road sign hit my car

timor_2

A subcontractor of Thames water have dug up the road near my house. They placed priority and direction signs around the street and one of the signs was close to my car.

The wind has blown the sign flat next to my car and caused a pretty deep scuff on the bonnet and bumper, about an inch long all the way to the metal.

I have photos of the damaged and the site which clearly show poor preparation and no measures taken to secure barriers, signs etc to the ground in case of wind.

Who do I chase up for the damage and how far can I go? What should be my next steps?

Thanks in advance!

Tilt

It was forecast that there would be high winds around southern England today and as such the contractor should of ensured that any temporary signage was adequately secure. If that was not the case here, then you may be able to prove negligence.

You could send an estimate for the damage to the contractors giving them 14 days to pay or alternatively, depending on your insurance cover, report it to your insurers giving the contractors details and let them deal with it.

timor_2

Is there an official met record of forecasts I could use for this? It sounds like a very valid point and there was wind from the previous day.

Also if I report to my insurer's legal team, would that affect my record or come up as a form of claim?

I just don't want to involve the insurance and have to pay silly premiums later on, although this should be what we are paying them for.

redux

I think it's worth an initial phone call to Thames Water, to find out whether they consider they or their contractor's insurers would settle this, and obtain contact details for the contractor.

Quentin

timor wrote: »

........... Also if I report to my insurer's legal team, would that affect my record or come up as a form of claim?

I just don't want to involve the insurance and have to pay silly premiums later on, although this should be what we are paying them for.

If you don't want this to affect your future premium then either live with the damage or pay for the repairs yourself.

Do some dummy quotes online with and without this on your record to see what difference it makes to the premium before contacting the third party (or your own insurance)

andygb

Portly_Pig wrote: »

You'll find it a condition of your policy that you must inform them.

Really?:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

If a car flicked up a stone and chipped your bonnet, would you inform the insurance company?

If someone accidently hit your car with a supermarket trolley, scratching the paintwork, would you tell your insurance company?

Please "keep it real";)

Crabman

If it does affect your policy premiums in future then that is a cost for which the other party should be held liable. You should not be out of pocket or suffer any loss as a result of an incident that you are arguing is their fault.

timor_2

I don't really understand the thread, the OP was about building a case against a contractor who negligently caused damage to my car.

At the end of the day <they> should be insured for causing damage to third parties, so it is <their> insurer who should increase their premium and <them> to be worried about it, not me.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

they will have liability insurance, and your photo's are going to be proven invaluable here of the signage not weighted down with a sand bag or two as they will claim act of god we risk assess all our planned works there were bags in place etc etc.

contact customer services department.

you will need to inform your insurers that you are making a non fault claim against themes water for information purposes. it wil most likely affect next years premium.

the area manager for water management may call round to take a photo or two and to discuss with you what will happen next, if the damage is not bad he may have it repaired for you so you both dont have to inform insurers, and you both happy campers but hold your breath but before you go informing insurers see what thames water say.

vaio

timor wrote: »

I don't really understand the thread, the OP was about building a case against a contractor who negligently caused damage to my car.

At the end of the day <they> should be insured for causing damage to third parties, so it is <their> insurer who should increase their premium and <them> to be worried about it, not me.

but the your insurers viewpoint could well be that you have shown yourself to be the sort of driver that parks in places where signs blow into your car and thus deserving of a higher premium.

I'm not saying this is sensible or fair but it does seem to be the prevailing view among insurers

Tilt

vaio wrote: »

but the your insurers viewpoint could well be that you have shown yourself to be the sort of driver that parks in places where signs blow into your car and thus deserving of a higher premium.

I'm not saying this is sensible or fair but it does seem to be the prevailing view among insurers

I read the OP as already being parked there when the sign was put 'close' to his car. So how could he of known that where he was parked was "in places where signs blow into your car and thus deserving of a higher premium"?