inconvenience caused

I have carried out my investigation and can confirm that there was a burst on x Lane and can confirm due to prevailing weather conditions the area was gritted. For a claim to succeed it must me proved that x Water has been negligent, I feel on this occasion that our actions were reasonable and I am not able to accept liability for any damage sustained.

However based on the informatoin available I am willing to offer £350 , but the £350 is purely as a gesture of goodwill and not in anyway an admission of liability.

If this offer is acceptable please complete and return the enclosed form ....

If the offer is not acceptable please provide additional evidence to support your case in writng for an increased settlement figure


Whilst the car was only worth about £500 this would go towards the replacement however the questions we have about accepting this are:

If this does not give the water board laibility then my sister in law will have to incur a claim and therefore lose her no claims bonus increasing her subscriptions next year plus incur the £450 excess - should we therefore ask the insurance company to pursue the water board directly

Also if we accept the £350 and no liability is incurred by the water board are we obliged to advise our insurance company of the settlement or can we retain this for the inconvenience

Thanks in advance for your help and advice:o

Mrs_pbradley936

I would be inclined to tell your insurance company everything and take the £350 but not process a claim.

stacey21_2

Also tell your sister in law that fully comprehensive is usually only needed when the value of your own car is at least £5k. Paying an excess on £450 on a car worth £500 odd quid is madness. TPFT should be more than enough.

jonesMUFCforever

Can your sister not claim off the insurance for the car (even if she gets next to nothing because of the excess) and keep the compensation from the water company to cover loss of earnings which IMO would not be covered under the driving policy?
The motor insurance company should also be told about the damage to the fence in case there is a further damages claim for the repair made against her in the future.