Second minor accident in a year - advice needed

LindaLou72

Hello, rather shaken up right now and wondering what's best to do.

I was involved in a minor supermarket car park prang this afternoon. Thought I had looked all around me before backing out but ended bumping into a car off to my left. I ended up with a few scratches and what looks like quite a small dent in the left driver's side, barely noticeable. Left some scratches on their bumper, which I photographed. That appears to be all. I perhaps should have taken more photos and noted their number plate, but was badly shaken. The lady took my phone number and I'm waiting to hear from her husband tonight.

About 5 months ago I was involved in something similar - looking too much at traffic to my right when pulling out and dinging into the car in front of me to my left when they stopped suddenly. Again minor damage, but we both went on to make a claim. Unfortunately we have our car on PCP (I know - my driving record this past year makes this a stupid decision, but I've had a good record in the past), which means we have to give it back in pristine condition. I am also frightened of how high our insurance premiums will go now.

I've thought about offering to repair the damage out of my own pocket but have been reading about how people get scammed this way - charged for damage they didn't cause, personal injuries, etc. Should I go ahead and tell my insurance company? Would 2 accidents in a year mean I'm in danger of it not getting renewed, or my premium going up by 100% or more?

neilmcl

You are obligated to tell you insurer regardless of whether you make a claim or not but I'd wait first to see what the driver's husband says what he wants to do.

You car doesn't have to be handed in "pristine condition", just an acceptable condition based on fair wear & tear. If you google "BVLRA fair wear and tear guide" you'll see what you can get away with.

LindaLou72

Do you think I might be able to settle out of pocket if it comes to that, or would that be unwise? Is it very likely they could try to claim for whiplash or damage I didn't do a few months down the line?

LindaLou72

What would happen if, hypothetically, the other driver said they'd let me pay for the repairs, so I got his details and went ahead and did that, then reported everything to my insurance company and said I did not want to make a claim myself? Would that stop my premium from going up? I already don't have a NCD anyway. Better solution?

System

No it wouldn't stop your premium going up. You've had an accident that you're legally required to report to the insurance company and the mere fact you've had one makes you a higher risk than someone who hasn't. The fact nobody is making a claim is neither here nor there, you're more likely to have an accident than someone else and there is no guarantee there won't be a payout from that. In fact there's no guarantee the third party won't make a claim on your current accidents as they have 3 years to do so.

Better solution? Go do an IAM advanced driving course that you clearly are in dire need of doing. Not only will it hopefully improve your driving but it should mitigate some of the rise you're going to be getting.

LindaLou72

Well OK. Though these have been very minor incidents with little more than scratches, I will admit that my skills seem to be lacking of late; had never heard of IAM but Googled it and emailed the local contact to make an enquiry.

Regarding this accident, I phoned the supermarket and asked them to look at CCTV. The lad I spoke to said the other driver's number plate was too blurry to make out (yes I was going to get this information and contact my insurance company), but he could tell me it was an old Vauxhall Corsa, maybe a 2003 make (luckily he seems to knows his cars). I remember that it wasn't in very good shape either; bits had duct tape around them. Cars of this type seem to sell for around £700, so it's possible - from what I've been researching - that if they really wanted to pursue a claim, they might end up having their car written off, since the cost of a new bumper alone could come close to or exceed the value of the car. The lady did say 'just leave it' at the time, but of course you can't hold anyone to that. However, given the age and condition of the car, maybe it will be worth hoping that they're unlikely to take this further, and use the incident as an indication that I need to wake up and be a lot more careful?

liltzero

Tell your insurer NOW!
If you delay more than 24 hours and the other party notifies your insurer, your insurer will cancel your insurance as you have broken the Terms and Conditions. Then YOU will be liable for anything they claim for (i.e. personal injury, car repair, car hire, car storage etc.)

LindaLou72

Even though all I can tell them is that it was an old silver Vauxhall Corsa, and I have no more details?

liltzero

Of course. Just as long as you notify them you've been involved in an accident.

Trust me, look at your policy. It will state you MUST notify your insurer within 24 hours. Failure to do this means they can cancel your policy if they wanted to.

Alternatively risk not notifying them but you could be landed with a huge bill.

Mercdriver

liltzero wrote: »

Tell your insurer NOW!
If you delay more than 24 hours and the other party notifies your insurer, your insurer will cancel your insurance as you have broken the Terms and Conditions. Then YOU will be liable for anything they claim for (i.e. personal injury, car repair, car hire, car storage etc.)

In the words of Mr Winner from the old esure ads, "Calm down, dear".

Get things in the right order rather than be alarmist. If the third party notifies the OPs insurer before the OP, yes, they MAY decide to cancel the OP's insurance. This is not a certainty, however. They may ask the OP why he/she delayed in giving over the information.

Whatever happens, the OP's insurer will pay all parts of the claim that it sees fit to or is obliged to by a court. They MAY then seek recompense from the OP.

If what you suggested happened everytime more people would think twice about making arrangements. The truth is that most insurance companies will use their discretion, depending on several factors.

To the OP, yes you should let your insurer know as soon as practicable even if the third party decides to get it done between you. This protects you should he decide he is suffering from whiplash.

LindaLou72

Thank you. I was stupid not to get the driver's details. However, after I gave her my phone number, she rang me quickly to check that my phone went off. Therefore I have her number, and I can text or phone her for her details. I didn't think of this until recently. I will contact my insurance company tomorrow, by which time I will hopefully have more information for them.

So these 2 at-fault accidents . . . we're paying about £32 a month for car insurance at the moment. Presumably I can expect that to at least double, even if the other party doesn't make a claim from today. Do insurance companies in the UK start refusing to renew when people have this many accidents?

Also, does anyone else here know about IAM courses? You can purchase one online for about £150, but I don't know how that relates to what I actually get here where I live, which is why I've tried emailing the local contact on their website.