Tree fell on my car as I was driving - how to deal with it?

Retrogamer

Sparx wrote: »

It's your claim, on that car's insurance policy. It has no effect on your husband's business car ins policy, assuming the car you was in is a personal car with personal insurance?

Are you sure?
The claim will be against the OP as a driver, but the claim will also be on the Husbands insurance policy.

When other insurance companies ask you if you have ever been involved in a claim / accident over the last X amount of years you'd have to answer yes (as the husband) due to the claim being on the policy where you are the main driver.

Quentin

Retrogamer wrote: »

When other insurance companies ask you if you have ever been involved in a claim / accident over the last X amount of years you'd have to answer yes (as the husband) due to the claim being on the policy where you are the main driver.

No you don't.


The claim only goes against the named driver's history. (On both her own policy and policies where she is a named driver)


As long as the wife remains a named driver on the husband's policy then the claim only needs declaring against the wife.

macman

Are you sure that the tree was actually on the highway? If it was on private land adjoining the highway then the claim is against the owner of that land. The LA will have cleared it as it's blocking the public highway, but that doesn't make them liable for any damage it caused.

mrs_sparrow

Morning all. I have been back up this morning to take some photos. The tree is definitely on the highway, not on someone's boundary. I was there in the afternoon when a van was there with flashing lights, an hour or so later the whole tree had been removed.

As it stands the roof is going to cost £350+VAT to have a full respray. Our excess is £250 so it's not worth claiming on the insurance, we might as well get it done ourselves.

If we take that option, do I need to report anything to mine and my husbands insurance company? When getting a new quote do we report it as an accident or a 'loss'? Or do we just not say anything as we have not involved the insurance company? Thanks.

And my other line of question..... I would like to try to get the council to pay out if I can - after all this is MSE and nothing ventured, nothing gained. They never maintain the trees round here, they are never cut or trimmed, the roads are horrendous.

My question is this - if I claim for this by filling out the form on the councils website, will my insurance company know, will I have to tell them and will I have to declare it on any future quotes.

The car is on my hubby's insurance and his NCB is not protected - genius, I had no idea - so if the council won't do it, we will but not at the cost of losing 7 years NCB. The policy is dreadful so I want to move to a different one, however, not at the cost of losing NCB, having to declare a claim, etc...

Thank you again for any help.

mrs_sparrow

foxtrotoscar wrote: »

DOC= Drive Other Cars....third party only, ie damage to the car you are driving if you are at fault for an accident is not covered.

Ah, thank you very much for explaining.

mrs_sparrow

Where the trees are not maintained a lot of them are rotting and 'snapping' when it is windy, they do not even come up at the roots. There is one along the lane that was huge - easily 3ft trunk - and last winter snapped on a windy day. We are in a village that is situation between 2 council areas and neither comes in to maintain things, clean roads, salt or grit - they go as far as the road leading in then turn around and go out the other way.

There are currently another 2 down in the lanes, sitting in one lane of the highway I noticed this morning.

stator

One route to take would be to tell the insurers but not make a claim yet. Try to claim off the council. If that doesn't work, claim off the insurers.
The other route is to claim off the insurers and give them all the details to claim their losses from the council.

mrs_sparrow

I didn't want to involve my husbands insurers if possible - I don't want to have to put a claim down and, as he has not protected his NCB on this policy - he will start again from nil and the cost of next years policy plus the excess is far more than we would pay to have the entire roof resprayed.

So this is why I asked what would happen if I filled in the 'claim' section from the council website.

If they are going to contact his insurer and him lose his NCB then it really isn't worth the hassle and money we would 'lose' overall.

Quentin

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

... Our excess is £250 so it's not worth claiming on the insurance, we might as well get it done ourselves.

If we take that option, do I need to report anything to mine and my husbands insurance company? When getting a new quote do we report it as an accident or a 'loss'? Or do we just not say anything as we have not involved the insurance company? ......

No need to inform your insurer (or any future insurer) just because you take your car in for a paint job.

CKhalvashi

hcb42 wrote: »

Given the high winds today it is the car insurer, not the council you should claim from. The council are not liable for the weather

Surely that depends if UKIP are the controlling council and whether there was recently a gay wedding in the area?

Quentin wrote: »

No need to inform your insurer (or any future insurer) just because you take your car in for a paint job.

I would say that this is an 'incident', and that the insurance company should be made aware.