Not at fault insurance claim - Confused

craigr3

So this morning i was sat at a roundabout and the person behind me decided they wanted a closer look at my car but got too close and gave it a nudge. It was a low speed impact and there was no damage to their van, but a clip broke off the lower part of the bumper on my car as well as one of the parking sensors is now caved in.
This is my first time in an accident since passing my test 11 years ago, so i'm a bit new to the whole 'what to do' thing. Naturally i notified my insurer (Hastings) and they took a shedload of details and it went from there.
I have since been contacted by a 'Credit Hire' company named 'Auxillis' saying they would be handling the claim on behalf of Hastings. Fair enough, i thought.
Spoke to the chap on the phone and he said he'd send me an email and i'd just need to confirm the agreement contained within before they could proceed.
Being a bit of a stickler for reading terms and conditions, i had a good read during my work lunch break. It sounded pretty dodgy to me with the whole credit agreement where they'll charge loads to it, bill the other insurer but if they don't cough up, then you'll have to cough up instead... So i haven't agreed to it.
From looking around, it seems people have been in similar situations and got fleeced by them so now i'm confused as to what to do.


From what i can see, i have a few options here:
* Agree to their terms, and hope i don't get fleeced. I'm guessing the hire car costs would be more than the repair costs so i don't see the third parties insurance agreeing to that.
* Contact Hastings and ask '!!!!!!' and see what they say
* Contact the third parties insurance company (who i would've expected to contact me first?) and see what they say

Another option i have (which i only noticed while driving home...) is the Honda Accident Assistance thing. Is this a viable option for something so minor? Is it worth doing? And is it possible after already telling my insurance?

So i'm coming to you guys for advice as i have no idea where else i'd turn to.

Any advice on my situation would be greatly appreciated!

daveyjp

Auxillis are only in it for their fees. Do everything to avoid going near them as you would have to pay your excess and have a claim until it is resolved.

If your car can be driven I'd approach the third party insurance and sort it through them.

facade

I don't get any of this- clearly living in a cave for the last 40 years doesn't help


You are involved in an accident, you claim through your insurer, they arrange for it to be fixed and foot the bill, you pay your excess. Your insurer doesn't like parting with money, so they try to get the other party's insurer to refund them, and actually do some work like you are paying them for.


If the other party admit responsibility, your insurer gets their money back, they simply claim the full cost and repay you your excess.




What has gone wrong nowadays?
Why is there a middle man to cream off a fat percentage?



Apparently, the notion of refunding your excess has gone now, as it for some reason counts as an uninsured loss, and you need the optional "Legal cover" to claim it back for you.




Alternatively, you are encouraged to approach the other insurer yourself.

Cap2019

I was referred to Auxillis via Admiral after a non fault accident and despite everything I read, I couldn't fault them. My car was collected, repaired and returned within two weeks and they had claimed back all costs from the third party insurer (incl roadside recovery after the incident) within 60 days. I too read the terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb and was concerned about the hire car charges coming back to me so I gave the hire car back after 5 days, racking up a total bill of approx £500 (including delivery and collection).



My total case incurred costs of approx £5000 all in which the third party insurance didn't contest. I did have witnesses to back up my 'non-fault' claim though and the other driver admitted fault at the scene of the accident (and again via text the same morning once we had exchanged details!). From what I understand, the biggest risk with accident management companies like Auxillis is accepting an unnecessarily expensive hire car for excessive periods whilst your car is in for repair, in which case the third party insurer will refuse to pay the hire car cost on the basis that you didn't need it and could have hired a cheaper one thorugh companies like Enterprise. I was given a brand new Vauxhall Astra which incurred costs of £88/day. Compare this to an Audi/BMW/Mercedes 4x4 at a cost of closer to £200/day. Just one month of repairs and you've racked up a bill of over £6000.



I didn't have an issue with Auxillis because they got the job done quickly and to a high standard and because they did provide me with all the information necessary in the terms and conditions. I was extremely disappointed with Admiral for passing me off to an accident management company with very little explanation of what this entailed whilst I was stood alone on the side of the road after being spun around at 40mph. I have since left Admiral and would not recommend them to anyone. If a similar incident were to ever occur whereby I was 100% confident that I was totally not at fault, I would most likely approach the third party insurer directly to deal with it. You live and learn I guess.

Bigphil1474

I think the theory/practise is that if your insurers passes you onto a claim handling company, then there is no claim on your insurance, as they get the money of the third parties insurers. Had an experience of this a few years ago, all went well, but I turned down a hire care as mine was driveable, ultimately written off, but the process went okay. AFAIK they can only represent you in non-fault claims.

