No fault accident claim queries ...

Just_Focus

Hi All,


Looking for some advice please in relation to a no-fault accident my vehicle was involved in on Saturday as my insurance company are being very unhelpful. At 3.30PM on Saturday I returned to my parked car to find a vehicle ploughed in to the back of mine and another vehicle on it's roof next to it (odd I know). Basically it looks like the vehicle that hit mine was a learner and the flipped vehicle tried to overtake it through a width restrictor, collided with it, then the side of the road flipping over, and pushing the learner in to the back of my car. Damage is substantial - my entire rear wing is crushed, bumper destroyed, lights smashed and it also pushed the left side of my car in to a log next to the road so damaged the length of the sill. Police and ambulances attended and confirmed that both parties were insured and they said it was clearly the flipped car's fault for a dangerous overtake. So, I phoned my insurer (Admiral) and they confirmed it would be a non-fault claim, taped my car up as best I could and limped home, parking it up. This was nearly 48 hours ago and I have phoned my insurer multiple times to find out why they haven't helped book my vehicle in and provided a hire car for me. They keep saying that because they haven't been able to contact the flipped car driver they can't help with anything, including booking my car in. I asked them what happens if they can't contact the driver and they said tough I would have to wait.


Now given that I am obviously not at fault I don't really see why I should be losing out here. I'm meant to be going away on Wednesday for Easter and I now have no vehicle. It's an Audi so presumably it would be OK for me to just sort this all out myself? I.e. book it in at Audi, get them to collect it and provide a courtesy car then charge it to whoever the insurers decide the at fault party is? The added confusion is that the flipped car is also insured with Admiral, and I have a feeling that is why they are being so rubbish to me i.e. they know that any costs I incur will also fall to them. I have friends who've been involved in non-fault claims and they've had their car collected and been in a like-for-like hire car within the same day...


I hear about credit hire companies but haven't been contacted by anyone about that possibility. Admiral did say the first time I reported the claim that I could deal with it through their claim management company but they said it would be easier and quicker if I dealt directly with them because the at fault party is also insured with them. I'm guessing that if I'd gone through the claim management company they would have had me in a hire car potentially?


Any advice much appreciated.

caprikid1

To be honest I am dealing with Direct Line at the moment who are shocking in every area. My car was stationary on a Motorway when hit, they are the third party insurer. I genuinely ask people to consider the victims when buying cheap inadequate insurance.


I would suggest just go to an accident management company and let them get on with it.


Be careful who you chose but if your company does not provide you the service you need engage someone who will. I would phone admiral back and give them a deadline.

DoaM

Do you have fully comp insurance?

Alternatively YOU can contact the 3rd party insurer and deal directly with them, removing your own insurance company completely. (3rd party insurers often prefer this as it minimises their costs).

By the way - I believe you should be chasing the insurer of the vehicle that impacted yours; if the flipped car caused them to crash into you, but the flipped car itself didn't impact with yours, then it's for the other car's owner (or insurer) to claim from the flipped car's insurer.

PS - don't try to engage repair services yourself; that path leads to madness and the possibility of the insurer (yours or 3rd party) declining your claim as you haven't used their authorised repairer.

AdrianC

Your car was hit by the learner. Claim from the instructor/school's insurance directly.

Let them deal with the car that hit them.

DoaM

AdrianC wrote: »

Your car was hit by the learner. Claim from the instructor/school's insurance directly.

Let them deal with the car that hit them.

What I was trying to say but you've put it much more succinctly.

McKneff

Do you have the other parties insurance details. Deal with them directly.
Faster and easier

Just_Focus

Thanks for replies all - much appreciated. So I phoned my local Audi dealer and explained the situation and they put me in touch with a Claims Management Company called AX. They phoned me within 3 minutes (literally), took a few details over the telephone, then arranged a like-for-like Audi A4 Avant to be delivered to me tomorrow at 9AM and collection of my damaged vehicle at the same time. I phoned Admiral and told them I'd instructed someone and they sounded really put-out. I reminded them that it was nearly 48 hours since my accident and they hadn't even booked my vehicle in for an appraisal and that shut them up.


I know that CMCs are leeches and that credit hire is the reason premiums are so horrendously high (along with whiplash claims) but honestly why should I have to mess around with a completely substandard service from my insurer when I've done nothing wrong at all? I always thought I'd be someone who refuses to use CMCs (hence why I refused them on the day of the accident) but frankly I can see why people do now.


Is it right that I should be claiming from the learner's insurer rather than the at-fault party? The learner vehicle wasn't from a driving school, they were in a private vehicle. I assumed that since the flipped car was at fault I needed to claim from Admiral but maybe that's where I went wrong. Perhaps Admiral would have been a lot more helpful if they'd realised they could claim off the learner's insurer. I did explain the accident to Admiral and they never said anything about claiming off the learner....


In response to the query above I do have full comprehensive insurance. I have no real appetite to deal with any insurers directly after this experience, plus their insurer will presumably try to make me get repairs at some dodgy chop shop. AX have promised they will send me straight to an Audi approved repairer.

Clive_Woody

McKneff wrote: »

Do you have the other parties insurance details. Deal with them directly.
Faster and easier

If I understood the OP correctly, both parties are insured with Admiral so he/she could end up going round in circles.

Just_Focus

Clive_Woody wrote: »

If I understood the OP correctly, both parties are insured with Admiral so he/she could end up going round in circles.

You're right. Unless the commenters above are correct that I should have been claiming off the learner rather than the car roller.


Car A - Mine. Insured by Admiral.
Car B - Learner vehicle. Collided with mine. Insured by A.N. Other insurer.
Car C - Rolled over vehicle. At fault according to police. Insured by Admiral.

alfie1950

Just remember that if the accident management company can't recover costs off the 'at fault' party they will come back to you for 'unisured losses' .
Be very careful about getting involved with a car hire company.
It would be much better to get a courtesy car off the bodyshop but for that you would have to wait until the actual repairs were commencing.

AdrianC

Just_Focus wrote: »

but honestly why should I have to mess around with a completely substandard service from my insurer when I've done nothing wrong at all?

Perhaps bear that in mind when you buy insurance next time, rather than just going with the lowest premium? Especially if it would mean you're going with the Ryanair of insurers...