Car - Hit & Run - No Plate

Coeus

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

My OH was on the motorway today and some guy hit the back of her (damage to rear - still driveable). The misses thank the powers that be was fine (if in hysterics and shock).

Both pulled over followed by the offending driver coming to her car, shouting in Spanish (no word of English) then driving off! :mad:

Naturally the OH was in a state of shock (had an incident non-to-long ago which really hit her confidence) and didn't get the plate.

She did however call the police and get an incident reference number.


Can anyone advise on what will be the consequences?

She's got comprehensive insurance so will report it to the insurance company tonight.

- Will not getting the licence plate cause an issue?

- Will this affect her NCB?


Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated!


Kind regards,


Coeus.

vw100

Not having a licence plate is not really a issue in such cases. Explain the situation to the claim handler and they will understand. As for the NCB - it depends on the insurance company - some have protection against uninsured drivers/hit and run and does not affect your NCB entitlement. Or if your bonus is protected. This sort of claim can also go on your own policy if the offender cannot be traced.

Aretnap

Unless the police can trace the other car you have nobody else to claim from, so it will be a claim in your own policy. This will generally mean paying your excess and losing some of your no claims bonus (unless it's protected). Some insurers do have an uninsured drivers promise which means not paying your excess or having your NCB affected, but often (usually?) this is tied to getting at least the registeration number of the offending vehicle, so that promise might not be much use in your situation.

You will have to inform your insurer anyway, but if it's fairly minor damage it's worth considering how much it would cost to get it fixed yourself, and whether this would actually be cheaper than losing your NCB, especially if you have a large excess. Obviously if it's major damage, making a claim will probably be your best option.

dacouch

vw100 wrote: »

Not having a licence plate is not really a issue in such cases. Explain the situation to the claim handler and they will understand. As for the NCB - it depends on the insurance company - some have protection against uninsured drivers/hit and run and does not affect your NCB entitlement. Or if your bonus is protected. This sort of claim can also go on your own policy if the offender cannot be traced.

I don't know of any Insurer who do reduce your no claims bonus after a hit and run claim, if they did all their clients who had fault accidents involving no other cars would say they were the victim of a hit and run driver.

Coeus

Many thanks for all the replies!

She only got in a few minutes ago so she will call the insurance company tomorrow.

We will see what the insurance company says but it seems only scratching on the car.

Hopefully this will not affect the NCB but time will tell!


Again many thanks any suggestions for when talking to the insurance companies will be noted!


Kind regards,


Coeus.

Bantex_2

dacouch wrote: »

I don't know of any Insurer who do reduce your no claims bonus after a hit and run claim, if they did all their clients who had fault accidents involving no other cars would say they were the victim of a hit and run driver.

Wrong.
If they pay out and cannot get the money from a third party, it will go down a "fault" claim and NCB will be affected.

Aretnap

Bantex wrote: »

Wrong.
If they pay out and cannot get the money from a third party, it will go down a "fault" claim and NCB will be affected.

I think the word "not" was missing from dacouch's post.

In general though there are many insurers who will not reduce your NCB following an accident caused by an uninsured driver, even if they don't recover their outlay - example http://www.theaa.com/insurance/uninsured-driver-promise.html However I'm not aware of any who have an equivalent promise about hit and runs.

bryanb

Aretnap wrote: »

I think the word "not" was missing from dacouch's post.

In general though there are many insurers who will not reduce your NCB following an accident caused by an uninsured driver, even if they don't recover their outlay - example http://www.theaa.com/insurance/uninsured-driver-promise.html However I'm not aware of any who have an equivalent promise about hit and runs.

Yes, rather messes up his point doesn't it?

[Deleted User]

If it was on a motorway there is a fair chance that there was a camera somewhere recording the incident. Motorways are littered with cameras these days. The police or your insurance company should be able to get hold of the footage.