Minor accident - advice needed (insurance)

goomba

Hi,

I was involved in a minor car accident yesterday and would really appreciate some advice, I have attached a picture so you can get an idea of the situation.

http://oi60.tinypic.com/2rr6wrt.jpg

The orange rectangle is a bicycle, the only two vehicles involved were mine (silver) and the black one. The two lanes merge into one after the turn, initially I was ahead during the turn as the other driver was on the outside lane which is wider. As we got onto the straight he tried to overtake, we were basically side by side and the sides of our cars bumped. Strangely there was really no damage to my car, however on his car there was some marks on the door to and a small dent at the bottom of the same door. He says the damage will cost £500 to fix and he is not willing to pay anything towards it.

So I'm not really sure what to do next. From my point of view he should have waited his turn and gone in behind me as he saw there was a cycling in front of me and shouldn't have overtaken me there. Does that count as undertaking in this situation also? He is saying he did nothing wrong and it's not his fault and won't pay anything, but he's not really saying why it's my fault. He's being pretty aggressive and just saying pay cash ASAP or I will go to insurance.

The thing is I don't know how the insurance will see this? I guess when there is two lanes merging into one there's a little middle ground where you just sort of agree between each other who goes first. But since he was on the outside lane I feel he should have given me way first, what do you guys think. I did move towards the left slightly, not to overtake the bike but to sort of claim my position if you know what I mean, I didn't expect the black car to come around me from the outside because I was ahead of him on the turn.

So basically my two options are

Pay him £500 and the situation is sorted out

Call my insurance and let them sort it out. I have a £500 excess so if they decided I was at fault would I have to pay all of that to repair his car? If I was not at fault would this effect me in any way? Also my premium is currently about £1000, I've only had my licence for 1 year and have 1 year no claims, I'm wary about going through insurance because I don't want my premiums to go through the roof. How would this effect my premiums going forward (both if I was liable and not liable) and what do your guys think would be the best thing for me to do.

Thank you in advance for your help

UsernameAlreadyExists

Which lane merges into which? Any arrows on the road or signposts?
I am struggling to see how the cyclist managed to keep pace with the blue car from the start, also why were they even in the "outside" lane in the first place? The whole undertake/overtake thing seems backwards.

goomba

I will need to check on the signposts and road markings because I'm not sure about that. By outside lane I mean in reference to him having a wider turn, he has to make sure he goes wider to stay in his lane and the cyclist can take the corner very narrow and tight. The blue car got ahead of the cyclist and was most likely further ahead than in the pic. But the black car saw that I was behind the cyclist and tried to get ahead, as we were straightening up after the turn he was not in front of me so I feel he should have waited and gone in behind me.

Strider590

Need more details.

Whiner

Sounds like he is calling your bluff. Tell him to go and do one.

If he wants to go via insurance he can. My guess is he won't bother.

goomba

Whiner wrote: »

Sounds like he is calling your bluff. Tell him to go and do one.

If he wants to go via insurance he can. My guess is he won't bother.

He's asking for £500, my excess is £500 anyway so I've got nothing to lose in that sense. Do you know roughly how much my premium would go up if it went against me? It's £1000 now, I'm 28 years old and had my licence for 1 year... and if I was not at fault would it effect my insurance in any way? Should I contact my insurers anyway and tell them what happened even though I don't need to claim for my car?

specialboy

You only pay your excess if you are claiming yourself for repairs to your own car.

Nebulous2

It seems quite strange that he has hit on a cost that matches your excess. You may well have given him too much information and he is using this against you.

I'd not be willing to give him anything- but we do need more information about what happens to the lanes. It looks as though he was trying to force his way through and you were determined not to let him. Also as a matter of curiosity, where was the cyclist going? Was he perhaps turning right just ahead?

Hintza

Give us a link to Google Street view.

Which part of his car made contact with your car, and where on your car?

Nodding_Donkey

I'd say it all depends on road markings/signage and which lane merges into the other.

arcon5

I suspect insurance companies would agree 50:50 liability.

No excess payable if your insurer pays a third party. And if you have no damage, thus no repair then no excess to pay for your car fixed. You'll lose ncb he won't unless you equally claim for damage in which case they'll pay you 50pc of repair cost.

Report to your insurer asap though.
Give him your insurers details and tell him you want his to make your claim. See how he proceeds.
Or tell him you will pay half as full and final settlement