Hastings Direct car insurance - claim process? Very confused.

Draqualoon

Hi all, this is my first post on here so sorry if it's formatted wrong!

I'm 19 and was involved in a rear end shunt a couple of days ago - it wasn't my fault and the third party admitted liability at the scene in front of a police officer no less!
This is the first time I've ever had to claim on my car insurance and I'm honestly really confused and anxious about what is actually happening - directly after the accident, my mum (who was in the passenger seat at the time of the accident) called up the insurance to inform them of what had happened - they arranged recovery and about 5 hours later the car was recovered (we couldn't drive the car away due to the wheel being scraped by dented bodywork and at risk of blowing out). We had a call from a company called Auxilis in regards to a hire car and repair service; both me and my mum thought they were a company working on behalf of hastings, and only now have we really realised that they're a completely separate company! I've already signed the documents for them and the hire car was delivered by europcar on saturday, however, a couple of hours after the car was delivered, we had a text from admiral (the third party's insurer) that they would be willing to supply a hire car, funded by them. My actual car hasn't been taken in for repairs yet, and I'm still within my rights to cancel with auxilis, so would it be better to sort this whole thing out with the third party insurer?

I don't know how I feel getting involved with all these other companies I've never heard of...needless to say, I think I'll be switching from Hastings in the future!

Thanks for reading x

a.turner

It's not just hastings who use accident management companies.

How long have you had the hire car and what does the paperwork say about cancellation? You're quite within your rights to cancel but if they cannot reclaim their fees from the third party you'll need to pay for the hire to date.

Cap2019

Hi, it is all very confusing (I would know - I was hit by another car recently and went through the exact same process albeit with Admiral) but don't panic. I was referred to Auxillis as well. They are an accident management company that most insurers will pass you on to if they believe your incident is very likely to be ruled as 'non fault' on your part. They will recover you car, arrange repairs and supply you with a loan car (as they did with me) on the basis that any costs will be claimed back from the third party insurance. The process was very straight forward for me, my car had some fairly heavy cosmetic damage to the nearside rear door and tyre but I had it back in two weeks looking as good as new (they replaced the door, a couple of tyres and realigned the wheel axis etc). Within two months I was told that they had claimed back all of the costs from the third party insurance and thus the case was closed. If all goes as it should then you won't need to worry. I would advise ringing Auxillis every now and then to check on the status of your case but their online portal is otherwise very good for keeping track of the repair status of your vehicle. I did a ton of research on Auxillis and AMCs when I was going through the same thing and the only concern that did crop up for incidents like this (when the third party is undeniably at fault for the damage to your car) was that the third party insurer may try to claim that you could have got a cheaper loan car if you had arranged for one yourself (Auxillis provide you with a hire car NOT a courtesy car) and will refuse to pay the hire charge. Make sure you can justify needing a repacement car while yours is being repaired (ie. needed for getting to work) and you won't have a problem. Don't keep the hire car longer than you need it and refuse a signficant upgrade if they drop it off because the hire charges on these will be unjustified. For example if you have a VW Polo then don't accept a 4x4 BMW or the like, make sure you are getting a like for like replacement. Again though, I had no problems with these guys and although I was stressed out of my mind with the whole situation it was totally fine.

Draqualoon

Hi all,

Thanks for the quick replies! I've been on the brink of a nervous breakdown dealing with all of this, so any guidance and advice are appreciated!
As for cancellation, the paperwork says (and I quote);

"If you cancel this contract we will reimburse you all payments received from you, including (if you have not chosen to start hire or repair funding during the cancellation
period) the costs of delivery and collection. We will make the reimbursement without undue delay and not later than:-
a. 14 days after the day we receive back from you any goods supplied, or
b. (if earlier) 14 days after the day you provide evidence that you have returned the goods; or
c. If there were no goods supplied, 14 days after the day on which we are informed of your decision to cancel a contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event you
will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
We will collect the goods.
If you requested to begin the performance of services during the cancellation period you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to that which has been performed
until you have communicated to us your cancellation of this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract. In these circumstances you will bear the delivery
and collection charges as they represent part of the service consumed during the period of cancellation.
If you requested to begin the performance of Auxillis Services Limited’s services during the cancellation period, and you have acknowledged that you would lose the right
to cancel once the contract has been fully performed by us, then you will cease to have the right to cancel."

The bit that worries me about this is the fact that I have begun the hire as the car has been delivered to my address, I've had the car for 2 days now - I assume, from the wording of the contract, I would have to reimburse the company's costs if I cancelled everything now! That leaves me to continue with the contract with Auxilis - I'd have to get in touch with admiral and explain I had already entered a contract for a hire car from another company which had been delivered a few hours prior to receiving the offer from them.
I have reasons to justify my need for a working car as I'm not insured to use my mum's car, and I have a disabled brother who I regularly take to his clubs, as well as a lot of interviews for higher education and job opportunities! I'm mostly worried that the third party insurer will claim that they offered a car and will refuse to pay, even though their offer came after I had received the hire car from auxilis!

I've been loaned an 18 plate ford fiesta (my actual car is a 17 plate vauxhall corsa) so they're around the same calibre.

I'm just getting so worried about this whole situation, our puppy recently had to go to hospital and racked up a vet's bill so we've got that insurance claim going on, my mum's car's been scraped and that's another insurance claim, and to top it off, the oven's broken! Finding it hard to think rationally, really just want to the whole thing to be over to be honest

Cap2019

Don’t get too worked up about it, you certainly still have options if you so chose. My accident came after a spell of bad luck with previous cars and a lot of money spent of failed repairs and an eventual replacement so I understand your concern! You are required to tell Auxillis and your insurer (Hastings) if the third party insurer has contacted you anyway (that will be in your contract) and so you will have an opportunity to inform them of your decision regarding who you are going to continue the process with. I personally would stick with Auxillis if you’re certain that you are not at fault as if you do decide to take up the third party insurer on their offer you will be required to pay for the costs incurred by Auxillis so far (ie vehicle recovery and hire car drop off/ collection fees as well as two days worth of the daily hire charge) and for no particular benefit. I would chase them as soon as possible regarding the collection of your vehicle for repairs because the longer it’s sitting there the larger the costs that Auxillis will be looking to claim back from the third party insurer. My case totalled less than £5k all in for recovery, repairs and the hire car (partly because I gave the hire car back after 6 days so only racked up a bill of ~£500 to reclaim) and so the third party didn’t bother to dispute it. Where people run into trouble is when their car takes months to repair and they’re enjoying a 19 plate Audi Q5 for the duration at a cost of £250+ per day and then they ask the third party insurance to cover a £20k bill for their excessive and unnecessary hire car. Be sensible and make an effort to (1) mitigate your losses and (2) move the process along as swiftly as possible and you shouldn’t run into any troubles.