uninsured excess recovery

homerhotspur

My son has incurred damage to his car in a no fault situation accepted by the other side. His insurance policy states he will have to pay an excess of £450 but ' should be able to claim it back'. It seems the insurers do not pursue this themselves.

Will this involve us personally chasing the other insurers or will it be an automatic process?

McKneff

Yes, he should personally chase the other insurance company for the excess. It really shouldnt be a problem if liability has been admitted.

I always advise, right at the beginning, if the other party admits liability freely, it is always better to deal with the other company direct anyway.
All he had to do was inform his own ins. company and say it was for information only. The other company would have sorted it from start to finish and any excess would not have been involved. Too late now of course, but always good for future reference.

dacouch

The garage will give you a receipt for your excess when you collect the car and pay the excess. You simply send this along with an short, concise letter (Keep a copy and send recorded) requesting they reimberse you this within 14 days as their client is liable due (Whatever reason eg they hit you from behind).

If you don't receive the cheque within fourteen days (Some Insurers are slow with paperwork) give them a polite call and see what they say before deciding on your next move (You can post here for more advice).

Alternatively you may be able to give them a call, again be polite as some will take all your details and ask you to fax or email the excess receipt directly to them and they'll send a cheque asap. This method does not work with all Insurers but does with quite a few so is worth a try if you're in a rush for the money.

When you receive payment from the other Insurer, take a copy of the letter that accompanies it and send the copy to your Insurers which proves you've recovered your excess and most will reinstate any no claims bonus and note the file as being non fault.

Incidently it's not always best for everyone to go direct to the other Insurers, there are a few reasons not to go to the other Insurer so it's best to play it by ear or ask for advice on MSE.

thenudeone

If he has paid for legal cover / motor legal protection / whatever else they call it, get them to chase it up. That's what they're paid for.