Hit and run damaged my parked car: foreign lorry and total loss: PLEASE HELP ME

Afrapp88

lisyloo wrote: »

This all seem theorectical to me (the write-off).



Can you confirm that two panels are damaged plus one mirror?
Any bumpers damaged?
Is it metallic paint or matt?

Is the mirror heated, movable remotely by buttons or is it one you just move by hand?


Obviously we can only go on what youve said but it doesn't seem to me this would be a write-off.
You could of course take it somewhere and get a quote within 20-30 mins.

I know it's theoretical, but it's based on what the agent suggested me was the possible outcome.

Anyways: one electrical mirror (controlled from inside the car via buttons) torn off with a bunch of electrical cables exposed, then driver's door lightly scratched and slightly indented just beneath the window on the panel (metallic paint). Same goes for the panel above the front right wheel, next to the windscreen: 3 to 4 in long scratch between windscreen and driver's door. Sent pictures to my garage for an estimate of the price for the repairs, anxiously waiting for a reply. I don't care about the scratches or indentations, they're not that visible. I just need the wing mirror replaced.

I might have over exaggerated the the damages while describing them on the phone, though I cannot imaging how they can be repaired without replacing the driver's door and front right panels.

I don't know how to take the car anywhere as without wing mirror I have been told it's not legally drivable.

lisyloo

I think you need to get the quote.
To get entire panels painted properly can be £600-£800 each.

If it was me, I’d consider patching up the panels cheaply and paying for the mirror to be fixed and not claiming (but of course you have to declare th accident).

This is probably not the answer you want but with excess, loss of NCD and increased premiums it may simply not be worth claiming if you aren’t bothered about the dents/scratches.

You need the proper quote and a quote for patching it up as you want.
Clearly you can’t drive it if it’s not safe.

Afrapp88

lisyloo wrote: »

I think you need to get the quote.
To get entire panels painted properly can be £600-£800 each.

If it was me, I’d consider patching up the panels cheaply and paying for the mirror to be fixed and not claiming (but of course you have to declare th accident).

This is probably not the answer you want but with excess, loss of NCD and increased premiums it may simply not be worth claiming if you aren’t bothered about the dents/scratches.

You need the proper quote and a quote for patching it up as you want.
Clearly you can’t drive it if it’s not safe.

You think it's possible for me to withdraw the claim if it comes to that? Is it something people can do?

In hindsight, yes, I should have probably dealt with it without claiming. In my inexperience and naivety, I thought my insurance, which I PAY, is there to help me, not complicate my life. Again in my inexperience, it never occurred to me I would have risked totalling my beloved car for a few scratches. I am to blame, I should have done my homework.

lisyloo

Yes you can withdraw a claim.
You will definitely have to declare the accident in future For however long they ask (3-5 years?) but it’s not a claim.
You would have needed to have done this anyway but now it’s recorded with your insurer.
Don’t even think about not declaring it because you’ll be then marked as a liar and find it very difficult and expensive to get insurance (I’m not suggesting you would just wanted to make the point).

I don’t think you should beat yourself up.
You haven’t thought anything unreasonable and you still need to have The quotes before deciding what to do. It’s possible it’s not enough to write off the car and you’ll make a different decision.
You haven’t lost anything if you withdraw the claim (only the option to pretend it didn’t happen which is fraud anyway).

Everyone is surprised at the costs, but getting paintwork done properly means matching the paint in a bespoke way (the rest of your paintwork will be faded so it won’t be a stock colour), sanding down and painting the entire panel which means use of a large dedicated oven as it can’t be mixed up with anyone else’s paintwork.

Insurers do what’s easiest for them not what’s fairest for customers.
They would argue that overall they are keeping costs down but it’s quite unsatisfactory sometimes.

Afrapp88

lisyloo wrote: »

Yes you can withdraw a claim.
You will definitely have to declare the accident in future For however long they ask (3-5 years?) but it’s not a claim.
You would have needed to have done this anyway but now it’s recorded with your insurer.
Don’t even think about not declaring it because you’ll be then marked as a liar and find it very difficult and expensive to get insurance (I’m not suggesting you would just wanted to make the point).

I don’t think you should beat yourself up.
You haven’t thought anything unreasonable and you still need to have The quotes before deciding what to do. It’s possible it’s not enough to write off the car and you’ll make a different decision.
You haven’t lost anything if you withdraw the claim (only the option to pretend it didn’t happen which is fraud anyway).

