To use insurance or not....

74jax

What would be the best way of dealing with this situation....

A car of a family friend is hit by accident by a van owned by a family member. A panel is damaged on the car - the van has no damage.

After a few quotes the damage will amount to almost £900. This can be paid in cash however would it be wise to consider using the van insurance for this?

Other points to note, the car is owned by an 18 year old (PCP), if it went through the insurance would this cause an increase in his premium even though it wasn't his fault (but i'm guessing would have to declare it).

If it isn't through an insurance company would the PCP company be happy this was settled informally?

Family member has 10+ no claims (protected) and only pays a couple of hundred a year as the full premium. Excess is £100.

Neither party wants to get insurance companies involved until we know the ins and outs for both sides, can anyone advise?

Fat_Walt

Negatives:
Both will have to declare it for the next five years.
18 year old may not get insurance upon renewal.
18 year olds insurance may rocket.

Positive:
It will cost the driver £100 excess instead of £900.

Paradigm

Most, if not all, insurance company require you to declare an accident... whether a claim is made or not.
This allows them to review your policy & possibly adjust your premium to cover the added risk. It may go up.


Of course if the damage was repaired by the owner of the van, the insurance co would never know

chrisw

The PCP company won't mind who repairs it as long as it's done properly. In fact if it's done properly they would probably never know.

74jax

Thank you for your replies. I guess I'm reluctant for insurance companies to get involved in case insurance for 18yr old goes sky high and is not his fault at all.

Aretnap

Fat_Walt wrote: »

It will cost the driver £100 excess instead of £900.

There's no excess to pay on third party claims (with the vast majority of policies, at least), so there will be zero cost to the driver - until he renews his insurance at least.

74jax

Aretnap wrote: »

There's no excess to pay on third party claims (with the vast majority of policies, at least), so there will be zero cost to the driver - until he renews his insurance at least.

Sorry I don't understand this part - I've never claimed on car insurance before, so I'm not sure on it all.


So.....


If it didn't go through the insurance then van driver would pay £900 to have the car fixed.


If it DID go through the insurance the van driver doesn't pay the £100 excess until he renews his insurance (about 7 months time)?

neilmcl

74jax wrote: »

Sorry I don't understand this part - I've never claimed on car insurance before, so I'm not sure on it all.


So.....


If it didn't go through the insurance then van driver would pay £900 to have the car fixed.


If it DID go through the insurance the van driver doesn't pay the £100 excess until he renews his insurance (about 7 months time)?

You only pay excess when claiming for damage on your OWN car.

74jax

neilmcl wrote: »

You only pay excess when claiming for damage on your OWN car.

Thank you so much for that. Never realised that at all.

Aretnap

74jax wrote: »

If it didn't go through the insurance then van driver would pay £900 to have the car fixed.


If it DID go through the insurance the van driver doesn't pay the £100 excess until he renews his insurance (about 7 months time)?

As above, the excess only applies to the own damage part of your car insurance policy, not to the third party liability element. So the van driver will only have to pay his excess if he claims for damage to his own van. If the only claim is for damage to your son's car the van driver won't have to pay a penny.

(This is true of the vast majority of insurance policies. There are a handful of providers who do charge an excess on third party claims
but they tend to be obscure specialist insurers - not mainstream ones)

While the van driver won't have to pay his excess, he may well find that making a claim results in his own insurance getting more expensive next year - which is what I meant by costing nothing until renewal time.

thescouselander

What does the cars owner think of being off the road while their car is repaired? Will the repair place provide a car or will other arrangements need to be made?

Also what will happen if the car isn't repaired to the owners satisfaction?

Sounds better to go through the insurance IMO.