No fault prang

salstars

Hi,

Someone ran into the back of my car as I sat stationary at a zebra crossing last week. Her car came off much worse than mine with radiator liquid spilling onto the road and steam coming out of the engine; mine looks as if it just needs the bumper replacing (although from prev experience I know how pricey this can be).

The driver admitted liability immediately, insisted that she hadn't been on her phone (not prompted by anything I said), and then started asking whether we could avoid insurance.

The conversation continued via text message over the next day or so including messages from her and her aunt insisting that my damage was so minimal, why would I involve the insurance co?, and offering a garage they knew to do the repair (she was even about to order my bumper online the day after).

They have said that she is a second driver on her uncle's insurance and so they don't want the raised premiums of going through insurance. What confuses me is that the damage to their car was so much worse that I can't understand how they wouldn't end up going through insurance unless they had something to hide? My quote has come back as £950 and I could get them to pay upfront to my chosen garage before the work is started but I have no guarantee that the garage won't find more work to be done (and then will they pay more?) and also their insistence that I not use insurance makes me feel complicit in something a bit underhand. To confirm, I have logged the incident with my insurance but have not instructed them to act yet.

Any advice on how to proceed?

m0bov

It sounds like its more hassle than its worth, I would just go via insurance, you have already declared the accident anyway.

AdrianC

Simple question... Do you implicitly trust them to pay for a proper repair to your car, even if there's hidden damage behind the bumper skin?

If not, then insurance.

foxy-stoat

I would guess that driver is not covered on the policy - if they cannot drop the cash around to repair your car in 24 hours instruct your insurers to repair your car......forget that, if they are uninsured then it may be the wake up call they need and hopefully get banned from driving for a few months and you will be doing the rest of the local driving folk a service. If they are insured then you would of saved them paying for the repair themselves.

Win - Win

AdrianC

Whether THAT driver actually is covered for THAT car isn't really your problem. The only thing that matters is whether there is an insurer listed on MID for it. If it's covered for somebody, anybody else to drive, and the driver is identified, then the insurer has to pay out. How they then deal with their policyholder is up to them...

Quentin

This does sound too much hassle for you.


Go to the third party insurer direct and ask if they have an "innocent third party" claims dept.


If so ask them to deal with your claim.


You will be able to have repairs done at your choice of repairer, no excess to pay and reclaim, no temporary loss of your NCD, and they will happily provide a replacement car whilst yours is off the road.


If the third party wants to they can subsequently reimburse their insurer to get any lost NCD reinstated if that's why they don't want to involve the insurance.


(If you hit any problem getting the third party to handle your claim you can still go back to your insurer and put your claim in there)

salstars

Thanks all - I asked for their insurance co. and the uncle's name (as car owner) and they dodged the question. Wondering if my insurance can find them through the reg no. alone?

AdrianC

Just query MID directly. They'll tell you the policy number and the insurer.
http://stayinsured.askmid.com/roadside.html - free from a mobile.

salstars

Thank you - didn't know about this facility!

derrick

AdrianC wrote: »

Just query MID directly. They'll tell you the policy number and the insurer.
http://stayinsured.askmid.com/roadside.html - free from a mobile.

Only free, (accessible), if you have a smart mobile device, still a lot that don't.

"The new 'askMID Roadside' service, which is only accessible via a smart mobile device at www.askMID.com, can be used to check the insurance details of the other parties involved in a road traffic accident."
.

Quentin

You don't need your own smart phone! You can use a friend's

Don't suppose there are that many drivers who cannot access a smart phone off someone!

If you cannot access one the £4 fee should be added to your uninsured losses and reclaimed back off the third party insurer