Car insurance no claim/claim?

TJM95

I had an accident at the end of May this year. I was in a parked position and pulled out. As I pulled out a car came from round the corner pretty quick (20mph zone) and I clipped his rear quarter. This is obviously still down as my fault so we exchanged details. He was a chilled out bloke and left instantly. No injuries at all, no emergancy services, both cars just had cosmetic damage.

I called my insurance to notify them of the accident and told them that I'd be happy to pay the damage to the other party's car as my my car just had a dented the wing which I can replace and fit myself for £30 (old Peugeot 206). I rang the gentleman I had an accident with and told him I'd be happy to pay for his car to be repaired. He told me it was a company car so he'd have to see what they say. A few days later he rings me and told me that they'd allow me to pay for the damage, so I said post an estimate for repairs. I recieved this and paid for it instantly (estimate was from the garage themselves). The estimate I recieved had the third party's name and company on it. I got a receipt also. I spoke to the gentleman I had an accident with and he was happy it was all sorted and told me that he'll get it repaired and it's all done with. Happy days.

Around the middle of July, my insurance informed me that other party's insurance had sent them a letter in regards to the accident which mentions that I reversed into the car (which never happened and I drove forwards into the rear quarter). I sent the estimate and receipts over instantly. I have spoke to many advisors and I am getting told completely different things. The first chap told me that it was probably more of a generic letter, I spoke to someone else who said they could be claiming loss of earnings which got me worried. The person actually dealing with my case told me that it was just a generic information letter and that they would be looking to close the case then today I spoke to a lady in the who said it wasn't a generic letter and that the other party were pursuing a claim but it doesn't say what the claim is for. A month after the receipts were sent, the other party's insurance said they couldn't view my receipts as it was the wrong format. My insurance have re-sent them in a different format for them. I was never informed of any of this.

It's stressing me out a bit as I have my renewal coming up and with an open case or a claim, it'll be expensive as I've also paid a fair bit for the damages. The garage where the car was repaired offered a free courtesy car. Nobody was injured and the man went straight to work after. Could the company be claiming loss of earnings or maybe the insurance are just after the receipts for repairs? Maybe they had another accident with a wall and are now saying I reversed into them? I don't know. This is the first accident I've had so I don't know too much so I do apologise. Two months ago I assumed this was all over until recently...

Quentin

You are learning the hard way!


Next time you intend to pay privately don't simply pay on a quote (you are responsible for all the costs associated with the incident, not just the garage bill)


You have this incident on your record now anyway to disclose to other insurers you approach even if no claim results.


Explain to any new insurer you choose about the open claim and ask that if it is concluded with your NCD being reinstated that they will amend your premium.


If they agree, get it confirmed back to you in writing before you buy

TJM95

Quentin wrote: »

You are learning the hard way!


Next time you intend to pay privately don't simply pay on a quote (you are responsible for all the costs associated with the incident, not just the garage bill)


You have this incident on your record now anyway to disclose to other insurers you approach even if no claim results.


Explain to any new insurer you choose about the open claim and ask that if it is concluded with your NCD being reinstated that they will amend your premium.


If they agree, get it confirmed back to you in writing before you buy

Thanks for the reply!

I completely understand about it being on my records which is why I informed them in the first place, was the legal thing to do. I was not silly enough to just give the company money, I just paid for the estimate which had his name and company on it and he got it booked in. I'm not sure if there's some wires crossed some where but the person dealing with my claim says that there shouldn't be any further costs that are expensive anyway as a free courtesy was offered and no one was injured/had to take time off etc. Sorry, I am a bit of a novice to all this. My insurance have said they will refuse to pay out for any vehicle damage to say the least as the evidence was sufficient for them.

Quentin

It looks like you didn't ensure the matter concluded when you paid the quote!


Always dangerous to rely on a quote as there is always a possibility that other work is found necessary when parts are removed etc.


If you were happy for your insurer to know about the claim then you could have left it to them to deal with (they would have ensured there were no loose ends like this that the third party could come back for more money) and if it was cost effective, you could reimburse your insurer their outlay and any lost NCD would be reinstated