Car insurance claim help

wadsleyowl

Help please!
Someone pulled out of the zigzag lines at school and pulled into my front bumper, not stopping as she was arguing with some other mums, till she had pulled half my bumper off. She has damaged my bumper, front left wing and bonnet. She did admit it was her fault, because she was arguing with someone else.

Reported to my insurance company, hastings direct, who said someone would be in touch. Heard from solicitors, are you injured? No. Are you out of pocket?possibly excess, well come back if you are.

Not heard from insures still. Then got a call from Albany assistance who took all claim details again and said needed to send me a hire purchase agreement?!?

Agreed over phone but then looked at it and discussed with other half and not happy to use them and sign this agreement after looking at comments about them.

Phoned insurance back, got trainee who advised could go with nationwide repairers instead but will have to pay excess.

So agreed that presuming solicitors will claim this excess back instead.

How does this all work please? Confused. Why am I chasing it all? Still not heard from insurance company at all, two weeks down the line. Is this normal? Do I sign anything? Still don't know if she's admitted liability. I am fully comp, should I have gone to her insurers? Would it make it better for me in long run?

No one else I spoke to till tonight had ever heard of hire company thing. Work for a bank so very reluctant to sign anything that someone could leave me with a debt etc, yes there was a insurance policy built into this but Albany seem to have a reputation for adding all sorts of amounts to the debt.

I'm presuming I'm going to have a big jump in premiums too! All because someone can't walk a bit further to school!


Any advice welcomed.

InsideInsurance

If you are in a non-fault accident you have 3 choices, subject to the honesty of the TP and assuming you have comp cover:

1) Claim of your own insurance
2) Use an accident management company and do it all on credit
3) Claim directly from the TP insurer

Out of the three, excluding personal injury claims, option 3 tends to be the best as it avoids credit agreements and arguments over if it was necessary for them to be involved and also avoids having your excess to pay/ ncd temporarily impacted.

Your insurers will like option 2 the most as it avoids them having to pay out and recover their outlay which never includes their handling costs and they also get paid by the AXM for the referral.

Your insurers seem to be dragging their heals, really if you claim off your insurance they should instruct the garage on the same call and the garage should be phoning you within 1 working day to make the arrangements.

Personally, I'd be calling the TPI, advise them that your insurers want you to go down the credit hire/ repairs route but that you'd rather claim directly from them. Assuming their client has called them and been honest they should jump at the opportunity