Rear ended. Should I claim or not?

Lobsters

Hello guys, can I ask you a question?

Today, I was rear ended by a delivery truck today. Fortunately only the rear window was broken. We swapped details,I called the drivers head office who told me to pass it on to my insurance company and they'll sort it out.

I've since been told that even in the case of a no fault claim like this, that to start this process may bump up next years insurance premium by £300. An new window will cost us £160. Does this happen?

Surely if I am not at fault there should be no change.


Also, is it then possible to claim directly from their insurer (Covea). I have two passengers as witnesses, one of who is an officer in the RAF.


Many thanks in advance.

motorguy

Lobsters wrote: »

Hello guys, can I ask you a question?

Today, I was rear ended by a delivery truck today. Fortunately only the rear window was broken. We swapped details,I called the drivers head office who told me to pass it on to my insurance company and they'll sort it out.

I've since been told that even in the case of a no fault claim like this, that to start this process may bump up next years insurance premium by £300. An new window will cost us £160. Does this happen?

Surely if I am not at fault there should be no change.


Also, is it then possible to claim directly from their insurer (Covea). I have two passengers as witnesses, one of who is an officer in the RAF.


Many thanks in advance.

I wouldnt expect there to be any increase in your premium.

Get your car checked out professionally. There may be damage you cant otherwise see.

Stoke

I would claim yes. There may be more damage you don't know about.

If your premium goes up substantially, you can always inform them that you intend to leave... they'll quickly lower it.

specialboy

You only need to inform your own insurance of the incident for information purposes, you can claim direct from the other party's insurance.

AdrianC

motorguy wrote: »

I wouldnt expect there to be any increase in your premium.

I would.

OP - You won't lose your no-claims bonus, but you will have to declare being involved in a claim for the next five years, even though you will be able to say you were not at fault. Go and play with a meerkat to see what quotes you get with and without a not-at-fault claim.

But, definitely, go straight to the fleet manager of the company whose truck it was, and definitely get it checked for other damage. If it is just glass, they'll probably just sort it directly. If it's just a glass claim, I wouldn't notify it - same as a windscreen claim wouldn't need notifying.

Retrogamer

Lobsters wrote: »

Hello guys, can I ask you a question?

Today, I was rear ended by a delivery truck today. Fortunately only the rear window was broken. We swapped details,I called the drivers head office who told me to pass it on to my insurance company and they'll sort it out.

I've since been told that even in the case of a no fault claim like this, that to start this process may bump up next years insurance premium by £300. An new window will cost us £160. Does this happen?

Surely if I am not at fault there should be no change.


Also, is it then possible to claim directly from their insurer (Covea). I have two passengers as witnesses, one of who is an officer in the RAF.


Many thanks in advance.

Either way, you need to declare it to your insurance company.
I've yet to find one that states you don't need to inform them of an accident unless you intend to claim from them. They usually state you need to notify them of any accidents, regardless of what happens next.

Not all companies will "load" a premium due to a non fault accident.

AdrianC wrote: »

I would.
If it's just a glass claim, I wouldn't notify it - same as a windscreen claim wouldn't need notifying.

I wouldn't encourage anyone to commit insurance fraud. T&C's of every policy i know of are quite clear about notifying them in the event of an accident.

Stooby2

I would get your car checked properly, there may be hidden damage behind the bumper, in the floorpan etc. It might not be as simple as just the window.

I'm not someone for making meaningless claims but you may find in the next day or two your neck and back start aching. If they do, get seen by your doctor. Firstly, because later in life you may get back & neck problems and you'll have a documented history.
Secondly, as I found when I was taken out in similar circumstances earlier this year, the physiotherapy provided by the other party's insurer greatly helped my recovery.

And my no claims wasn't affected, premium went up by about £20.

smssms

If you end up repairing it yourself, check out second hand tail gates rather than new glass.

I was getting quotes from £150 to £300 to replace the glass on a tail gate. Went on Ebay, got a whole second hand tailgate in the right colour, with glass, delivered for under £30 and it took less than an hour to fit!

Personally I avoid involving insurance companies if I can - but that is just me...

AdrianC

Retrogamer wrote: »

I wouldn't encourage anyone to commit insurance fraud.

Absolutely not my intent. If you get a windscreen off your own policy, your NCB is not affected, nor is your ongoing premium. That says to me that they don't want to know about glass-only.

T&C's of every policy i know of are quite clear about notifying them in the event of an accident.

Indeed, with a side-order of "How small do you want to go on that?"

spacey2012

If the other party informs their insurance, it goes on MIDAS database, yours gets a flag message and wants to know why you have kept schum and cancels your insurance and then things get very expensive indeed.
You join the queue down at the specialist brokers with the drunk drivers.

Retrogamer

AdrianC wrote: »

Absolutely not my intent. If you get a windscreen off your own policy, your NCB is not affected, nor is your ongoing premium. That says to me that they don't want to know about glass-only.

It won't affect the NCB if you have windscreen cover, but some companies do increase the premium for it.

Also, you're notifying the insurance about it which is quite different from not telling them about an accident you're involved in.

Back to the OP though i very much doubt the firm will settle it outside insurance. Some companies have taken this approach before, paid out their own pocket for damage to the car then months later got a claim via their insurance company for whiplash.

It's much safer from their perspective to allow the insurance to handle the claim.