Had a crash - Insurance questions

T1Cybernetic

So it finally happened, Someone crashed into me It was a low speed crash (I was in 2nd gear so probably only going 15MPH) and the other car was about the same speed, Everyone in the car is alive and well thankfully but the car looked a little worse for wear.

We were driving home from school with my 7 year old daughter and my partner in the car and someone driving through an alley way between the terraced houses drove straight into the passenger side of our car! (Less than 2 blocks away from home)

Admiral recon it's a write off but we have yet to find out... In the meantime I thought I should ask some questions as it's my first crash and I don't know what's going to happen!

I reported it straight away to the police because the driver of the other car didn't speak any English so I wanted some kind of formal middle man! and secondly because I was in total shock!

The passenger side of the car was pretty badly damaged, The wheel was bent and the bumper torn in half plus the car didn't drive because of the wheel being pushed up into the arch, I am pretty sure the suspension was snapped plus the left wing and door were bent and scratched up a bit, It looked like the drive shaft was bent so possible engine/gearbox damage and that was only a quick inspection of the car so god only knows whats wrong!

I believe admiral said they are more than likely going to send me a Cheque for the market value of the car once someone has looked over it and confirmed it's not economical to repair but don't hold me to that, I was still a little panicked on the phone.

The driver of the other car funnily enough only lives about 20 houses away, He has accepted responsibility but my insurance company couldn't find any details of insurance for him because it's a polish car and number plate so possibly a polish insurance company? I don't really know. Even the police at the incident said they didn't run his plate because it doesn't come up on their system So who knows how long this will go on for?

Phew, That is long winded but as you can see there are so many questions unanswered I just needed to get some off my chest!

"EDIT" Am I even posting in the right section!

vaio

think hard before claiming on your insurance as, if the other driver isn't insured, you will lose your no claims and end up with an at fault claim on your record.

The alternative is to claim directly off the MIB, they will pay if the other driver isn't insured and also, (I think) act as a clearing house for claims against foreign insurers. Either way, you avoid the possibility of a fault claim on your record and loss of NCB.

scooby75

Seems like a claim has already been put in, and loss of NCD will depend on the OP having any to begin with and whether any ncd is protected.

If details cannot be traced they should approach the MIB for you, as well as contact the police for details.

Initially this will probably go as a claim against you until a recovery is made from the third party. It will probably take a while to process as well.

T1Cybernetic

Yes I put the claim in straight away and I have zero no claims because I have only have my full licence since around last October.

I am going to leave it while Monday and check with admiral to see what's happening, If they still haven't had any luck with the other driver and his details I will contact him and ask for more details or for him to contact his insurance or anything to get the ball rolling really.

Insurance for me on a full UK licence was £1000 give or take, It was actually cheaper (and easier at the time) to be a provisional licence holder as I held my provisional for over 6 years Crazy...

olly300

vaio wrote: »

think hard before claiming on your insurance as, if the other driver isn't insured, you will lose your no claims and end up with an at fault claim on your record.

There are foreign EU and British drivers who drive legally in the UK whose car insurance is held in another EU country.

I have a friend who insures his car in France and has a French number plate because he lives there half the year. The car mostly stays in France but when it is here if he has a crash in the car his number plate will not show up even though he is legally insured to drive on British roads. (This also means he escapes camera tickets such as speed camera and yellow box junction as the British authorities are useless in chasing tickets overseas.)

The main difference between us and other EU countries is that we can legally drive with no id on us and no insurance documentation in the car. This means if we have an accident there is no way of establishing our identities and who our insurer is apart from our number plate.

In this case the OP is lucky as the guy lives down the road so they can get the relevant information from him.

vaio

Don't really see the point you are making...

the point I was making is that if the other driver is not insured then MIB will pay.

If the other driver is insured then MIB acts as a clearing house for overseas claims.

If the OP continues the claim with her insurance company then if the other driver isn't insured the OP ends up with a fault claim on her record as well as loss of this years NCB and, in any event, because admiral is one of those companies that ends a policy on a total loss will lose the remaining six months of cover (but still have to pay the full premium) as well as being faced with the delightful task of trying to arrange a new policy for the replacement car with an open claim in progress (££££).

The OP needs to give serious consideration to stopping the claim with her insurer and dealing directly with either the UK agent of the polish insurer (if they exist) or with the MIB (if the other driver either isn't insured or if their insurer doesn't have a UK agent)

T1Cybernetic

Still no good news about the insurance claim, I even went as far as calling at the other drivers house to see if he would give me his details but he was not home (Working) his sister seemed kind and spoke pretty good English but didn't have anything useful to add.

I passed my insurance details on to them again and asked her nicely to get him to contact his insurance and forward me his details but I am not holding my breath!

My car has not been fully assessed yet so I still do not fully know if it is being wrote-off yet or repaired, I presume it's because they don't know his insurance details?

Apart from having another knock on his door, I really don't see what else is there I can do (I don't want to come across as a pest or aggressive in any way)

vaio

Have you considered the points I made in #2 & #6?

If you are going to continue the claim with your insurer then leave it all to them

If you aren't going to continue the claim with your insurer then get on to the MIB

T1Cybernetic

Yes I am definitely considering other options, Especially contacting the MIB as it does seem the better option. I had a good look into MIB and what they have to offer and it seems the best route to take.

Anyway, Some good news

The driver of the other car gave me some insurance details just a few moments after I posted earlier, It is an insurance company name and also he gave me (I think) a policy number, It's in polish but google does indeed find an insurance company (towarzystwo ubezpieczeń wzajemnych)

I forwarded this information to Admiral who seemed confident they can sort everything out now that we have a point of contact for the other drivers insurance! Let's keep our fingers crossed.

vaio

T1Cybernetic wrote: »

Yes I am definitely considering other options, Especially contacting the MIB as it does seem the better option. I had a good look into MIB and what they have to offer and it seems the best route to take.

Anyway, Some good news

The driver of the other car gave me some insurance details just a few moments after I posted earlier, It is an insurance company name and also he gave me (I think) a policy number, It's in polish but google does indeed find an insurance company (towarzystwo ubezpieczeń wzajemnych)

I forwarded this information to Admiral who seemed confident they can sort everything out now that we have a point of contact for the other drivers insurance! Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Those two bits are contradictory, you can't do both, you have to chose.

If you continue with Admiral and they write your car off (as seems likely given the damage) the policy will end and you will lose the remainder of this years cover but still have to pay the full premium.

T1Cybernetic

Oh sorry I meant that I am keeping myself as informed as possible with Admiral and before any decisions are made and finalized I think I can stop the claim and seek other options?

Or am I barking up the wrong tree!