We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.

Collision with a foreign Lorry - What to expect going forward?

Peater
Peater Posts: 521 Forumite
edited 18 August 2014 am31 10:16AM in Motoring
As the title suggests, I had an accident over the weekend where an Austrian lorry I was making my way past (motorway) moved out of lane 1 and clipped my rear sending me spinning off down the carriageway.

He stopped and we exchanged details but he wouldn't admit liability (I wouldn't expect a professional driver to...) The lorry had only a scratch, but my car suffered substantial damage to all panels on the left side plus lost the wing mirror and has bent the rear suspension slightly. We were both able to drive away.

Anyway, this is the first prang I've had on the road so don't really know what to expect. I've done some googling and it seems that it can become a bit of a horrorshow waiting for a resolution.

- I logged the incident with my insurer at the roadside and got a confirmation email.
- I got told that 'at best' I could expect a split liability claim and that they would take my excess immediately.
- Having got home from the weekend away, I now have alot more information I can offer them (photos, documents etc)
- I have been in contact with the Highways Agency to try and recover some CCTV footage of the collision.
- I am taking the car to the appointed garage for an estimate this afternoon.

I'm pretty sick about it tbh. I've only just built up 10yrs NCD and finally saw a decent reduction in my car insurance. To think that I will lose my excess and pay an inflated premium again through no fault of my own is really rather depressing.

What is the standard practice here?

The body-shop will, i take it, estimate the cost of the damage and the insurer will decide if it' worth repairing or scrapping?

Then, in either case, what happens next?

I got told that I would be given a courtesy vehicle for the time it is off the road, who's insurance does that come out of? Would it not be worth me just buying a cheap run-around if this is going to take a while?

Sorry, alot of questions. Just a bit overwhelmed at the mo.

**UPDATE***

- See Post #10

- See post #20
«1

Comments

  • Bad luck on so many levels unfortunately.

    As you are claiming off of your insurance the first part will all happen in the normal method. Your car will be inspected and an estimate for repair done unless its totally obvious that its a total loss. Your insurers will look at the estimate, compare it to the value of the vehicle and make a decision on if its safe/ economical to repair it. If the costs exceed a proportion of the value of the vehicle it will be considered beyond economical repair and so a total loss. The exact proportion depends on the vehicle, its age, pre-accident condition etc.

    If its a total loss then ultimately an offer will be made, a request for the v5c, MOT, spare keys etc will be given and a cheque sent to you (or a BACS transfer). The exact order these happen in varies by insurer.

    "Courtesy car" is a term thrown around too much and the exact language is important. A true courtesy car is given by the garage themselves and normally is "free" (its factored into the labour rate), as such they are typically only available for a vehicle thats repaired.

    Some insurers have a policy add on of a guaranteed/ enhanced courtesy/hire car and in these cases its a hire car from one of the big companies. Normally these are given irrespective of circumstances but have a maximum length of 2-3 weeks as defined by the policy even if repairs are longer.

    In non-fault accidents you also have credit hire where a specialist hire company gives you the car on credit and then attempts to recover their costs from the third party directly. Needless to say their rates are much higher than a normal hire car.

    Typically in a non-fault accident you are entitled to alternative transport costs up to 10 days after you receive the total loss settlement. Anything thats done under the terms of your policy however is governed by its T&Cs instead though.



    Now the fun bit, things may have gotten more slick since my day but I doubt it. As the TP is from a EU country and not here your insurers will contact the MIB with the details you've given. They contact the MIB equiv in Austria who in turn write to the insurer. Then back up the chain comes the details of the Austrian Insurer's UK claims handler and the reference number for them.

    The claim progresses as normal but instead of contacting the third party insurer they instead contact their UK handlers. Some handlers operate with full delegated authority and so things are a bit slower but not too bad. Others have no authority at all and everything has to be referred back to the overseas insurer, normally by post and so slow.

    Ultimately liability is up in the air until the TP's version of events is heard. If he gives the same story as you then he is liable. If he says you tried to change lane rather than him and there is no evidence to prove otherwise then the 50/50 is likely.
  • Peater
    Peater Posts: 521 Forumite
    Wow, I wasn't expecting a reply that thorough and concise. Thankyou very much.