Mistral001

Why the suspicion? Has the insurance company or anybody said that you are in any way at fault? Is the other car's insurance company claiming that you reversed into the car behind you? You are not at fault and hence you will not have to pay a penny. Let the insurance people get on with it. If your insurance company decides to sub-contract some of the administration to another company, it is their money that they are spending. The alternative seems to be to not make a claim or withdraw your claim and pay for the repairs yourself.

Mistral001

Just another point. Maybe the insurance company for the car behind bring out the big guns in all rear shunts for fear of getting claims for whiplash which could run into the tens of thousands and the OP's insurance company are just being prudent by bringing in specialist to deal with all rear shunts as well, no matter how minor they seem.

Deelee888

Hi mistra, your story is interesting.. first thing is have the third party insurer contacted you? If they have and made you a offer, maybe it's best accepting it, because I had a accident last friday, 29th November which I was not to blame, my car is repairable. The woman who crashed into me was rude denying blame and saying I should have given way to her, she also gave me a false name, refused to give me her address etc.. but virtually straight away I called my insurance company who put me through to!auxillis!straightaway. I explained what happened and they said they would sort everything out including hired car etc.. but less than a hour after the accident the third party insurer texted me admitting liability and offering to fix my car and provide me with a hired car that will cost them no more than £63.45 per day! They then called me, explained everything and offered me £100 as well for my inconvenience. So at first I decided to go with the third party insurer (esure) but then later on changed my mind because of several bad reviews of how they reneged on their side regarding the £100, it wasn't about the £100 but it was about a honesty in general that made me change my mind, and decided to call up esure and cancel the arrangement I had with them and signed up to!auxillis!instead, but just today I decided to change my mind again and accept esures offer, this was because I have just downloaded the!auxillis!agreement and it's all to do with credit! Plus I'm thinking what if the third party refuses to pay up for my car hire because they have actually offered me a car? Although the car the third party are offering is not a like for like it is in the same class group, ie a astra, Mokka or juke, my car is a 2016 Audi A3 Sport, I'm sure!auxillis!would provide me like for like but their hire charges for my like for like is £216 per day! Whereas esure would pay £63.45 per day, because of this I decided to call up esure again to ask them to repair my car and accept their offer of a hired car instead. I don't believe even if!auxillis!provides me with a like for like it shouldn't be charging £216 per day.. because despite the credit hire guarantee that you would not be held responsible for any charges if you do everything possible to help them retreive all their costs from the third party even by attending court if necessary, the court may say the third party offered me a hired car in the same class so I was not inconvenienced as such in terms of work etc and may refuse to recompense the excess hire charges. The credit hire companies are ambulance chasers but be wary of them and even your own insurers for using them. If the third party insurer admits liability and is offering to fix your car plus offer you a hire car, I think it's best to take it. I'm still not sure about the £100 offer and would they abide by their word, but I have been inconvenienced by rearranging my busy day next Wednesday so as my own car can be collected for repair.. but I will at a later date be calling esure to remind them of their promises.

EdGasketTheSecond

100% go through the third party insurers if they are willing to deal with it. Auxilis is the new name for Albany Assistance; just google it to see what a truly awful service it is and how outrageous the hire car charges are.

If you have no joy with the third party insurer, insist Hastings deal with the claim; they will make all sorts of excuses but I am sure you are not obliged to be fobbed off to a seperate credit-hire claims company. Maybe someone can confirm that?


See this thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5857967/no-fault-claim-via-credit-hire-company

jimbo6977

facade wrote: »

I don't get any of this- clearly living in a cave for the last 40 years doesn't help


You are involved in an accident, you claim through your insurer, they arrange for it to be fixed and foot the bill, you pay your excess. Your insurer doesn't like parting with money, so they try to get the other party's insurer to refund them, and actually do some work like you are paying them for.


If the other party admit responsibility, your insurer gets their money back, they simply claim the full cost and repay you your excess.




What has gone wrong nowadays?
Why is there a middle man to cream off a fat percentage?



Apparently, the notion of refunding your excess has gone now, as it for some reason counts as an uninsured loss, and you need the optional "Legal cover" to claim it back for you.




Alternatively, you are encouraged to approach the other insurer yourself.

Nothing has changed. The excess is, always was, and will will always be, an uninsured loss.

facade

jimbo6977 wrote: »

Nothing has changed. The excess is, always was, and will will always be, an uninsured loss.

Maybe so, but when I crashed in The Olden Days and it wasn't my fault, my own insurer dealt with everything, and I never paid a penny for my repairs. (Apart from the massive increases in the policy price thereafter )