Non fault car accident & insured third party fire and theft/advice

Brummygold

Hi all, just looking for a little advice

Last Thursday a car pulled out straight in front of me from side road on a junction resulting in a non fault collision. I reported it to my insurance company and then on Friday morning was contacted by what i thought was my insurance company. They offered me a replacement vehicle and to arrange for my car to be repaired which sounded great so i agreed. It was only at the end of the call when she gave me her details that i found out it was a company called drive assist who i had never heard of before. Alarm bells started ringing so i did a google of drive assist and found alot of people have had problems with them.
To cut the long story short i am not happy to deal with this company so i need to find out the best way of getting my car repaired. I am insured third party fire and theft and from what i have read the best thing for me to do is to get in touch with the third party insurer direct. I have the other drivers details and also have done an askMID search for confirmation so is this the best route to go down?

Christopher7

Drive Assist are not as bad as you think. They are a large reputable company and work with many of the top insurers. Some people think what they do is unethical as they provide you with a hire car and then claim the cost from the other sides insurer. Which of course, increases the cost of the claim and therefore insurers increase premiums as a result.

If you don't need a hire car don't use Drive Assist, although they are probably offering to fix your car on a credit repair basis which they will refuse too if you don't accept a hire car from them.

You can go through the other sides insurer, and if they offer you a suitable replacement car it may work out cheaper for all concerned. But and its a big BUT remember they only have their interests at heart, if they can repair your car as cheaply as possible and provide you with the cheapest hire car they can, they will as the less your claim costs the more profit they make.

bluecelticgirl

I had someone run into the back of my car and ended up speaking to Drive Asssist last week. I didnt want to deal with them initially as I didnt know anything about them however after many phone calls turns out I could not even get advice from anyone as I only had third party insurance so decided to go with Drive Assist. I have also taken out a £10 policy with them which made me feel better. This means in the event they could not recover the hire costs from the other party I would not have to pay. So far everyone I have dealt with has been very professional and helpful.

qyuk

i had a similar situation if you read my post earlier today. i finally chose to deal with the TPI on my own to avoid the risk of car hire cost disputed by the TPI but it makes me feel better. the car hire company might not be bad but there is a risk to balance. the TPI though agreed to fix the car at my dealer's bodyshop. i am still waiting for their confirmation when the insurance engineer will show up to inspect the car and authorise the repair.

rev_henry

Ideally you should go direct to the third party (at fault) insurer. Ask them for a hire car and to repair yours. If they start messing you around then think about drive assist or whatever accident management company.

Brummygold

Thanks for the replies

Well I have just got in contact with the third party (at fault) insurer and they have told me their policyholder is not accepting liability. I am absolutely furious considering he pulled out of a side road straight into my path. They basically said I need to speak to my insurer or the accident management company (Drive assist). Now where do I go from here. My insurance have basically passed me to Drive Assist, and Drive Assist wont assist because I don't want/need a hire car.

rev_henry

Go with Drive Assist. Take the hire car.
OR if you really want to, take the third party to court yourself, naming his insurer as a defendant.

vaio

rev_henry wrote: »

Go with Drive Assist. Take the hire car.
OR if you really want to, take the third party to court yourself, naming his insurer as a defendant.

^^ what he said

I'll add...

Other credit hire firms are available, some might even give you a referral fee for letting them take your case

Make sure you get zero excess on the hire car

Make sure you get confirmation that you aren't liable if the credit hire can't recover their costs

If you do go down the court route the papers have to be issued against the driver responsible & not their insurer

Brummygold

vaio wrote: »

Make sure you get zero excess on the hire car

Make sure you get confirmation that you aren't liable if the credit hire can't recover their costs

*Is the zero excess where you pay £4 a day, does this mean that if the car gets scratched/vandalised/damaged while in my possession I am not liable as I have read other people have had large bills sent to them for scratches etc after returning the car.

*Another poster mentioned that you have to pay a £10 fee so you are not liable for the hire charges but I don't recall them mentioning this when I spoke to them.

mcjordi

yes the 4 day is the CDW cover. the last time i used em they stopped the charges at 3 weeks so at the time £21 for 0 excess

Christopher7

If you don't need a hire car, then you CANNOT and SHOULD not use the services of Drive Assist as you will be asked to sign a statement of truth saying that you need to hire a replacement vehicle.

You have a duty to mitigate your losses, so don't incur hire charges if you don't need too. If you lie about the need for a hire vehicle, then Drive Assist may rightfully seek to recover the costs from you if they are not settled by the other party.

Neither your insurance company nor Drive Assist are obliged to pay for the repair to your car as you are only third party insured. Neither are the other party's insurer if they can prove they were not negligible for the accident.

I think you have two choices, pay for the repair and try to reclaim the cost from the other party's insurer or wait until they accept liability and ask them to arrange the repair of your car.

Really sorry but your options are limited.