Hit by uninsured driver

Hello all,

On Monday evening I was hit in the rear by a driver whilst stationary at traffic lights, there was also a car in front of me which I then ended up hitting as she hit me with such force. The car in front was also stationary.

The driver that hit me in the rear immediately admitted fault at the scene. Apparently her kids were arguing in the back seat so she lost concentration. We all exchange details and I let me insurance know. I get a phone call in the morning from the driver explaining that she has no insurance as they cancelled it and she didn't know.

I spoke to my insurance and they say I am now liable for my excess (£400) and I will likely to lose my NCD and then my premium to go up when I renew (July). They will try re-coup all this from her, but I really don't have any confidence that they will. My insurance company are being very vague and just saying they will write to the 3rd party. She is hardly just going to cough up the damages! My car was in a pretty bad state and I expect will be in the thousands to repair.

I reported it to the police but they said all they can do is give her a ticket for no insurance. Seems like a good deal, insurance will likely to be more than the fine!

I've heard of the MIB which I can try claim through?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This has me very stressed out and is going to leave me severely out of pocket.
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  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287
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    you can claim from the mib which won't affect your NCB.

    but, you can only do this if you cancel the claim via your own insurance and go direct to mib

    mib web site has everything you need to know
  • dacouch
    dacouch Posts: 21,637
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    Which Insurer covers you?
  • vaio wrote: »
    but, you can only do this if you cancel the claim via your own insurance and go direct to mib

    My car is being picked up tomorrow and I really can't be without a car any longer.

    Going through MIB could take months I assume?

    Why can't I go through MIB after my insurance has sorted my car out?
  • dacouch wrote: »
    Which Insurer covers you?

    Swiftcover. No courtesy car either on the policy.
  • vaio
    vaio Posts: 12,287
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    mib will only pay if you claim direct, they don't allow subrogated claims.

    If you *must* have a car then it's claim off your own insurance (and lose ncb) or hire one and add the cost to the mib claim (but will take time).

    If you do claim from your insurer you can get your excess and any other uninsured losses from the Mib

    You could try credit hire but I'm not sure if they would be interested
  • I've never known the term "Life is unfair" to be more applicable.

    I just don't understand this. So I am completely at loss for following the law, and the uninsured driver who can't be bothered to concentrate will get off with a little fine. I'm not wanting her to be prosecuted, but how is it that I am now in the crap because of someone else's incompetence.

    So, it seems my best option is pay my excess and then see if she pays up to my insurance? If she does, will that mean they will give me my excess and NCD back? Does my insurance go to MIB or do I have to do it?

    This is very frustrating. I have an important interview tomorrow and all I can do is worry about this. Not only have I been stuck in bed unable to move for the past 2 days but now it looks like I'm out of pocket as well.
  • dacouch
    dacouch Posts: 21,637
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    Did the other party look like they have assets
  • dacouch wrote: »
    Did the other party look like they have assets

    She was driving a relatively nice Mercedes. I'm not sure I want to go down the road of suing her, but I guess if that is my only option I might have to.

    I'm assuming I will incur costs for going down that route?
  • Does your insurance have legal cover? If not you can only really hope that your insurance company decides to pursue her, or take action yourself.

    First thing to do is write to her and ask for the £400 excess. See what she says, maybe you will be lucky and she will pay up. Then when your next insurance renewal comes up you can calculate how much the accident has cost you in lost NCB and because you have to declare an accident, and again ask her for it.

    If she refuses to pay your next step will be Small Claims Court. Hopefully that will convince her to pay without actually having to have a hearing, but if not you will obviously win and can keep escalating from there. Eventually it will get to bailiffs and the like.

    It may not be as hopeless as you think. Maybe she has money and cancelling her insurance was a genuine mistake, so she will pay. If not she can't drive now anyway, so maybe she can sell her car to pay the costs.
  • Oh, and if you don't have legal cover and do sue her you will have to pay costs, but for Small Claims Court they are pretty small and they will be added to what she owes you.

    Again, the first thing is to contact her, she might just pay up to avoid being sued. She is already screwed pretty badly by having her insurance cancelled and having to declare an accident, so explain to her that it in her best interest to just settle with you.
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