Car hit from behind...who is at fault...

yorks808

Hi,

A few weeks ago my car was hit from behind by another car. I was stationary in a queue of traffic and the car behind did not stop in time. There is damage to the bodywork (the car is driveable), and the reversing sensors do not work anymore.

Who is at fault here?
Will my insurance premium go up if I claim?

It amazes me how close people drive to the back of the car in front...even in slow moving traffic! If one has to brake then the car behind has no chance of stopping in time. Clearly there is no anticipation or forward planning (its just common sense, don't drive too close to the car in front...)

yorks808

I am stationary. The car behind comes at such speed and does not appear to know where the brakes are that it hits the back of my car.
Lets just all carry on then when the car in front brakes...

At the front of the queue of traffic was a bus that had stopped to pick up passengers. I was the 3rd car in the queue behind the bus. Before the car behind hit me I was doing less than 10mph. The car behind was doing considerably more as he just appeared in my mirror and flew into the back of me.
So the driver of the car behind didn't see the queue then? - (thats hard for me to believe, the bus was a double decker, you can't miss it really)

tho_2

Hitting from behind is normally the other person's fault. If you were stopped in a queue it's definitely the other person's fault. But yes, if you claim your insurance would still rise.

[Deleted User]

The car behind is at fault if they hit you whilst stationary.
Have you informed your insurance of the accident yet? If not it may be a little difficult to explain why to them.
Get the car checked properly and yes your premiums will likely increase even if you are not to blame.

yorks808

Is it likely to rise by a lot though? I'm unsure as to why the premium would go up even though it wasn't my fault...

Aylesbury_Duck

You are deemed to be a higher risk client as a result of an accident. Not fair, but that's how insurance works.

Strider590

Rear end collisions are not quite so clean cut these days, with "crash for cash" being a thing AND the rise of the "brake tester", insurance companies are taking a more objective approach.

PasturesNew

Unless an insurance fraud is set up .... it's ALWAYS the person behind's fault.

You stopped .... they didn't. Their fault.

It doesn't matter (too much) why you stopped .... they should've left enough space and anticipated what you were most likely to do next.

As you were in slow/stationary traffic, the expectation of somebody behind you is that you'll be stop/starting .... and they should've dropped back a bit if they weren't willing to pay enough attention.

Their fault. 100%. Not yours.

[Deleted User]

As above(Aylesbury), their figures will show you as a higher risk(it`s unfair but true)

To figure out the likely cost you can do some Comparison sites with a fake name and another email address, just give a very close postcode and all your details.

newatc

I had no-fault claim last year, I don't think my premium went up a little but no more than I would have expected anyway (actually it did go up quite a bit until the claims process against other driver was completed but then returned to the reasonable premium I am referring to plus I got a refund of the overpayment).

Shimrod

yorks808 wrote: »

Is it likely to rise by a lot though? I'm unsure as to why the premium would go up even though it wasn't my fault...

It's a common misconception that your insurance premium will go up in the event of a non-fault claim* - it depends on who you are insured with. There are more companies that won't put your premium up than will - you may need to shop around at renewal time.

*unless you have several non-fault claims, as then you are setting a patttern.