Accident while not in van

oz0707

Yesterday someone bumped into a van of mine while I was in a house having a cup of tea. No drama, these things happen. Dents & Cosmetic damage to sliding door and large rear panel. Panel and bumper damage to his newish car.

The chap has informed his insurers as his excess is only £95. They have asked for my details. I am presuming that since these insurers are all linked, it would be wise to notify my insurers also? I am guessing there is a clause stating to inform them (aviva) in a set amount of time.

I would guess my vehicle would technically be a cat D. Although at a guess the repairs might cost less than the value i've read about cat D and it appears insurers work to a value:repairs ratio sometime of 50%. Is this the case in most peoples experiences?

I can guess the answer to this question! Will my risk profile be increased despite vehicle being parked and accident being 100% 3rd parties fault? Would this increase future premiums?

Thanks in advance

DUTR

Yes you should inform your insurer, your risk profile may remain the same for a non fault claim.

Quentin

oz0707 wrote: »

The chap has informed his insurers as his excess is only £95. They have asked for my details. I am presuming that since these insurers are all linked, it would be wise to notify my insurers also?





.........I can guess the answer to this question! Will my risk profile be increased despite vehicle being parked and accident being 100% 3rd parties fault? Would this increase future premiums?

Your policy ts + cs will say you must report all claims/losses to your insurer.


Insurers share all details of losses/claims etc via a shared database.


You can get an idea of the effect this claim will have on your premiums now by doing dummy quotes with and without the claim in your history.

oz0707

Thanks both.

I suppose the dummy quote idea would work - but wouldn't be much help. It's inevitable now he has gone to his insurers.

Will call mine today or Monday let them know.

Anyone confirm these repair ratios?

dacouch

The other Insurers are contacting you as they want to control the claim which means they can control the costs.

If you go to an accident management company they will put you in an hire van at an inflated cost, whereas the third party Insurers can arrange a hire van (If needed) at normal hire costs less any discount they receive.

For your type of claim, it would generally be best to deal directly with the third party Insurers. This is because it sounds like your vehicle may be a write off.

The TP Insurers in this situation are likely to pay you the pre accident value of the van then offer you the option to retain the van for a small deduction from the settlement. This may suit you as you'll receive money and if you're happy to continue using the vehicle in it's current state just pocket the money.

Alternatively you can use the pay off to get the repairs done, if you speak to a local independent garage they may be able to repair the damage using pattern parts or second hand parts or just repair the existing panels for less than the settlement you receive. (The garages the Insurers would normally use would generally use new parts which can be expensive).

If you go down this route, make it clear to the local garage you're using that it's a private job with non Insurers involved as they tend to increase their prices when they deal with an Insurer.

Alternatvely you can just take the settlement and run eg let them retain the salvage and you use the settlement to buy a replacement van.

You need to advise your own Insurers of the incident, I would also send them a copy of the letter that accompanies their payment as this is proof the accident was "Non fault" and you received payment from the other side.

Some Insurers apply a small premium load (From renewal) for a non fault accident and some do not.

As the innocent party you're entitled to claim for out of pocket expenses such as loss of work etc. However you're obliged to mitigate your losses (Keep them as low as reasonably possible).

If you have / will lose work contact the other Insurers as they may find it cheaper for them and easier for you to provide a replacement hire vehicle if your van is not legally drivable and / or the damage prevents you performing your work.

Claiming for lost earnings can take a while as you generally need to provide either your books and / or a letter from your accountant so if you can reasonably avoid losing wages it's best not to

Quentin

oz0707 wrote: »

Thanks both.

I suppose the dummy quote idea would work - but wouldn't be much help. It's inevitable now he has gone to his insurers.

Will call mine today or Monday let them know.

Anyone confirm these repair ratios?

About right, though it does vary depending on insurers.

jimjames

DUTR wrote: »

Yes you should inform your insurer, your risk profile may remain the same for a non fault claim.

Mine went up for a similar situation. Car hit by third party when not being driven. Premium increased by around £100 despite full NCB and no claims on my policy.

---lee---

Your vehicle cannot be cat D, as it's not your fault and you should be claiming directly off the other drivers insurance, as there is no need to use your own - just inform them for information.

The other insurer cannot force you down the write off route, you can therefore insist on repair.

foxtrotoscar_2

---lee--- wrote: »

Your vehicle cannot be cat D, as it's not your fault and you should be claiming directly off the other drivers insurance, as there is no need to use your own - just inform them for information.

The other insurer cannot force you down the write off route, you can therefore insist on repair.

I'd be surprised if this is true.

Aretnap

You cannot insist on a repair if the repair cost is greater than the value of the car. That's an urban myth which refuses to die despite being entirely false.

In fact strictl speaking you cannot insist that the insurer repair it at all. Their liability to you is expressed in purely financial terms and consists of the diminution of value which your car suffers as a result of the accident (plus any consequential losses). The cost of repair is only relevant because in most cases it will be a reasonable measure of the loss of value - but by definition the loss in value cannot be rested than the value of your vehicle just before the accident.

OnanTheBarbarian

---lee--- wrote: »

Your vehicle cannot be cat D, as it's not your fault and you should be claiming directly off the other drivers insurance, as there is no need to use your own - just inform them for information.

The other insurer cannot force you down the write off route, you can therefore insist on repair.

Completely wrong