Advice needed please, yet another car accident thread.

sg0

Long story short, I was in two lane one way road when a driver slightly ahead of me in the left hand lane decides to enter a bus station (there are signs prohibiting this) on the right hand side, cutting me up in the process. I hit him in the side of the rear door and we exchanged details. He verbally admitted he was at fault.

Now my insurance company looks like it wants to go 50:50 (joint liability) which I totally disagree with because the other driver failed to read road signs and performed an illegal and unexpected manouevere. Now all I want is for someone to pay for my damaged paintwork.

What are my options in proceeding in getting my insurance company to fight my corner bearing in mind I have been the one who has been proactive in trying to conclude this matter? Any advice would be appreciated.

It would also be helpful if anyone could advise as to how this will affect my no claims. My insurance is also due for renewal in a month or so, probably before this claim is settled.

InsideInsurance

First of all, is this your insurers own reaction to your version of events or has the TPI/TP contested liability?

If it is the TPI/TP contesting liability, what are their allegations/ version of events?

With most insurers an open claim equates to a fault claim and so if you renew during the claim it most likely will impact you. If you stay with your current insurer it will probably self correct if it is subsequently settled in your favour. Naturally it is more complex if you switch insurers.

Quentin

Your NCD will be affected till this is resolved (which means you will have reduced NCD at renewal). None will be awarded for this year and you will go down 2 years (from the max level your insurer uses).

Unless it is resolved as 100% the other side's blame, then your NCD will remain at that level for the next year.

All you can do is ensure your insurer has all the facts from your side of the story (presumably no witness/no cctv).

(You cannot rely on the admission you got from the other side at the scene)

PDAH

You might be able to put forward a good argument which is that you were driving at a reasonable speed when the other party drove across your path leaving you no way of avoiding the collision. A photo of the damage to the other vehicle might help you as you would expect to see damage from an impact as oppose to scraping which would occur if you changed lanes into him. If the other party is claiming, photos of the accident damage would normally be available. So you have a chance and you will have to argue your corner.

sg0

Thankyou for your replies,

the incident happened on the 5 of march, and a quote for the paint job is 250+vat. The TPI hasn't even submitted an accident report form according to my insurer who i'm finding to be unhelpful.

We were doing about 20mph and the nose of his car was about 3 meters ahead of mine in the left lane. The matter of contention is that the the other driver believes i had enough time to avoid him thus it is my fault aswell.

Photographs were sent showing both cars and signage about "buses only" into the exit he took, i tried to get cctv (14 days after incident) but apparently they only keep it for 7 days!! And this is Heathrow Airport!

The assistant on the phone mentioned "a lack of evidence because there were no witnesses" and this is why a verdict of joint liability maybe issued, but "we believe your version of events".

Maybe i'm getting a little ahead of myself and a final decision hasn't been made yet, but i just get the feeling my insurer wants me to carry the can for this because they dont want to go to court.

Quentin

Making a claim over £300 (which would have been less if you paid it yourself!) may not be the most cost effective way to deal with this!

(How much is your excess?).

Maybe better to cancel your claim, and pursue the third party yourself.

vax2002

Insurance companies like 50/50, they make lots of money from you over many years.
Cancel the claim and issue CCJ proceedings against the other driver, let them argue the 50/50 with a judge.
PS: basically they agree not to pay each other anything but instead put both peoples insurance up.
Not bad for the price of a phone call.
They are complete and utter bas&&ds that have long forgotten who the customer is.

InsideInsurance

Insurers dont like 50/50 at all unless they think their client is at fault. You often lose the customer and you evidently only get back 50% of your outlay, have to pay 50% of the TP's claim and this normally is massively more than any premium increase even if you do retain the customer.

It does sound like your insurers are doing a bad job. They are preparing you for the worst which isnt always a bad thing to do but in these circumstances it is far too early to consider anything given the TP hasnt even given the circumstances to their insurer yet!

You need to keep on with your insurers insisting that the TP is 100% liable and should be pursued on that basis.

sg0

My excess is £500. I have not made a claim yet, i'm waiting for TP liability before getting the car repaired.

This is my first road incident since i've started driving so all this is new to me. My thought process was naive and simple, TP was at fault and admits it, report it to insurer and fill out accident report form and now TP changes his mind!

I've spoken to the TP and he informed me that he has explained all this to the insurer but they are trying to "wangle it". Also in our phone conversatation i brought up his admittance which he said never happened.

About using the county court, how would i go about this? Can i ask to see any documents that he has submitted about the incident? He was driving a company car, who should I pursue?

Once again many thanks for your help.

Quentin

If your excess is £500, then no point claiming at all off your own insurance. for a £300 repair. Cancel your claim. Go back to your bodyshop and ask how much they will charge you (ie . not going through insurance).

You can use the county court to try and get a judgement against the third party. Read up on MCOL before you embark on this.

But as a first step contact the third part insurers, tell them you hold their insured responsible and ask if they will deal with this for you, then take it from their reply.

sg0

Update:

Phoned TPI and they have informed me that there is nothing
they can do for me because TP says i'm at fault. They are seeking costs from my insurer.

Any ideas what my next step should be?

thanks for reading