Hit & Run my parked car. One independent witness. Best way to deal.

dimension7

AdrianC wrote: »

You decide whether to write to that insurer and claim directly from them, or whether to claim from your own insurer.

Knowing the registered keeper's name adds nothing whatsoever to your options.

Okay. What are the downsides of directly calling the TP insurer for me?
Thanks.

AdrianC

dimension7 wrote: »

Okay. What are the downsides of directly calling the TP insurer for me?

If their insured says "Wasn't me", then they'll just hand you the claim straight back.

But, if their insured says "Wasn't me", your own insurer will almost certainly foot the bill themselves, so your NCB and excess will be hit.

The damage is just the door? What car is it?

dimension7

AdrianC wrote: »

If their insured says "Wasn't me", then they'll just hand you the claim straight back.

But, if their insured says "Wasn't me", your own insurer will almost certainly foot the bill themselves, so your NCB and excess will be hit.

The damage is just the door? What car is it?

So whats the point of having two witnesses. Btw one on them saw the driver and described them to me.

I know you haven't been optimistic on this thread, but I feel there is a solid case because the witness actually came out of their house and got a look at the driver.

AdrianC

dimension7 wrote: »

So whats the point of having two witnesses. Btw one on them saw the driver and described them to me.

I know you haven't been optimistic on this thread, but I feel there is a solid case because the witness actually came out of their house and got a look at the driver.

Fine. So hand those details to an insurer. You get to pick which.

Personally, I'd be looking at the cost of getting it repaired myself. Again - what car? Just rough age/type...?

Marktheshark

You can start a county court claim against the insurer and "indemnified party" which the judge can then apply an order known as "Norwich Pharmaceutical" which orders them to name the policy holder in court or face contempt of court.

Mention this to them on the phone, they will soon realise they are not going to fob you off.

Silver-Surfer_2

Marktheshark wrote: »

You can start a county court claim against the insurer and "indemnified party" which the judge can then apply an order known as "Norwich Pharmaceutical" which orders them to name the policy holder in court or face contempt of court.

Mention this to them on the phone, they will soon realise they are not going to fob you off.

Yeah they'll realise you know loads.

An application for one should generally only be made against a party who is not likely to be a party in any subsequent claim.

I'd say their insurance company is a likely party.

Keep googling so you can keep the dodgy advice coming.

neilmcl

dimension7 wrote: »

Okay. What are the downsides of directly calling the TP insurer for me?
Thanks.

Look, it's a no-brainer. Contact the TP insurer first thing tomorrow stating that you want to open a claim for damage caused by one of their clients (policy no xxxxxxxx) to your car which was parked up at the time. Give them details of where and when, tell them you have independent witnesses and you've contacted the police (give them the police report no. if requested).

They will either say sorry we cant/wont help, in which case go with your own insurer or they'll take your details and call you back once they've established liability.

You have nothing to lose.

dimension7

neilmcl wrote: »

Look, it's a no-brainer. Contact the TP insurer first thing tomorrow stating that you want to open a claim for damage caused by one of their clients (policy no xxxxxxxx) to your car which was parked up at the time. Give them details of where and when, tell them you have independent witnesses and you've contacted the police (give them the police report no. if requested).

They will either say sorry we cant/wont help, in which case go with your own insurer or they'll take your details and call you back once they've established liability.

You have nothing to lose.

I spoke to TP insurer now, they are not aware of the incident. They sounded very unhelpful and said it will take them a week to establish if they will entertain me as they will send a letter to their customer and wait for them to respond. When I said cant you call, they said no, we send a letter. Also they want me to call back and chase up after a week. Meanwhile will need to have my car independently inspected for damage. I and need to get back into work on Tuesday.

Tilt

There must be a better way of dealing with cases like this as it must happen quite a lot.

We all know that there is the offence of failing to stop/report/exchange details following a collision so what's the point in having it if no action can be taken?

For the record, in the olden days (when pop used to be delivered door to door by lorry), my car was hit by such a lorry travelling in the opposite direction after I had stopped to let it through. It didn't stop but fortunately I got the reg number and reported to the police. They inspected the damage to my car and actually took a sample of the paint which had been left from the lorry. A week later I got a call to say they had confirmed the match and the driver had been charged. The company who owned the lorry paid for all my repairs.

Job done. So why can't this happen these days? Lack of resources I suppose. But surely the police can provide the keeper's details or maybe the DVLA? Then I would claim direct of the keeper by going through the small claims court if necessary.

tripled

I recently made a claim directly off a 3rd party's insurer (someone reversed into my parked car). In my case it was easier as we had exchanged details and they notified their insurance, but the steps I tool were as follows:

1) Notify my insurer of incident (by email), with details, and advise them I did not require their services at present as I was claiming direct off the 3rd party.

2) Attempt to call third party insurer, got a recorded message saying to send claim via email

3) Emailed 3rd party insurer (copying in mine), notifying them I held their policyholder fully liable and would be claiming the costs from them. I notified them I would be replacing light to make the car roadworthy again, to mitigate need for hire car. I would also be obtaining quote for repair to damage. (Had I not been able to make the car roadworthy, I would have hired something from Enterprise or the likes and invoiced them for it).

4) I replaced the light and had the car assessed by a reputable accident repair centre, who gave me a letter declaring the car beyond economic repair.

5) I emailed the 3rd party insurer, copying in my own, details of the costs and inspection (with scans of invoice and letter), and that I expected to hear from them within 48 hours to discuss settlement or I may involve a claims management company.

6) The next morning they replied and said they would get their repairers to contact me and would provide a hire car if needed while the car was being assessed/repaired. The repair company called me a couple of hours later and asked for photos of the damage. I emailed them through and they told me that was sufficient for them to prepare an estimate for the insurers.

7) One week later, I was planning to chase the insurers, but before I did they called me and offered to pay out the value of the car as a cat d write-off, and I could retain the car, to which I agreed.


You need to be quite firm with them - if they think they can fob you off, they likely will. If you haven't already, provide them with the details, copies of witness statements, the police reference number and estimates for repair. Make it clear what your expectations are. If you are in doubt, ask for advice.

Ultimately if they don't play ball, you will either have to take the policyholder and them to court to recover your losses (name them both), or get someone else to do that for you, either your own insurer or a claims management firm/solicitor.

Make sure you keep a record of all communications, costs, etc. Names, dates, times, what was agreed and discussed.