Car insurance claim advice please

Quentin

This is possible and correct.

It's quite normal to claim directly off the third party when they are to blame.

(And it's the only way for people who don't have any insurance for damage to their own car)

Quentin

If you are now going to lose ncb over this, then if repairing your car will cost more than your excess you should claim.

Both repairs will oniy count as one claim.

hugoshavez

herman2811 wrote: »

Further to all the above:

So we notified our insurance of the incident (but are not claiming). We'll lose our no-claims but don't have to pay any excess.

But it turns out that my insurers called the 3rd party and they are now claiming on our insurance rather than their own??? Is this possible and correct??? Surely they would have to claim on their own insurance and then the 2 insurers contact each other to sort out?

Our insurers say we will not be affected (apart from losing the no-claims) but am confused and would appreciate some advice. Thanks.

Your insurer's just being proactive, so they can control the cost of the third party's claim, particularly any replacement vehicle for the duration of repairs.

It's good news, as you may have to find out and disclose the final cost of the claim if you switch insurers in the near future, and if was higher it could meaan a larger future premium.

Quentin's right though, if your own damage will cost £100s more than the excess it'll likely still be more cost-effective to let your insurer repair that (assuming you've got comprehensive cover)

herman2811

Quentin wrote: »

If you are now going to lose ncb over this, then if repairing your car will cost more than your excess you should claim.

Both repairs will oniy count as one claim.

hugoshavez wrote: »

Your insurer's just being proactive, so they can control the cost of the third party's claim, particularly any replacement vehicle for the duration of repairs.

It's good news, as you may have to find out and disclose the final cost of the claim if you switch insurers in the near future, and if was higher it could meaan a larger future premium.

Quentin's right though, if your own damage will cost £100s more than the excess it'll likely still be more cost-effective to let your insurer repair that (assuming you've got comprehensive cover)

Thanks for the replies - the damage to our car was minimal, and it's quite old, so we're not claiming.

Yep, accepted the premium will be higher next year! I suppose I'll have to contact my insurers to find out the total cost of the incident.