No fault accident - which insurance route is best?

frogfriend97

A car recently reversed into the front of my car. Although there was no 'visible' damage, my car has not been running as smoothly since the accident and I have noticed my steering pulling to one side. For my own peace of mind, I want to get my car checked out - a cost which I would expect not to come out of my own pocket.

Having reported the accident, my insurer advised me of three options:
A) Make a third party claim directly with the other driver's insurer
Claim through them
C) Claim through an accident management company ('Auxillis')

I am not sure which option to take. It seems silly to me to go through the whole process with anyone but my own insurer - after all, I pay for their service annually and what is the point of that if they can't deal with the situation on my behalf?

My insurer also referred me to Auxillis... It seemed like an attractive option because they made it seem like I would not have to pay anything and they could have my car checked today if I wanted. However, I am scared of any costs that might creep up?

Many people on various forums have warned of the difficulties in claiming your own insurance / claiming through a separate company - e.g. paying excess, losing your NCB, etc.

I have already spoken with the other party's insurer - they say their client has admitted fault and they are prepared to settle this with me directly. They have written to me and I have it on paper that their client is at fault.

Does anyone have a clue?

Tom99

Its extremely unlikely that a bump with no visible damage is going to stop your car running smoothly so I would go with your own insurer. Auxillis will try and pile a load of costs onto the 3rd party, including rental of a car whilst yours is off the road, but if there is no visible damage and whatever investigation you have does not prove that the bump has caused some damage, who is going to pay for that?

Korkyb

Personally I'd be getting a mechanic to give the car a once over before heading down any claim route.


Just make it clear that you don't want any work to go ahead if it looks as if it might be related to the bump.


It could be something as simple as getting the tracking done & if that is the case I'd pay for that myself and move on (or ask the other driver to contribute directly).