Suppose I dont want to use Albany Assistance?

EdGasket

This is hyperthetical but i would like to know my options in a no-fault accident in advance because after the event, there is very little time to work out what's best and you quickly get pushed down the 'claims company' route.

Scenario: An accident occurs, third party is to blame and all I have is their number plate plus a name and address that may or may not be genuine. I contact my insurance and I know from experience that they will push me down the route of using Albany Assistance, their claims 'assistance' company. Now if I point blank refuse to deal with Albany, what options do I have assuming I hear nothing from the other party's insurers?

1) Can I check/obtain the TP's address from DVLA or will they only give that out to insurance companies?
2) Assuming I get the name and address of the owner, can I sue the owner of the car if they won't tell me who the driver was?
2) Can I insist my insurer, Admiral, deal with it themselves (they try to say this is not an option but not sure if they are telling the truth) and claim my excess back off the TP?
3) Are there any decent accident claims companies that actually deliver results and don't just flog you an overpriced hire car under a credit-hire agreement?

InsideInsurance

1) Yes you can

2) No, you need to sue the driver

2) Would depend on the terms of your policy, normally you can but there is no reason why the AD section couldnt have a clause to say no cover for non-fault accidents

3) Subjective but ultimately they are commercial organisations and there to make a profit not just to help people as a good will. Their biggest earners were hire and PI referrals in my day. Hire certainly will still be, dont know whats happened in recent years on PI claim fees.

EdGasket

Re. 1), so can i just write or call DVLA and they will tell me? They usually hide behind data protection and won't pass on any details; after all how do they know whether there really was an accident or not?
Re. 2) and if the owner won't talk to me?
Re. 3) Aren't there any that are prepared to just arrange for your car to be fixed, add an admin fee and recover it all from the TP's insurance for you?

InsideInsurance

EdGasket wrote: »

Re. 1), so can i just write or call DVLA and they will tell me? They usually hide behind data protection and won't pass on any details; after all how do they know whether there really was an accident or not?
Re. 2) and if the owner won't talk to me?

1) You have to write to them using a form off their website. It asks you to explain why you require them to provide the details and they weigh up the DPA protection of the owner -v- your rights. In practice they are very lax and give the details out fairly freely. https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla

2) Not sure which number 2 you were referring to as you had two of them. Guessing its the first one, if the owner wont talk to you then report it to the police as a failure to exchange details. The police will send the owner a producer which requires them to identify the driver at the time and the police will share that with you (normally)

EdGasket

Yeah sorry I can't add up today

dacouch

InsideInsurance wrote: »

1) Yes you can

2) No, you need to sue the driver

2) Would depend on the terms of your policy, normally you can but there is no reason why the AD section couldnt have a clause to say no cover for non-fault accidents

3) Subjective but ultimately they are commercial organisations and there to make a profit not just to help people as a good will. Their biggest earners were hire and PI referrals in my day. Hire certainly will still be, dont know whats happened in recent years on PI claim fees.

Re 2) I've not (to date) seen an Insurer with such a clause

EdGasket

dacouch wrote: »

Re 2) I've not (to date) seen an Insurer with such a clause

When I've claimed before, they push you down the dreaded Albany Assistance route by saying things like otherwise you will have to pay the excess and lose your NCB and imply they may not try too hard to recover these costs from the third-party if I refuse to use Albany Assistance. Well using Albany Assistance is not much good either as nothing much gets done as I'm sure most on here know. However they do have quick access to the other party's insurance details and address; things I might struggle with going it alone. But once they realise you don't want a hire car and aren't prepared to be a whiplash victim, they quickly lose interest.

InsideInsurance

dacouch wrote: »

Re 2) I've not (to date) seen an Insurer with such a clause

Nor have I but in theory it could exist.

I assume by the use of Albany the insurer in question is part of the Admiral Group and they have done odd things in the past. I know one Bell policy I had with them a few years ago had an additional excess on Third Party claims section which was ontop of the AD/Fire/Theft excess and obviously only payable in the event of a TP claim against you.

Clearly if such a clause existed it'd have to be in the policy and certainly be called out as a key exception in the summary too