    So, in the interim period, it is just treated as me claiming against my policy until such a time that liability can be apportioned elsewhere? Ok, that makes it clearer (albeit undesirable).

    I hope, after having a weekend to think about it, he'd just admit in clear conscience that he drifted/aquaplaned out into me. (Oh yes, it was VERY wet at the time) BUT, it is his livelihood on the line, so I can sort of understand why he wouldn't want to admit fault.

    The M'way was congested so we were all shuffling along at 50mph when it happened. I was creeping past him on the right, he was in a Left-hand-drive cab, it was lashing down etc. Perfect scenario for him not to see me. I just hope he comes clean.

    This will be a thorn in my side for a while, i'm sure.
  • At this point, with how the claim is progressing, its a claim against your policy and your insurers then use their subjugated rights to recover from the TP/TPI.

    In almost all cases a claim against your own policy counts as a fault claim until they get the cash to give them a net £0 outlay. In a small number of cases an insurer may waive this where liability looks 100% certain and all details of the third party and their insurers is known but it wouldnt be in this case.

    The other option is to go down the credit route but given both circumstances and the international element its unlikely a credit company would want to get involved. Things also get more complicated with these if the vehicle is a total loss because whilst they'll do repairs on credit they wont settle a t/l claim on credit. Its somewhat predictable as whilst your vehicle hasnt been settled they can keep you in their hire car at 2-3 times normal rate.
  • colin79666
    colin79666 Posts: 1,350 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    Watch out on the hire car front. If it is hired with no cost to you up front be aware that if they can't recover costs from the 3rd party then you may be liable down the line, even if you are deemed not at fault for the accident.
  • colin79666 wrote: »
    Watch out on the hire car front. If it is hired with no cost to you up front be aware that if they can't recover costs from the 3rd party then you may be liable down the line, even if you are deemed not at fault for the accident.

    This is only a risk with Credit Hire rather than a hire car provided under the terms of the policy (eg "guaranteed courtesy car" extension)

    As always, read everything before signing it and be sure you know what you are getting into
  • ratrace
    ratrace Posts: 1,019 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Sorry to hear about your collision mate

    Every time i hear about the 3rd party not coming clean is really annoying


    i think we all need to invest in dash cams to prevent any liars getting away with it as a result we have to pay higher premium’s its a joke
    People are caught up in an egotistic artificial rat race to display a false image to society. We want the biggest house, fanciest car, and we don't mind paying the sky high mortgage to put up that show. We sacrifice our biggest assets our health and time, We feel happy when we see people look up to us and see how successful we are”

    Rat Race
  • arcon5
    arcon5 Posts: 14,099 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Why not contact their iinsurer if they have a UK base and ask them to handle the claim.
    not sure why your insurers are saying you should effectively accept split liability
  • Peater
    Peater Posts: 521 Forumite
    They are not advising me to split the liability, the handler just said that in these cases, without sufficient evidence/proof of fault it usually comes down to that and that it would be prudent to brace myself for the financial hit down the road.

    I've checked out the 3rd Party's insurers and they are soley domestic based in Austria.
  • Peater
    Peater Posts: 521 Forumite
    UPDATE:

    Ok, so I presented the car for the insurance repair estimate. The list was quite substantial and given the value of the car, It seems likely it may be written off. But, the garage say they can't take a proper look at it until late in the month and I have no idea how fast my insurer will move.

    My immediate dilemma is that the car is driveable but has slightly deranged rear suspension which makes it, in my opinion, rather unsafe to drive at substantial speed (40mph+).

    I need a fully working (motorway safe) vehicle as I travel alot at the weekends. It seems as though I could be waiting a while for any kind of resolution and I don't wish to put my life on hold in the name of administration.

    So, could I simply buy a cheap(er) run around and take the damaged car off the road? Could i transfer my current policy while it is under claim or would i need to setup a new policy elsewhere?
  • Complain to your insurers, its not reasonable to have to wait 2 weeks for an inspection unless they are giving you a courtesy car whilst yours is off the road with them
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 348.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 452.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 240.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 617.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.7K Life & Family
  • 254.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.