Accident - Not My Fault - Whose Insurance Company Should Deal With My Car

j0nr

I was involved in an accident recently where the following happened: Car 1 cut across the front of Car 2, clipping them, sending them into a spin, who in turn then hit us. (this was on a motorway, at motorway speeds and sent us fish-tailing down the motorway! Fortunately I managed to keep it on the road, not turn over (high 4x4) and not hit anything else. Car had my and my wife and 3 children onboard )

It has already been decided that we are not liable and Car 2's insurance company have accepted liability, even though not directly Car 2's fault, but Car 1 fled the scene and no one was able to identify it (****).

I now find myself in this situation: My insurance company towed my car away and sent it to a "accident repair centre". The ARC called me (not sure why) to tell me their assessment that they were going to give to my insurance company for the repair bill. This bill was very high.

This has led the "Total Loss Engineer" from my insurance company contacting me to gather some details on the car (cost when bought, mileage, history, etc). His email stated that it was a "potential total loss", not that it WAS a total loss (yet). He then asked for some info, but then strangely said I needed to go and collect any personal belongings from the car as it will be going into storage. I am currently awaiting a reply to the info I fed back to him.

I have also been contacted by Car 2's insurance company. They wanted to double check my version of events (which they seemed happy with). They then told me they were accepting full liability (unless Car 1 identity is found). They then asked if I wanted them to deal with my car. i.e. assess it for damage, give me a hire car etc...I explained that my insurance company already had it in their possession and were in the process of considering it a total loss. They then said they could still take it off their hands "if I wanted them to".

I am consfused now as to which way to turn...does it matter which company I instruct to deal with my car? Will my company take offense? Will my company be glad to wash their hands of it (even though they woudl just recoup the costs from the other company)? Could I shoot myself in the foot somehow?

I am not sure which way to turn right now. The only way I will not lose out is if the car is repaired...I have spent many 1000s just within the last 2 months on it...we only owned the car since April this year, so I will definitely be out of pocket if they write it off; well I assume I will.

Hope someone has some advise/similar experience they can share.

Thanks,

Jon

The_Slithy_Tove

Get your own insurance company to deal with everything. That's what you're paying your premium for. If it is deemed that you are not at fault (as seems the case), then they will recoup their costs from the other insurers, i.e. they have all the hassle of dealing with multiple parties. You should also not be impacted in terms on no-claims discount if you are not at fault.

Unfortunately, if your car is written off, you only get what they deem to the be the value of the car at the time, which is never as much as you feel it's worth. If your insurance policy comes with legal cover, then there may be a law firm who will step in and try to get your uninsured losses (policy excess and other expenses you incurred) back from the third party. If you don't have such cover, it may be worth seeking out - dare I say it - one of the "ambulance chaser" type law companies who will act if they think they can get your money and their own fees paid.

peter_the_piper

When DD was first in a line of a rear end queue, she claimed (via her insurance co) from car 2 which in turn claimed from car 3 etc.

Ozzuk

I'm the opposite way, I'd use their insurer. They have already admitted liability and will be keen to reach agreement and close this off. Your insurer will have to claim off them so they will be more amenable if you go direct (potentially saves them a huge amount of money).

j0nr

Hmm, thanks so far for your thoughts..I can see going either way being possible.

I have just had a message to call my insurance company, to talk with the "Total Loss Engineer". I feel I need to stall making a decision. Am I within my right to say I need time to go think about it?

dannyrst

How long ago since the accident?

j0nr

Hi dannyrst,

10 days

Quentin

Whoever you decide to claim from won't pay for repairs if it is uneconomical to do so

Quentin

The_Slithy_Tove wrote: »

Get your own insurance company to deal with everything. That's what you're paying your premium for. If it is deemed that you are not at fault (as seems the case), then they will recoup their costs from the other insurers, i.e. they have all the hassle of dealing with multiple parties. You should also not be impacted in terms on no-claims discount if you are not at fault..........

.

It doesn't normally work like this.


When you make a claim against your own comprehensive policy then it is initially a "fault" claim - fault not meaning "blame", but that your insurer has paid out to you. Until your insurer is fully recompensed by the third party then your NCD is usually impacted I the same way as with any fault claim (albeit temporarily), and you have your excess to pay too


This becomes a pain if your renewal comes due before the claim is closed, as you have the reduced NCD to use with any other insurer you might want to go to.


It is much better to claim off the third party rather than your own insurer. Especially in this case where they are anxious to do so


There will be no excess to pay, no impact on NCD, a replacement car provided till the repairs are concluded or a write off settlement paid, as well as no issues on using your own choice of repairer.

boatman

Another point i was wondering about..
If you pay for insurance monthly, and claim off your own insurance, do you have to pay the remaining months off if the car is written off? Or do you just stop paying?
If they expect you to pay up for the full amount, presumably you could claim this back as part of the loss? If you go through their insurance does it make a difference?
If the car is repaired, obviously you would continue on with your policy but if its written off then I guess the policy is finish and you start again? with a new policy.

Aretnap

boatman wrote: »

Another point i was wondering about..
If you pay for insurance monthly, and claim off your own insurance, do you have to pay the remaining months off if the car is written off? Or do you just stop paying?
If they expect you to pay up for the full amount, presumably you could claim this back as part of the loss? If you go through their insurance does it make a difference?
If the car is repaired, obviously you would continue on with your policy but if its written off then I guess the policy is finish and you start again? with a new policy.

You don't pay for insurance monthly. You pay for it annually, and sometimes you take out a loan in order to make the annual payment, and repay the loan monthly. If the policy ends up being cancelled, the loan is still repayable.

If the car's written off then generally the policy comes to an end, and if you've made a claim on your policy (as opposed to making it against someone else's policy) then you won't generally get any refund on the premium. However the insurance company should allow you to transfer the policy to a replacement vehicle, subject to it being one they would normally be happy to insure you to drive, and possibly payment of an additional premium if the new car is more expensive to insure.

As for reclaiming the remaining instalments as a "loss" - probably not. If you replace your car with an identical one then you should be able to transfer the policy to the new car with no additional premium to pay, so there isn't really a loss to reclaim. OTOH if you decide to take the opportunity to upgrade to something newer/bigger/more powerful, the third party is obviously not responsible for any extra insurance costs you incur as a result.