Damage Advice Required!

johnniegif

Hello Insurance Experts.

I am posting on behalf of my elderly neighbour. About two months ago his car was written off, along with three others in the early hours of the morning. It seems the car which caused the damage had been reported as stolen before the incident. A neighbour from the other side of the road thoughtfully took a photograph of the driver emerging from the stolen car and gave this to the Police.

Unfortunately, my neighbour had recently changed his car insurance from fully comprehensive to 3rd party with his insurer, Saga. They said that they were not able to help him and did not offer any assistance.

He has also just found out from the Police that they were unable to find the driver who caused the accident.

At this stage, my neighbour thinks that he will be totally responsible for the loss. I am guessing this will be around £3K. Sickening.

Can anyone suggest possible actions he could take to limit the deficit? I thought that the Police had some sort of fund for damage caused by unsolved crimes, but he has not been given any information.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

Johnnie

daveonline

Tricky one. I dont know of any police fund for this sort of damage - only Personal injury.
Unfortunately it is general recognised that if a car is worth more than £1k then a comprehensive policy should be taken out.
Its a long shot but was the stolen car insured ? Obviously the toe-rag who stole it wouldnt be insured on it but it might be worth looking into.
Is the car definitely a write off, as a cheaper option if not might be to pay for the repairs. Sorry haven`t got any other ideas.

derrick

Try HERE for info.

It might be possible to claim off the owner of the car that hit yours,they might have been negligent in allowing the car to be stolen.

Also there is the Motor Insurance Bureau where claims can be made re uninsured drivers freephone number on the site 0800 7839019

telly-addict

derrick wrote:

Try HERE for info.

It might be possible to claim off the owner of the car that hit yours,they might have been negligent in allowing the car to be stolen.

Also there is the Motor Insurance Bureau where claims can be made re uninsured drivers freephone number on the site 0800 7839019

I don't think that there are any realistic prospects of claiming against the car owners for negligently allowing their car to be stolen. It simply wouldn't be deemed to be a foreseeable consequence. This argument is really a non-starter.

I agree that there are prospects of making a claim against the MIB. However, this will in fact be under the Untraced (rather than Uninsured) Drivers Agreement. To make a claim under the Agreement for property damage:

1. The accident must have occurred on or after 14th Feb 2003
2. The vehicle causing the damage must have been identified
3. The accident must have been reported to the police within 5 days
4. The application to the Bureau must have been made within 9 months of the accident

Each property damage claim is subject to an excess of £300.

So there is hope. Try this link for more information:
http://www.mib.org.uk/MIB/en/Claims/UK/Untraced/Default.htm

johnniegif

Thank you very much. Those were exactly the pointers we needed.

Fingers crossed that it will make a difference from him being having to buy a new car without assistance.

Johnnie