Car insurance - URGENT REQUEST liable for land agent fees?

Henley4000

I have had a car accident, involving no other motorists, which resulted in damaging the fence of a local field. My insurance company is happy for me to not claim against my policy as long as the owner of the field confirms they are satisfied they have been compensated for the damage. ( I don't wish to claim on my insurance as there is a high excess, and the impact it would have on future premiums). A surveyor is employed by the owner to manage the land ( the owner is incapacitated), and has contacted me to resolve the matter. I have been able to verify the surveyor is acting on behalf of the field owner. However, I'm now being asked to not only meet the costs of the replacement fence, but the fees of the surveyor who is acting on behalf of the owner of the field. These fees result on the costs almost doubling.
Please can anyone advise if I'm liable for these fees as well as the cost of the fence repair?
I'm up against it, as I need to confirm back to the surveyor by end of today whether we will meet all the costs directly, or claim via my insurance ( they sent me a quote of fees and fence repair costs a week ago but I've only just come across this forum). The quote confirms that if I meet the costs directly by end of today I will be discharged of any further liability.
Many thanks for any help out there.

BoGoF

Put it this way, if you don't pay (and imo you are liable) for these fees then the land owner is going through your insurance.

It is your call.

ciderboy2009

You should also bear in mind that your insurance premiums are likely to increase anyway from you just reporting the accident to them as you will now be classed as a higher risk.

molerat

Your excess is of no relevance to the third party claim.
Your premium is going to increase due to the incident.


The full cost of replacing the fence is owed by you, shot yourself in the foot really as it is likely to cost you more in the end than going through your insurance would have.

MEM62

I will assume that you have accepted liability for the accident. If that is the case why should the landowner be out of pocket? It is not an unreasonable expectation that you meet all the costs of rectifying the damage you cause and that can extend to costs other than just the physical aspect of repairing the fence.

Aretnap

Assuming you are liable for the accident (and it's hard to see why you wouldn't be liable if you drive into a fence with no other cars involved) then you (or your insurer) are liable for all the costs reasonably incurred by the landowner as a result of the accident. That would likely include the cost of assessing the damage and the cost of getting an agent to arrange the repairs as well as the cost of the repair itself.

As above with 99% of insurance policies the excess only applies to damage to your own car, so unless you have one of the vanishingly small number that apply the excess to third party claims the size of your excess is irrelevant.

I don't know the exact numbers but I suspect that you would probably be better off putting the claim through your insurance - it's what you pay your insurers for after all.

csgohan4

OP do you assess damage to a fence yourself or get a professional who will also survey the surround vicinity and any damage as a result of the fence?

Seems reasonable to get a surveyor, rather than here's £100 to get a new fence. The Land owner is doing things by the book and properly to make sure nothing has been missed.

Henley4000

Thank you for your help, much appreciated.