In two minds whether to go through insurance after being hit.

Not_Me_Officer

Looking to see what others would do before i go ahead with anything as i don't want to do anything daft just because i'm annoyed.
I was hit today by a company vehicle. Caught it on dash cam. The damage is that my wing mirror is now coverless and the glass for it is smashed. The unit itself is a little cracked but it still folds in and out.
The car is only worth about £500 although i have no plans to get rid.

I've been in touch with the company who tonight emailed me to say their insurance people will be in touch. All they have for me currently is a first and last name and an email address, no other details.

Previously i've been hit and went through insurance after a hit and run. The other guy claimed he didn't know anything about it and as there were no witnesses it was my word against his and i had to declare it on my insurance renewals for 5 years even though i didn't claim.
So what bothers me here is that due to the low value of my car they'll write it off or i'll end up in the same situation of no repair and having to declare it for 5 years.

Part of me thinks why should i just go buy some glass for Halfords and let this guy get away with it but another part of me says it'll be cheaper than involving insurance in the long run.

What would you do in the same situation?

TooManyPoints

Declare it to your insurers in case the driver of the other vehicle says your wing mirror caused £5k worth of damage to his car and he suffered whiplash which caused him to take six months off work without pay.

Tiexen

I'd just fix it, can you get a replacement from a breakers or e-bay?

Not_Me_Officer

TooManyPoints wrote: »

Declare it to your insurers in case the driver of the other vehicle says your wing mirror caused £5k worth of damage to his car and he suffered whiplash which caused him to take six months off work without pay.

Unlikely. He was travelling too fast and also didn't stop so he probably wont even be able to describe my car let alone identify it with a registration.

Plus my dash cam will show that i am stationary in my own lane at a red light and what i am not doing is driving a big 18 ton vehicle too quick for the scenario and angling it towards the lane that i shouldn't be in.

Tiexen wrote: »

I'd just fix it, can you get a replacement from a breakers or e-bay?

If you mean the whole unit then possibly, i don't know. Then there's the issue of colour matching.
I can buy in new glass and stick it on but then that still leaves the issue of the rear casing. I'll need to see whether that can pop back on and stay on or whether a bit of glue could keep it on (though i doubt that one) or what. I don't particularly want to be driving around with no rear casing to my mirror. Obviously that's not an MOT failure or anything - it just looks crap.

Not_Me_Officer

Scooby.Doo wrote: »

You'll be declaring this one for the next five years whether you claim or not.

Why will i?

They have nothing that identifies me other than my first and last name, of which there could be a million and one Mr Smith's up and down the land.

I've given them no registration. Beyond my name they only have thejunkemailaddressiuse@blahdeblah.com ... which isn't on my insurance policy.

Not_Me_Officer

Scooby.Doo wrote: »

So their insurance won't ask any questions when they contact you. Best of luck in your proposed fraud let's hope you don't get caught.

At this moment in time i haven't spoken to them and don't have to speak with them. I could just leave it if i wanted. That's the whole thing behind the thread - i'm not really sure which direction to go in. Go through with it or just get it patched up myself. If i go through with it then i've raised my concerns in doing that. That's just my thought process at the moment.

Aylesbury_Duck

I’d get an estimate for repairing it yourself then try to estimate what your premium might rise by if it were to be a notified claim, multiply that by *5 and see which is the best.

* in practice, I think the premium increase would be less in the second and subsequent years, but you get the idea.

Not_Me_Officer

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I’d get an estimate for repairing it yourself then try to estimate what your premium might rise by if it were to be a notified claim, multiply that by *5 and see which is the best.

* in practice, I think the premium increase would be less in the second and subsequent years, but you get the idea.

What concerns me is the likelihood of them writing the car off just for a wing mirror.

I don't know how likely that'd be, whether it's possible or simply don't going to happen. Like i said, the cars value is probably only around £500 but to me it's priceless as it's reliable. I got a quote for a whole new unit years ago as some woman hit it (same wing mirror actually), but that time was probably more 50/50. I remember it was over £100. Not a lot over but over. As it was the glass was intact and the case popped back on, sort of. It never did sit perfect but it wasn't glaringly obvious that it wasn't a perfect fit so i kept on like that which lasted for about 10 years until today.

If they write my car off for it then i'll regret going through the insurance, but i suppose i'd never find that out without going through them so i'm damned if i do kind of thing.

DUTR

Not_Me_Officer wrote: »

Why will i?

They have nothing that identifies me other than my first and last name, of which there could be a million and one Mr Smith's up and down the land.

I've given them no registration. Beyond my name they only have thejunkemailaddressiuse@blahdeblah.com ... which isn't on my insurance policy.

You will on any proposal form if asked that's why.
The other party will have your registration details as they will more than likely go via their insurers and not deal with it themselves via petty cash. Insurers share details remember....

Mercdriver

If you hadn't followed it up, your dilemma would be less of an issue. As above, likely the other side have put the information on the database. You wouldn't want to run the risk of a cancellation of your policy which would in all likelihood block you from access to normal insurance for eternity...or at least for a very long time.

Not_Me_Officer

I tried getting this but I still don’t, so you’re going to have to simplify it, a LOT.

How are they going to know it’s me? I still fail to grasp that.

You’ve mentioned the other party will have my registration details ... how will they?
If your answer is because I’ll give it them then at the moment you’re wrong because I haven’t decided what to do yet. Ignore them or go through with it. So the answer MUST be something else that I’m not getting.

As to why I’m currently not giving it, I’ve stated why. I’m unsure which option to go for, which is what I was here discussing. Not how intact my morals are (for the record they’re not. I’ll do what’s best for me, not necessarily what’s ‘right’).