Car Accident - Advice please!

abi52

Hi
Yesterday evening I was ferrying my daughter to an activity when I was involved in an accident. I was stationary on the road indicating to turn into a side road on the right. I had to wait for oncoming vehicles to pass but whilst doing this a young man ploughed into the back of my car at some speed (By his own admission he was fiddling with the radio and therefore admits liability)

Both cars badly damaged. His is written off completely. Mine didn't look too bad at first (just bumper etc) but on closer inspection the metal flooring of the boot is all buckled and the whole back end of the car looks kind of out of line) Anyway we swapped details and I have informed my insurance company who will arrange for one of their garages to collect the car next week. But now the total shock is wearing off I have a few questions which I would be very grateful for any help with:

1) I absolutely need a car as we will live in a very rural area and I have 3 children. Although I have fully comp insurance the insurance company will only provide a courtesy car during assessment and/or repair of my car *SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY* so I wont know til Monday. If I cant get one I will have to hire one myself. Can I claim this back from the mans insurance? If so how do I do this? Do my ins company deal with it or do I have to do it myself?

2) I have a horrible feeling my car will be written off too. Second hand prices seem to be around the £1k mark and I fear repairs will add up to this. I know I can negotiate the value given if written off but I will need a hire car while I find something suitable, is that just down to me or could I claim? (a reasonable period, week or two?)

3) Finally, although I just felt very shaky last night and wasnt in any pain (and therefore this is what I told my ins company) this morning I am really stiff all over with shoulder neck and back pain. Now I am very anti - ambulance chasers and am hoping it is just muscle strain which will wear off in a few days and therefore I need take no further action. However if it should persist, how do I claim? Is it best to go through my insurance company (have legal cover) or someone like the AA (am a member).

If you got the end - well done:T

Thank you in advance for any advice,

Abi

soappie

Sorry to hear about your accident and glad there are no serious injuries. With respect to questions 1 and 2, I don't know the answer to that I'm afraid.

However, with question 3, you may well have a touch of whiplash. Make an appointment with your GP and get it checked out. If it's whiplash, the pain can go on for months.

Also, if it's whiplash, you're entitled to compensation from the other driver as it was his fault. The pay out is usually £1000+ which will help to fund your new car should yours be written off. You claim through your car insurance company.

mattymoo

If your car is worth around £1000 then it will definately be a write off given the extent of damage you mention. The cost of parts and jig time will push the repairs well over £1000.

Jig time is time spent on a special stretching jig used to pull the car back into shape. Highly skilled job with very fine tolerances involved (as you would expect) and the jig hire does not come cheap.

You are likely to find you will not get a courtesy car out of your insurer. Most use the repairer's courtesy cars and they tend not to lend if the vehicle is going to be a write off. No money in it for them. All depends whether your policy offers a hire car or a courtesy car. Most only offer courtesy car.

You can claim for hire car costs (for an equivalent size / engine power) vehicle from the other persons insurance. You can also claim the repair excess, expenses incurred as result of accident and pain and suffering for your injuries. Your insurers will only handle this for you if you paid extra for the "Uninsured loss recovery" service. This is normally around £20.

Alternatively you could see if someone like Help Hire can provide a car. They will assist you with uninsured loss recovery.

You should also keep on top of your insurance co to ensure they inspect and agree value asap. Certainly within 1 month. If you let them drag things out and hire a car during this period, the other drivers insurance company can accuse you of failing to mitigate your loss. That is, keeping it as low as possible. They would expect you to replace your written off car in a week or less from date cheque received. The hire car costs would cease at this point.

kathhaley

You could also consider using a claims firm/solicitor as it wasn't your fault. Make sure they are legit as there are many conmen

maisy-mai

I had whiplash when someone reversed into me I didnt got to the drs for a week and by that time the disc had slipped !!!.
you need to visit your dr asap this will be logged on your medical record keep a copy of any perscriptions for pain killers so you can claim them back later on (I was not aware you could do this my soliciter requested them and I had none ) From what I went through I wished I kept a daily diary how I was feeling and what I could do .
whiplash can take a while to come out so could get worse over the next few days .
good luck.
ps just thought you also might have to replace your car seats.