Car insurer claiming against another insurer in my name

GroceryStore

I think recording an incident as my fault that another driver and his insurer had already accepted liability for would not be possible. The insurer is effectively forcing me to endanger my health for money that is owed to them by another insurance company. The liability is not in question. That has already been accepted by the other party and their insurer.

molerat

The chances of you actually going to court are virtually zero.  If you don't like the way your insurer is doing it then repay them their outlay and take the bus company to court for the costs.  And yes it is the bus company that you would need to take to court as they are the ones that damaged your car, not their insurer.  Is it really the insurer that is named in the case rather than the bus company ?

Admitting liability is one thing, actually getting recompensed for that liability is another so if your insurer has to pick up the tab then it is a claim on your record.

452

GroceryStore said:

I heard that courts were operating as normal throughout this. The bus driver's insurer already admitted full liability. That does not need to be proven.
How can it then be recorded as my fault if the bus driver and his insurer have already admitted liability?

Because your insurance has paid out.

Instead of blame and liability think of fault as who pays.

maisie_cat

If you are not prepared to allow the insurance company to go to court you will need to repay them their outlay.

GroceryStore

In terms of reimbursing the insurance company myself, the fact that the insurance company prefers to use a insurance repair garage that is more expensive than a body shop, plus is 40 minutes drive from my house meaning I had to use their collection service and this repair garage insisted on keeping the car for several days meaning I had to have a hire car has made the claim about 3 times what I would have paid if I had proceeded with my initial wish just to get the car repaired at my own cost. The other insurance company has admitted liability, but the court papers seem to be trying to prove liability from scratch. The liability has already been admitted by the other insurance company, they just haven't paid.

Manxman_in_exile

The situation you find yourself in is quite usual where there is "some" dispute between insurers - possibly about liability or about the cost of repairs.  If you read the detail of your policy (did you do so before buying it?) you'll almost certainly find that your insurers are able to do so - and that you are obliged to cooperate with them. 

In insurance-speak, the word "fault" has a completely different usage and meaning from that which it has in normal english.  Basically, if your insurer can't recover their costs in court because you don't cooperate with them, the accident will become your "fault" and be recorded as such.

Why are you so keen to avoid a civil claim being brought in your name?  It has absolutely no stigma attached to it and there's no sensible reason why you'd want to avoid it.

GroceryStore

Yes, I understand that I will have agreed to help the insurer recover their costs, which is why I did not proceed with the claim until the other insurer had accepted full liability. I think I was mislead by this - I understood that since the other insurer had accepted full liability that there was no risk to me: I would not have to prove I was not liable and I would not have to bear any costs. I waited 3 months with a slightly dented car until I was happy that the other party had accepted liability. Surely the insurer can recover their own costs from another insurer that has already accepted liability. My insurer does not need to establish liability in this case. 
As to not being happy with a claim in my name in the County Court- it suggests that I have tried to sue someone when I have not. I am not a litigious person and try to keep my name off the internet, so if anyone searches me this will probably be the only search result. And it wasn't even my fault and I did everything I could to avoid claiming until the situation was as clear as it could be.
Also I am avoiding all public places, even supermarkets, and would consider attending a County Court as endangerment of my health.

452

GroceryStore said:

In terms of reimbursing the insurance company myself, the fact that the insurance company prefers to use a insurance repair garage that is more expensive than a body shop, plus is 40 minutes drive from my house meaning I had to use their collection service and this repair garage insisted on keeping the car for several days meaning I had to have a hire car has made the claim about 3 times what I would have paid if I had proceeded with my initial wish just to get the car repaired at my own cost. The other insurance company has admitted liability, but the court papers seem to be trying to prove liability from scratch. The liability has already been admitted by the other insurance company, they just haven't paid.

Have you actually spoken to the third party insurers and did you use an accident management company?

Theres a chance you've been misinformed about the admission of liability or they are disputing costs. 

GroceryStore

The situation seems very unfair: a bus drives into me and admits liability. The bus company's insurance company admits liability. My insurer says please go ahead and get your car repaired and you don't even need to pay the excess because the other party admits liability. A long time in the future, my insurer has not been able to get the other insurer to pay up, so I have to sue the other insurer in my own name so I can pay own insurer back the money they were supposed to cover for me and recoup. The job of an insurer is to cover risk. in this situation the insurance company has zero risk and does not even need to sue in their own name to get their own money back.

Ectophile

It's totally fair.  When you took out the policy, you will have agreed to provide them with any information they need to pursue a claim against a third party.  If you refuse to help them now, they will consider you to be in breach of contract, and may try to recover the money from you.

Here's the wording from my policy: "You must contact us as soon as reasonably possible and provide all the information, documents, evidence and help we need to settle your claim or pursue a recovery.".