Accident & Insurers Advice

psychologystudent

I recently had a minor incident with a bus, which was recorded. I was told that I would be contacted by the bus company before anything further went through, however I was never contacted.

I eventually managed to get some information from the bus company (a reference number and a telephone number for their insurance company). I have phoned their insurance company, and have been told that I can pay privately or through my insurance. However, due to the delay in getting the contact information, they have sent a letter to my insurance company.

I have asked to pay privately, so as not to affect my no-claims bonus and excess etc. If they have already sent out a letter to my insurance company, but are going to inform my insurance that they wish to pursue the matter.
Will this affect my policy anyway? If my insurance company is informed, but I do not wish to make a claim and neither does the other party, what effect will this have?

Thanks!

spadoosh

No one knows exactly the algorithms used but i suspect it will.

The first thing any insurer asks you to do should you have an accident is to report it to them. You should always do this. Not doing this only ever causes problems. The fact that theyll now know they are insuring someone who has accidents and doesnt report them will mean you are more than likely a much higher liability.

As for paying it privately, i would seriously be reluctant in an accident with a bus.

Theres a number of factors at play. Personal injury to anyone on the bus. The damage to the bus, i suspect is more than the average equivalent repair of a car. Then theyll also be able to seek compensation for down time from the bus not being in use. You could be talking a huge amount of money. All for what, saving a few hundred quid a year on insurance premiums.

I really dont understand the reluctance to use insurance. Its like buying food and throwing it away. For every occasions that something is settled outside of insurance theres 100 stories of people wondering if that repair bill is right or trying to argue a case without a legal team.

To give some perspective, my OH spun on ice. Her car wa a write off, didnt hit anyone else. She ended up smashing a kerb and then skidding across the lawn of a private estate. The bill for replacing the lawn and the kerb was something like £4000. Her premiums went up about £50 for that year. Then dropped back below what she was paying the year after.

debtdebt

The OP will be quick enough to hand it over to their own insurance company once they find out how much the repair bill will be coupled with the loss of use/hire claim.

System

Most definitely. It won't just be the cost of the repairs which are a lot more than they are on a car but also could include compensating the bus company for the downtime and having to hire another bus. I know that hiring a lorry is over £300 a week.