car accident - little damage

darren2385

Hello

I have a brand new car and yesterday somebody drove into the back of me at around 5mph.

The damage is barely visible but there is a small indentation in the painted bumper and scuff mark.

I don't know whether I should phone my insurance to tell them /make a claim. I feel the other parities will think im being ridiculous and worried because they know where i live etc.

On the other hand, I dont know what could crop up in future if I dont disclose the incident and then later the insurance company find out.

i.e. If i dont record the incident and but somebody else does without me knowing - i won't know what to answer for the question "have you had any accidents in the last 5 years"

What would you do?

SeduLOUs

Well I very much doubt the other party would notify their insurance if you don't, considering it appears to be them at fault.

Personally I probably wouldn't bother doing anything. At a push I might accept a small payment to tidy up the damage, but probably wouldn't caue a big fuss about it if they weren't willing.

Certainly wouldn't advise going through the insurance as it will end up costing a lot more in the long run by having a claim.

InsideInsurance

darren2385 wrote: »

I don't know whether I should phone my insurance to tell them /make a claim. I feel the other parities will think im being ridiculous and worried because they know where i live etc.

You know you should, your question is will you or not.

Why are you worried because they know where you live? Did they threaten you or something?

If it was my brand new car I'd want it sorted but would speak to your local chips away type place and get a non-insurance quote and then speak to the other party about how they want to proceed

darren2385

InsideInsurance wrote: »

You know you should, your question is will you or not.

Why are you worried because they know where you live? Did they threaten you or something?

If it was my brand new car I'd want it sorted but would speak to your local chips away type place and get a non-insurance quote and then speak to the other party about how they want to proceed

yes they were quite threatening and reluctant to give me insurance details - they told me they would not be dealing via insurance.

they were really trying to scare me off to be honest

thenudeone

darren2385 wrote: »

yes they were quite threatening and reluctant to give me insurance details - they told me they would not be dealing via insurance.

They don't have that option. You can make a claim directly against their insurers, who do not need their policyholders' permission to pay up.

If the other party was reasonable and helpful I may be tempted to ask them to pay for the damage privately without involving insurers.

Since the other party wasn't reasonable, I think you need to protect yourself by informing your insurers of the incident FOR INFORMATION ONLY, getting the other insurer's details from askmid.com (c.£4 from a PC but free from a mobile device or browser emulating a mobile device) then contacting their third party claims department about getting the damage repaired.

If they are not insured, report it to police and make a claim under the uninsured driver agreement with MIB.

If you don't act first, you may find the unhelpful and threatening other party has told his insurance company that you reversed into him. If you have failed to notify your insurer, this won't help your situation.

SeduLOUs

Agree with thenudeone. I didn't realise they were being threatening, in which case it is not their decision whether or not to go through insurance as they are the ones at fault.

You can choose to keep it off the insurance if it is minimal cost and they are happy to pay it, but that seems unlikely.

It's entirely up to you how to proceed, and you are perfectly within your rights to claim via insurance if you so wish. But bear in mind that making a claim through insurance could cost you in the long run, even if the accident was not your fault.

InsideInsurance

In principle thenudeone is correct however if they are particularly obstructive they can of cause claim you were the cause of the accident and put in a counter claim for damages to their vehicle (and possibly whiplash).

Without independent witnesses and depending on the circumstances it may end up 50/50 as neither side can prove their version of events and so ends up being a fault claim against you (and one against them too)

[Deleted User]

If they hit the OP from behind it is unlikely to go 50-50. If the OP is worried about the threatening reaction of the people who hit them I'd suggest reporting it to their insurance and letting them deal with it.

chanz4

op rolled into them.....easy excuse so rear end isn't always clear cut

[Deleted User]

It's always worth having a dash camera. Even so, if the road was level it would be pretty unlikely for the OP to roll backwards.

InsideInsurance

DELETED USER wrote:

It's always worth having a dash camera. Even so, if the road was level it would be pretty unlikely for the OP to roll backwards.

We dont know the circumstances of the accident other than it was a slow rear end collision. OP can say it was a case of them being stationary at lights and the TP failed to stop in time. The TP can say it happened in a car park and the OP reversed into their stationary car.

I had one case once where even the country the accident happened in was in dispute