No fault claim help

reehsetin

On Sunday my lovely one year old car was hit from behind on the motorway :mad:.
I reported the incident to my insurer (Admiral) who gave me the option of
1- paying them the excess and having them deal with the claim and probably getting the excess back after a few months
2- going through 'Albany assistance' to resolve it with no excess

I initially agreed to speak to Albany but after having a read around they have very bad reviews so I cancelled. Whilst checking up on Albany I read that I could manage the claim directly with the other drivers insurer (Aviva company car insurance) which I'm now thinking may be better.
So now I'm here, trying to figure out which is the best way of resolving the claim and I'd be really grateful for any advice.
I don't mind paying out the excess (as I'd be getting it back anyway) I just want the claim sorted out with the least hassle.

neilmcl

reehsetin wrote: »

I don't mind paying out the excess (as I'd be getting it back anyway) I just want the claim sorted out with the least hassle.

Then do that then, not sure there's more to advise.

reehsetin

neilmcl wrote: »

Then do that then, not sure there's more to advise.

Aviva would be doing the same thing without the hassle of paying and reclaiming it at a later point though wouldn't they?
If I did pay the excess to Admiral would they automatically repay it or would I need to claim the voluntary from the other car?

Foxy-Stoat_3

Do expect to get phone calls for the next 4 years from claims handlers, unless you buy a pay and go sim card and give them that number and throw it away afterwards. Money WELL spent!

spacey2012

Option 3, deal with the third party directly = costs nothing.

neilmcl

reehsetin wrote: »

Aviva would be doing the same thing without the hassle of paying and reclaiming it at a later point though wouldn't they? Yes, but you have to go to the trouble of contacting them and persuading them to deal with you directly. Personally, I do this but as you wanted the least hassle solution and didn't mind paying the excess I advised you to stick with your insurer.
If I did pay the excess to Admiral would they automatically repay it or would I need to claim the voluntary from the other car?Admiral will automatically repay it once they've claimed successfully from the third-party insurer.

.......................

Yolina

If it looks like it's straightforward, then you could deal with the other party's insurer directly.

The only time I had a claim (non-fault) I let my insurance deal with it because the BMW that drove into me was a company car (UK company) registered in Germany (left-hand drive, German plates) and their insurer based in Switzerland and frankly it did look a bit iffy. So I just paid my excess, let my insurance fix my car and eventually got my excess back a few months later.

InsideInsurance

reehsetin wrote: »

If I did pay the excess to Admiral would they automatically repay it or would I need to claim the voluntary from the other car?

Standard practice would be that you have to claim it back as an uninsured loss from the third party insurer. If you have legal expenses/ ULR cover then it would be done for you under this secondary section/ policy

In reality some insurers will waive an excess in the cases of clear cut liability and fully identified TP/ TPI and others will attempt to recover the XS even if you don't have LE/ ULR cover. In the company I did claims handling for the recovery letter for the TPI had an optional paragraph to ask for a cheque for the XS so the total effort was clicking one box and forwarding a cheque when received.


Dealing directly with the TPI is often the best option however given the TP was in a company car it may be slower than is ideal because the driver reports to manager, manager to fleet manager, fleet manager to broker, broker to insurer etc etc etc.

Hintza

Speak to Aviva and say look my insurer has put me in touch with Albany but I would be much happier dealing direct with yourselves as long as we get a move on and it is no hassle and timely.

I think they will move sharpish.

reehsetin

Thanks for all of the info and advice

Hintza that's what I'm planning on doing

I've been chasing Aviva and the company who's car it was. The company fleet team sent the claim off first thing Monday (they called me) but it's been with the broker since. I'll give them a few more days and if nothing comes through I'll pay the excess and go with Admiral directly.

There is no way I think they can dispute liability so either way hopefully it will be a straightforward claim