Everyone is surprised at the costs, but getting paintwork done properly means matching the paint in a bespoke way (the rest of your paintwork will be faded so it won’t be a stock colour), sanding down and painting the entire panel which means use of a large dedicated oven as it can’t be mixed up with anyone else’s paintwork.

Insurers do what’s easiest for them not what’s fairest for customers.
They would argue that overall they are keeping costs down but it’s quite unsatisfactory sometimes.

Thanks lisyloo. I have no intention of lying or not declaring the incident, even if I decide to withdraw the claim.

Other question: if they say that repairing the whole thing is too expensive, can't I change my ind and ask them to repair JUST the wing mirror? That's the only thing I need. The rest are minor cosmetic damages not even that visible. The indents are really small. Do I have this power or now that I have filed the claim for all those damages, I don't have any possibility of changing their quote? I know this is something I will have to discuss with the insurance in due time, it's just to get prepared and get my head around this issue.

lisyloo

You can ask, but I’m pretty sure you can’t insist how your insurer handles your claim.

I don’t think you'll have much luck, as Sal says in post #4 they will want to reinstate the car to its former state.

If you wanted just the wing mirror repaired it would still probably be cheaper to pay for it yourself considering the excess and that you’ll be loaded for the accident for 2-3 years (depending on whether your NCD is protected). It may take many years to reclaim from a foreign company and for just a mirror your insurer may well decide not to peruse a foreign driver where the costs of pursuing may exceed the claim cost.

So in short, no you cannot tell them how to run their business.

Jumblebumble

Afrapp88 wrote: »

@kingstreet whait, if the insurer buys my car for £2000 but I can buy it back as salvage retention and get £1500 instead, for instance, isn't it better for them as they'd have to pay me less money? Also, is salvage retention a universal right or only depends on the insurance? I can't find anything about salvage retention in my Admiral policy.

No because they are likely to have the Salvage value underwritten by a Salvage Yard agreement who take all cars for 25% or whatever
The Salvage yard will not be keen on some of the lesser damaged write offs being sold privately for obvious reasons
You are not likely to have a choice The car is not yours once you are paid out.

Afrapp88

lisyloo wrote: »

You can ask, but I’m pretty sure you can’t insist how your insurer handles your claim.

I don’t think you'll have much luck, as Sal says in post #4 they will want to reinstate the car to its former state.

If you wanted just the wing mirror repaired it would still probably be cheaper to pay for it yourself considering the excess and that you’ll be loaded for the accident for 2-3 years (depending on whether your NCD is protected). It may take many years to reclaim from a foreign company and for just a mirror your insurer may well decide not to peruse a foreign driver where the costs of pursuing may exceed the claim cost.

So in short, no you cannot tell them how to run their business.

Never expected I can TELL the insurance company to do something, I was asking what are the odds ASKING them might work.

Afrapp88

Jumblebumble wrote: »

No because they are likely to have the Salvage value underwritten by a Salvage Yard agreement who take all cars for 25% or whatever
The Salvage yard will not be keen on some of the lesser damaged write offs being sold privately for obvious reasons
You are not likely to have a choice The car is not yours once you are paid out.

Well it's easy then, I will never accept the write off and never accept the payout and keep my bloody car. Only frustrated I have to go through all this when it's not even my fault and I have witnesses and photographs Sort of like twice the victim. Or even thrice, considering my premium can potentially even go up! And the lorry driver, who can still potentially be driving on UK soil, gets away with it like it was nothing. He can potentially be the one who will scratch your cars too and there is no way of preventing it (like blocking him from driving in the UK) unless I try legal action, for which I have no time nor will nor money.

lisyloo

Afrapp88 wrote: »

Never expected I can TELL the insurance company to do something, I was asking what are the odds ASKING them might work.

I think I gave you two opinions on that (mine and sals) and jumble bumble has illustrated a possible business reason why they might do things in certain ways.

I don’t think it will work because I think they have procedures that have been checked as legally watertight plus wholesale (discounted) deals for the firms they deal with.

If they do a duff repair on yours how do they know there won’t be comeback? Should they spend lots of money creating a legal a legal disclaimer just for your case?

In your position I would certainly ask but expect a no.

Also because of excess, loss of NCD over several years, plus loading for several years, small claims do not make financial sense. Protected NcD only covers part of that if you have it.

Have you priced up any repairs yet?
I’d be getting a quote for doing it properly and another for doing the repair that you actually want.
Normally you can get these within 20-30 mins if you can fix up your car to drive.