Car Accident, need help!

Gemma__3

You know if your asked about any accidents whether claimed for or not you'll have to declare this incident on insurace.

George_Michael

You know if your asked about any accidents

Any policyholder is under an obligation to inform their insurers of anything such of an accident irrespective of them being asked or not.
I realise that a lot of people wouldn't do so, (I doubt if I would), but only the OP can decide whether or not to do this.

tinkerbell28

It was pretty obvious you hadn't gone through insurance op. As is is the exact situation the insurance prevents.

So ignore all the advice from people who thought you may have contacted insurance and advising you to get stern with him.

He holds all the cards, if he goes to your insurance, it's going to cost you a lot more than £300 and a lot more trouble.

So I'd take it as a lesson learnt of the pitfalls of trying to avoid insurance.

vaio

George_Michael wrote: »

Any policyholder is under an obligation to inform their insurers of anything such of an accident irrespective of them being asked or not.......

Your talking about the old "material facts" thing, these days I think the rule is that the insurer has to decide what they consider to be a material fact and ask rather then expecting the punter to try and guess what the insurer might consider to be material.

All punters have to do is honestly answer any questions asked, volunteering information not asked for just confuses things.

neilmcl

tony551 wrote: »

one thing I unfortunately cannot clarify clearly on here is the damage that was caused. the wall was knocked over, not demolished, and the damage to my car was negligible. insurance could have been an option, potentially the better option but all things considered, the incident was so minuscule, .

Pretty much the same thing in terms of the work involved in rebuilding it.

George_Michael

vaio wrote: »

Your talking about the old "material facts" thing, these days I think the rule is that the insurer has to decide what they consider to be a material fact and ask rather then expecting the punter to try and guess what the insurer might consider to be material.

All punters have to do is honestly answer any questions asked, volunteering information not asked for just confuses things.

That may be true when taking out a policy, but once that policy is in force, the policyholder is required to advise their insurers of anything that could relate to a claim and not only if asked about and this is standard for just about all, if not all policies.

Esure

Please tell us as soon as you become aware of an incident that may be connected to your cover, such asan accident, water damage, theft, theft/loss of keys, or fire regardless of whether the incident may or may not give rise to a claim.

Direct line

2. Notification of accidents and losses

You must tell us as soon as reasonably possible about any incident which may lead to a claim under this policy. If you receive any notice of prosecution,inquest or fatal accident inquiry or you are sent a writ, summons, claim orletter, you must send it to us, unanswered, as soon as possible.

AA

Please tell us right away if anything changes which might affect your insurance. If you’re not sure whether it’s important, tell us just in case. Any changes which you don’t tell us about may mean that your policy is void.We need to know about things like:

any claim, incident or loss

Etc,

Etc.

pinkshoes

tony551 wrote: »

I'm back guys, thanks for all the replies!

I'll reply individually in the morning, however in a nutshell I need to clarify this:

I/ We didn't go to the insurance as I/we (the landlord) agreed in principle, the day after the accident, that he was allowing me to fix the wall myself, as I knew people who could do the job. it was straightforward. no delays, no fuss. In the week after the incident I was awaiting a quote, when I drove by, and wow, it had been rebuilt. one thing I unfortunately cannot clarify clearly on here is the damage that was caused. the wall was knocked over, not demolished, and the damage to my car was negligible. insurance could have been an option, potentially the better option but all things considered, the incident was so minuscule, that there was easier ways to correct it. this is why the cost is so hard to take, especially when the original outcome was for myself to arrange the repair. there is no clarification on the 'receipt' I received, just an amount, so I have no real idea what I'm paying for.

I've been totally fair with this guy, owned up to it, met him the next morning and agreed to fix it. he gave me the opportunity to do so, before going back on his word and then issuing me with a bill, from anyone, for an amount that's probably double the realistic price.

Did you at least get a photo of the wall??

Never too late to report it to your insurance, so probably best to do this now. Make it clear that the damage was negligible, so you felt it wasn't worth bothering them.

I'd also now tell the owner that as he'd gone back on his word to let you get the work done, and supplied such a high quote, you will now be going through your insurance, so will require the signed quote by the builder who did the work, along with his business details, so your insurance can contact him to discuss the work done. I'd also ask for any other quotes obtained before employing someone to repair it.

How much was your quote?

tinkerbell28

I am not sure if you are intending to give such poor advice on this thread pink shoes.

It was obvious from the outset, this was an off the insurance thing. Despite you using that as a strawman.

Now what you are saying is go to your insurance. Lets look at this. Op has already paid £300. He wants about £300 more. As soon as the insurance start processing this as a claim. Op will have an excess to pay, in all probability. What is your excess op? They will then have an at fault claim on their file, which will effect their premiums for YEARS. Not to mention quite possibly a marker, on their file, about how they failed to declare an accident in a timely manner and tried to avoid the insurance. This could make insurance higher again, if not also hard to get.

So op, for the sake of £300 could see an end to it. Their premiums will probably rise more than that in the first year of having a claim on their file.

Op has to weigh up £300 now, or £????? the financial penalties which will be added to his premiums for having an at fault accident. Not to mention his delay in telling the insurance, and I presume unauthorised repairs to the vehicle. The possibility of losing the insurance.

So is it best for him to report it now? I'd say not.

dacouch

tinkerbell28 wrote: »

I am not sure if you are intending to give such poor advice on this thread pink shoes.

It was obvious from the outset, this was an off the insurance thing. Despite you using that as a strawman.

Now what you are saying is go to your insurance. Lets look at this. Op has already paid £300. He wants about £300 more. As soon as the insurance start processing this as a claim. Op will have an excess to pay, in all probability. What is your excess op? They will then have an at fault claim on their file, which will effect their premiums for YEARS. Not to mention quite possibly a marker, on their file, about how they failed to declare an accident in a timely manner and tried to avoid the insurance. This could make insurance higher again, if not also hard to get.

So op, for the sake of £300 could see an end to it. Their premiums will probably rise more than that in the first year of having a claim on their file.

Op has to weigh up £300 now, or £????? the financial penalties which will be added to his premiums for having an at fault accident. Not to mention his delay in telling the insurance, and I presume unauthorised repairs to the vehicle. The possibility of losing the insurance.

So is it best for him to report it now? I'd say not.

You don't pay an excess if you're not claiming for the repairs to your own vehicle.

How could a policyholder repair their car in an "unauthorised" manner, the car belongs to them.

tinkerbell28

I genuinely cannot believe people are so simple.

Op declares an at fault accident, his premium will go through the roof for the foreseeable future. That effect will last years, until it drops off. Much more than £300.

Insurers can quite easily decide they are not happy with the repair, as it doesn't meet set standards, or is classed as a modification as it was not done by an approved garage. This is where the excess comes in, if op has not repaired the car at all or to the standard expected and he does not get a cancellation.

Then insurers share databases. The fact he initially tried to hide declaring the accident and may well end up with a cancellation, would be recorded and shared, hiking up his premium even more.

Op, I'd take your query to pistonheads or something. You'll have people tie themselves in knots, trying to insist your best option is to go to the insurance. For £300 they are barking, your premiums will rocket.