Need advice

moneytroll

A few days ago, I (gently) bumped into another car's bumper. It was stop & go traffic jam and the speed was minimal, perhaps 2 mph or less. We pulled over to assess damage. It was dark but his car's bumper looked absolutely normal to me. No dents or scratches. I took photos. No police was called. No damage to my car. The other driver appeared hostile and said that he will nevertheless get it assessed professionally and send me an estimate.
In any case, today he called me to say that the bumper needs to be re-sprayed and it would cost around £450.
Since this is the first incident, I am not sure whether it would be better to send him the cheque or do it through my insurance.
My worry is that he might be overstating the damage (I could not detect any scratches!). Plus a standard re-spray seems to cost about half the price from a google search. Also what would stop him going for more from my insurance after he receives my cheque?
What can I do to make sure this matter is treated fairly?
Should I get my insurance involved or settle privately? Would it not be better to have my insurance assess the damage? (is it even possible?)
I think my excess is £600 with my co and I have 3 years no claims and this is the first incident.
Advice would be much appreciated.
thanks

loskie

if you dont feel comfortable sorting it privately go through your insurance

richy999

If you intend sorting this privately, I would ask the other party for the quote/invoice from the repairer and arrange to pay the repairer directly.

You should technically, notify your insurer regardless which route you choose to settle this.

Stevie_Palimo

Don't forget if you pay out they may come back with a claim for whiplash to.

gilbert_and_sullivan

Tempting to go private and sort it out amicably, however £450 for a bumper respray is not typical unless you've chosen something expensive to run into (or the quote includes a small hire/courtesy car for the period its off the road), and as above its possible a claim for personal injury might arrive at some point in the future.

You've met the person, what does your gut tell you, man of his word? or not, if the answer is no then let the insurer sort it out.

neilmcl

Either ask him for a written quote or insist on paying the body shop directly.

Be aware, if they do go down the insurance route you won't lose any excess unless you make a claim for damage yourself.

moneytroll

Thanks very much. I think I'd prefer doing it through the insurance and get them to make their own assessment. But I worry insurance may not bother for a relatively small claim and just pay out whatever he says.
Would I be loosing all NCB years or just one? And how can I estimate how much premiums are likely to go up by? Not sure how this works. I am with Co-op.

ps: how can someone claim for personal injury in a 2 mph nudge? As I wrote, I barely felt the bump-in. Surely if there are scratches on the bumper from this, insurance would be able to determine the speed I was going at and rule out probability of whiplash etc?

BeenThroughItAll

You can't work out how much a claim will affect your premium other than by doing dummy quotes on one of the comparison engines, for example.

How much NCB you will lose will be explained in the policy documents from your insurer.

Stevie_Palimo

moneytroll wrote: »

Thanks very much. I think I'd prefer doing it through the insurance and get them to make their own assessment. But I worry insurance may not bother for a relatively small claim and just pay out whatever he says.
Would I be loosing all NCB years or just one? And how can I estimate how much premiums are likely to go up by? Not sure how this works. I am with Co-op.

ps: how can someone claim for personal injury in a 2 mph nudge? As I wrote, I barely felt the bump-in. Surely if there are scratches on the bumper from this, insurance would be able to determine the speed I was going at and rule out probability of whiplash etc?

You would be surprised at what gets accepted for whiplash claims as the insurance firms do try and fight some but for the most part it is easier to just pay out and make every policy holder cover this additional cost.

WellKnownSid

moneytroll wrote: »

ps: how can someone claim for personal injury in a 2 mph nudge?

They'll go to their GP and then to hospital to complain of the pain.

"Oh the pain! I just cannot imagine how it happened? I mean, I know I was involved in a very minor motor vehicle accident a couple of days ago, do you... do you maybe... I don't know... think that this might have been the cause of my pain, doctor?" Look concerned, furrowed brow "Doctor, did I mention the pain? Do you think I'll ever be able to play the ukulele again? What about the children? Won't somebody think of the children?"

I think it's France and a couple of other European countries that have now brought in statutory limits on payouts for whiplash type injuries.

Apparently it's led to a 90% reduction in A&E attendance... Quel surprise...

moneytroll

Just spoke to the person I bumped into:
- the quote for bumper respray is £440. He said it would be much more expensive if he took it to the Mercedes garage
(is the quote for bumper respray in the right ballpark?)
- I suggested to do it via insurance and he said it would be much more expensive for me to do it that way
I checked with Moneysupermarket: if I renewed my policy now, if I didn't have an accident, it would cost me £635. if I report it and lose my NCB years, it will be:
£831 in year 1
£709 in year 2
£629 in year 3
(If Moneysupermarket is to be believed: I can't quite work out why year 3 is cheaper than if I didn't have any accidents?).

What would be your advice? He said he is an 'honest guy' and wouldn't claim for whiplash etc.