Advice needed - car hit in work private car park

Bluebunny

Hi

Someone at work has just driven into the back of my car whilst waiting to go throught the barriers into a private work car park. totally her fault, looked in the mirror and she was fiddling in her handbag at the time.

Anyway, I pulled through the barrier so as not to cause any delay to anyone else, as did she and then she just drove off. Having checked my car there are a few scrathes and a v small crack in the bumper, but the level of damage is not the issue.

I am going to speak to security and try and find out who it was, but my question is this: can I claim on insurance being as we were in a private car park??

Many Thanks

weejonnie

Yes - there is no restriction on insurance to damage caused on public roads - either for own damage or for liability. However, unless you find the person involved you will still have to pay your excess and have your no claims bonus reduced.

teffers

Bluebunny wrote: »

Hi

I am going to speak to security and try and find out who it was, but my question is this: can I claim on insurance being as we were in a private car park??

Many Thanks

You can claim but it'll end up at 50/50 no matter what. As soon as your insurance co. finds out it was a car-park they lose all interest and roll over.

I base this opinion on both being hit, and hitting someone in a car park.

InsideInsurance

weejonnie wrote: »

Yes - there is no restriction on insurance to damage caused on public roads - either for own damage or for liability. However, unless you find the person involved you will still have to pay your excess and have your no claims bonus reduced.

Technically if you had RTA Only cover there would be no cover for any land not considered a public highway which a barriered private works car park probably wouldnt be. That said, RTA only insurance is exceptionally rare and then only really corporates take it out and so wont be the case here.

teffers wrote: »

You can claim but it'll end up at 50/50 no matter what. As soon as your insurance co. finds out it was a car-park they lose all interest and roll over.

Car parks go 50/50 when you have the two cars pulling out of spaces/ one going in and one coming out etc and only then when one side lies about what was happening or when it truly is 50/50 fault.

From what the OP says they were stationary waiting to drive forward and someone simply went into the back of them. Its unlikely this type of thing would go 50/50 but inevitably anything can when there are no witnesses

nobbysn*ts

Report it to the police. She's committed an offence, it's a nice easy conviction for them, and they like them to improve their stats.

[Deleted User]

Many car parks have CCTV, so it should be no problem to prove it was entirely her fault. The police will also have a nice easy conviction too.

InsideInsurance

DELETED USER wrote:

Many car parks have CCTV, so it should be no problem to prove it was entirely her fault. The police will also have a nice easy conviction too.

Unless the police are very low on their stats they will simply send the TP a producer and once they give their V5/Insurance/MOT nothing else will be done.

They presumably will say they knew they were close but didnt think they'd hit you and as you didnt stop and drove through the barrier they assumed they hadnt.

Aretnap

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Report it to the police. She's committed an offence...

Only if it was a public place. A private work car park is probably not a public place, especially if it has a barrier.

Even if there was an offence of failure to stop, for a minor bump in a car park the police would more likely than not take no further action once details were belatedly exchanged.

matttye

nobbysn*ts wrote: »

Report it to the police. She's committed an offence, it's a nice easy conviction for them, and they like them to improve their stats.

As Aretnap says, what she has done is not an offence.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170

On a road or other public place there's a duty to stop (and report if details are not given at the scene) an accident. The fact that there is a barrier preventing the general public from accessing the car park makes it not a public place.

rs65

I read that it was outside the car park barrier.

Anyway, the question was can he claim on his insurance and the answer is 'yes'. Whether a recovery can be made will depend on whether the TP can be identified.