PLEASE HELP !! - Car Insurance Claim, Not parked on drive, Collision, Not at fault

beno2k7

Hi Guys

I’m really worried and would really appreciate some advice.

I have stipulated to my insurance provider that I park overnight on my drive and most nights I do.

Usually, when I have errands to run later at night, I typically park the car on the street/dropped curb outside my house until all my errands are complete as its bit tedious getting in/out of the drive due to opening gates all the time.

Tonight, I was going to pop out for the weekly shop (Car was parked on the dropped curb) however at 7pm a third party skidded on the ice outside my house into my car and has caused some serious damage. He has pushed my car through my garden fence/gate and essentially damaged every panel on my car, ripples all the way through the bodywork, etc.

Luckily I was in and have gotten their details and have reported it to my insurer.

They have admitted fault (to me) and apologised, I have thier apology in writing (via SMS message) and have motion CCTV evidence of the car hitting mine. (I have the preceding 10 seconds before the car hits and 5 mins after.

I’m worried that the third party insurer may not pay out because I wasn’t parked on my drive and it was 7pm. Or, in the event the third party's insurance doesn’t pay out for whatever reason (They said they were insured), that my insurer may not pay out.

People are trying to reassure me that it was a roadside accident and that the parking on drive/garage stipulation is about overnight theft/damage where there isn’t a party to claim from.

Was totally honest to my insurance and said it wasn’t on the drive at the time, the claims advisor didn’t seem at all worried.

I can’t find anything online about this.

Am I losing it over nothing? What are everyone's thoughts?

Thank you in advance

tasticz

don't worry!

You can park wherever you want... You may have had guests who had parked on your drive, or had a skip on your drive etc. etc. which could have prevented you from parking on drive.

IMO, as long as you can prove that you parked your car on drive majority of the time, the insurers cannot say anything about it. The only time it is of concern is if you declared you park on the drive to reduce your premium but there is no drive in your property.

Your own insurance company won't be interested at this time because they know they will be able to fully recover the money from third-party insurers (TPI).

TPI cannot dictate where you park your car and what you declare to your insurance company...

Have a good weekend!

McKneff

Stop worrying. Answer as above.

As an aside :-

I did see a thread earlier on saying that it is an offence to park over any dropped kerb, even if its the entrance to you property.
The dropped kerb is on the highway and pavement and is therefore subject to the same rules as any other drpped kerb anywhere.

Aretnap

You have nothing to worry about.

As far as your own policy goes, you are generally asked where the car is 'usually' parked overnight. So long as you answered that question truthfully, your insurer would have no grounds to void the policy for. misrepresentation just because on this particular occasion you were parked somewhere else. Some policies do contain a specific clause to the effect that they won't pay for, eg, theft if it takes place within a certain distance of your home and your car is not in a your garage. If your policy does have a clause along those lines you should be able to find it easily in your policy documents and see whether it might apply to you - if it isn't there it certainly doesn't apply.

As far as the third party's policy goes the situation is even simpler - the accident was clearly their drivers fault, so they are liable for the damage to your car. What you told your insurer or what clauses are in your policy are utterly irrelevant. You could have no insurance whatsoever, be parked on a double yellow line, or be a habitual drunk driver who didn't tell your insurer that you were banned from driving and it would make no difference - he carelessly drove into your stationary car, so his insurer will ultimately end up paying.

Aretnap

McKneff wrote: »

I did see a thread earlier on saying that it is an offence to park over any dropped kerb, even if its the entrance to you property.
The dropped kerb is on the highway and pavement and is therefore subject to the same rules as any other drpped kerb anywhere.

Whatever you read was incorrect. It is generally illegal to park across a dropped kerb, but there is a specific exception which allows you to block your own drive. See subsection 3 here

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/18/section/86