Car damaged on driveway and other drivers insurance wont pay out

apk_2

Our car was parked on our driveway and a lorry was making a delivery to the house over the road, a tyre blew out on the lorry smashing the side windows of our car. We heard the noise and went out, the driver admitted that the blow out had smashed our window, and the builders working across the road witnessed the same thing.

We got someone out to fix the window and paid them ourselves once we received the invoice.

The driver gave us his company details and insurance details (Aviva) but neither are prepared to pay for the window repair. The company state that the drivers insurance should handle it. Aviva state that the lorry was serviced and MOT'd and the driver is not negligible, therefore they will not pay up and it's just "one of those things".

I briefly discussed it with my insurance company who said that Aviva should pay up and they would open a claim for me but I'm reluctant to do that as it will affect my premium.

I'm at a loss with what to do, I don't really want to claim on my insurance but I find it maddening that I should have to pay this (£250) whilst the company and Aviva just refuse.

Can anyone provide me with any advice? Thanks.

InsideInsurance

Aviva sound to be correct, what act of negligence did the driver/ vehicle owner do?

To claim off of them you must demonstrate they did something wrong and from what you are saying at the moment it sounds like a freak incident rather than an act of negligence.

If it is just broken glass you could have just claimed off the glass section of your insurance, paid ~£60 and MOST insurers dont count it as a claim for the purposes of impacting your NCD or premium (though a small number do)

Aretnap

The driver's insurer is only liable if the driver is liable. The driver is only liable if there was some negligence on his part - the mere fact that his vehicle was in some way involved in the incident isn't enough by itself.

If the tyre was badly maintained, eg if there was a visible tear in it which the driver either ignored or failed to notice, then that would be negligence. Proving that's what happened would be difficult though. If it was just bad luck, or a defective tyre which he couldn't reasonably have been expected to have known about, then that's not negligence. Sometimes things do just go wrong through the fault of nobody in particular, and if they do your options are to claim on your own insurance or to fix it yourself.

apk_2

Thanks for the replies. I did contact my insurance initially but my policy only includes windscreen repair at the lower excess, as this was the side windows it would have had to be a full claim. I didn't want to do that as the driver accepted it was his lorry that caused the damage and gave me his details etc.

Out of interest, if my car was regularly serviced etc and the handbrake failed and it rolled down the hill into someone else's car would the same apply? i.e. I would not be at fault.

HappyMJ

alexpkent wrote: »

Our car was parked on our driveway and a lorry was making a delivery to the house over the road, a tyre blew out on the lorry smashing the side windows of our car. We heard the noise and went out, the driver admitted that the blow out had smashed our window, and the builders working across the road witnessed the same thing.

We got someone out to fix the window and paid them ourselves once we received the invoice.

The driver gave us his company details and insurance details (Aviva) but neither are prepared to pay for the window repair. The company state that the drivers insurance should handle it. Aviva state that the lorry was serviced and MOT'd and the driver is not negligible, therefore they will not pay up and it's just "one of those things".

I briefly discussed it with my insurance company who said that Aviva should pay up and they would open a claim for me but I'm reluctant to do that as it will affect my premium.

I'm at a loss with what to do, I don't really want to claim on my insurance but I find it maddening that I should have to pay this (£250) whilst the company and Aviva just refuse.

Can anyone provide me with any advice? Thanks.

I would have thought any fault with the vehicle would have been the responsibility of the driver whether they knew or not.

I'd write a letter asking for the money...then I'd send them a letter before action telling them if they don't pay up you'll take them to court...then I'd go to moneyclaim and raise a claim. For such a small amount it won't cost you much. The fee is £25. Much cheaper than the premium increase if you let your insurance handle it.

If a vehicle on a newly sealed piece of road drives past you and kicks a stone into your windscreen smashing it you can if you knew who did it claim against the driver of that vehicle for driving too fast.

InsideInsurance

alexpkent wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I did contact my insurance initially but my policy only includes windscreen repair at the lower excess, as this was the side windows it would have had to be a full claim. I didn't want to do that as the driver accepted it was his lorry that caused the damage and gave me his details etc.

Out of interest, if my car was regularly serviced etc and the handbrake failed and it rolled down the hill into someone else's car would the same apply? i.e. I would not be at fault.

I think you have been miss informed by your insurers. Never heard of any glass section that operates like that.

Yes, if the handbrake is proven to have failed rather than you forgetting to apply it properly then either no one is at fault or a small chance that the vehicle manufacturer is at fault

Aretnap

alexpkent wrote: »

Out of interest, if my car was regularly serviced etc and the handbrake failed and it rolled down the hill into someone else's car would the same apply? i.e. I would not be at fault.

Probably not - to prove negligence you have to show that a reasonably careful driver (as opposed to a perfect one) would have done something differently which could have avoided the accident. If the handbrake had no known issues and the car had been serviced regularly, what else could you have done to ensure that it was safe?

Another example would be the driver who has a heart attack or something similar at the wheel and causes an accident - if he'd been warned not to drive because of a known heart condition that would be negligence, but if it came out of the blue the accident would not be his fault.

Looksguywalker

HappyMJ wrote: »

I would have thought any fault with the vehicle would have been the responsibility of the driver whether they knew or not.

I'd write a letter asking for the money...then I'd send them a letter before action telling them if they don't pay up you'll take them to court...then I'd go to moneyclaim and raise a claim. For such a small amount it won't cost you much. The fee is £25. Much cheaper than the premium increase if you let your insurance handle it.

If a vehicle on a newly sealed piece of road drives past you and kicks a stone into your windscreen smashing it you can if you knew who did it claim against the driver of that vehicle for driving too fast.

You want the OP to take action on what YOU 'think'? As for the stone thing...how do you prove the speed was too fast?

spacey2012

Sounds like the lorry had a sticking brake which heated up the rim.
It does happen.
I would consider county court against the driver and keeper jointly on the grounds that they failed to correctly maintain the vehicle.
Let them argue that truck tyres explode randomly.

Buzby

A money claim action may not 'cost much' bu carries with it no guarantee that the other drver would be held liable. I suspect the compensation culture of 'where there is blame, there's a claim' is a popular one - but you could biting in a whole host of third parties - local Council roads dept, tyre manufacturer for starters.

If the driver did nothing untoward to cause the blowout then remains in the clear. The whole point of insurance is to protect you from these issues - the fact the companies have designed the system to discourage claims is tilting he balance.

Taking it to extremes - if the tyre blew and a passing horse bolted in terror causing damage and mayhem, is the lorry diver still to blame for this? The answer is no - as no 'reasonable person' could be held liable for he n cident or outcome, and the insurers have to settle.

Buzby

spacey2012 wrote: »

Sounds like the lorry had a sticking brake which heated up the rim.
It does happen.
I would consider county court against the driver and keeper jointly on the grounds that they failed to correctly maintain the vehicle.
Let them argue that truck tyres explode randomly.

And the OP has a engineers report to prove this? And you seem to think you can involve the RK too and make them liable? You didn't work for a PPC did you? I haven't stopped laughing yet! :rotfl: