Disputing 50/50 motor insurance settlement

Nomis65

Hi,

I'm after a bit of advice regarding a motor insurance claim which my insurance company has decided to settle 50/50 against my wishes. I know this has been covered before, but please humour me. I need to vent.

I live in a hamlet with a single, narrow country lane running through it which leads to a farm, i.e. it's a dead end. The only traffic we see is down to residents and the odd farm vehicle. The speed limit is 30 MPH, though speed is not the issue in this instance.

In July 2019 I was driving towards home in the middle of the afternoon on a bright sunny day. About one third of a mile from my home there is a series of bends; sharp right, sweeping left, sharp right. The sweeping left hand bend is blind because the field on the left is about 2 feet higher than the road and enclosed by a dense hawthorn hedge 4 feet tall. On the opposite side of the road there is a concrete kerb protecting a flat, level grass verge about 3 feet wide beyond which is another field. About a decade ago the villagers clubbed together and had a convex mirror mounted on a steel post installed on the outside of the bend so that drivers in both directions could see what was coming.

As I approached the bend I could see in the mirror that a mobile home was coming the other way. I've been driving this road for over 20 years so I know the score. I tucked my car as far over to the left as I could and came to a complete stop. The nearside of my car was buried in the long grass and wild flowers which grow up during the summer. Any further over and I'd risk actual damage to my car.

The road at that point is barely wide enough for two cars to pass. Anything bigger is obliged to mount the kerb on the outside of the bend. The driver of the motor home did what was expected. I watched in my wing mirror as she passed and could tell she was leaving the kerb too early. Inevitably she clipped the rear wing of my car.

She realised what she had done and stopped to inspect the damage. The first thing she said was "I didn't think you were going to drive off." I hadn't moved and told her so. She stood by her position and said she would let the insurance companies sort it out. Obviously there were no witnesses, and I don't have a dash cam. I asked if she was lost as there are no campsites anywhere near. It turned out that she lives 25 miles away but stores her motor home in a barn at the farm at the end of the lane. I'd not seen her or her motor home before, and I haven't seen them since. We both took photos of both vehicles and exchanged details. I then drove home (2 minutes) and reported the incident to my insurers. I followed this up with a full account and the photos I'd taken, sent online.

I should note at this point that the other party has not disputed the position of the vehicles as shown in the photos she and I took. My car is clearly buried in the hedgerow on the nearside. Had I actually driven off then I would have been further away, and it is improbable that I would have taken the time to park up against the hedgerow again after she hit my car.

The damage to my car (a Ford Fiesta) wasn't all that bad. Scuffs and scratches to the paintwork on the offside rear wing and bumper extending backwards from just forward of the rear axle to the rear light cluster, and a small dent in the offside rear wheel arch. A few days later my insurers sent someone to pick up the car for repair and supplied a hire car for the duration (5 days including a weekend). As far as I can tell no panels were replaced (I wasn't expecting any) but the whole rear bumper, the rear wing, rear door, and A and C posts were all resprayed (metallic silver).

At this point the incident had cost me nothing. I have 9+ years protected NCD and the policy is fully comp with no voluntary excess. My renewal was due in August and the quote was a few quid cheaper than the previous year, presumably because the ongoing claim hadn't been settled either way by then, so I jumped at it.

In August 2019 I received a call from my insurer to say that the other party would not accept responsibility for the accident and her insurer wanted a 50/50 settlement. I rejected this and sent a more detailed account of the incident, explaining how it could not possibly have been my fault.

I heard nothing until February 2020 when my insurer wrote to say that the other party still refused to accept responsibility. I sent an even more detailed explanation using simple mechanics to demonstrate that the accident could not possibly have been my fault regardless of whether I was stationary or not. I followed this up with a phone call asking my insurer to go back to the other party with the details I had sent them.

I heard nothing until now (July 2020) when my insurers wrote to say "The third party's insurers have reviewed your statement and continue to stand by their 50/50 offer. This offer has been agreed on a without prejudice basis so this would not prejudice your position should you wish to seek legal advice."

It's clear that the value of the claim is so low that it isn't worthwhile for my insurers to pay an independent expert to actually look at the evidence and apportion blame. Unless one party owns up (the cheap and lazy option) they are just not interested. One rep I spoke to even admitted that most minor dings on narrow country roads are settled 50/50. It's just the way it is.

With my insurance renewal up next month I'll soon get to see what the lying toerag has really cost me.

I fully intend to take it up with the FOS, but is there anything else I could or should do?

For anyone interested, the motor home in question has an overhang of almost 6 feet behind the rear wheels. The driver misjudged the length of her vehicle, and as she straightened up having driven off the kerb, the tail swung towards my car and caught the rear wing. Tail swing can be a serious problem, even for experienced drivers ...

https://twitter.com/i/status/894559416539914240

Why insurance companies can't or won't accept this is beyond me.

The_Fat_Controller

Your word against hers and no witnesses.
Accept it and move on.

ElephantBoy57

Nomis65 said:

She realised what she had done and stopped to inspect the damage. The first thing she said was "I didn't think you were going to drive off." I hadn't moved and told her so. She stood by her position and said she would let the insurance companies sort it out. Obviously there were no witnesses, and I don't have a dash cam.

If you were stationary, she hit a stationary vehicle and is to blame. But if she genuinely believes that both cars were moving, then you cannot prove blame, that would be 50/50

DoaM

Your renewal price won't change ... at least not in respect of this incident. Your last renewal will have been priced on the basis of an open claim, and open claims are assumed to be Fault (to some extent) until such times as they are closed as non-fault. The same will apply this year, the only difference being that the claim is closed as Fault (to some extent).

ratrace

Please tell me you have a dashcam now, i have 3, front back and one in the boot as a spare.

Best to move on to be fair

Jackmydad

As said above, your word against their's, it's going to be 50/50.
Get a decent dash cam. Especially if you regularly drive on narrow lanes and roads.

AdrianC

Unfair as it may seem, there are only two people who were there, and no other evidence either way.

One person says "X", the other person says "Y".

How are insurers meant to decide who is telling the truth, and who isn't? How much time and money do you expect them to spend on a trivial claim such as this?

MEM62

Nomis65 said:

I'm after a bit of advice regarding a motor insurance claim which my insurance company has decided to settle 50/50 against my wishes.  

They you do need your consent.  Check you policy wording and you will find that your insurers can settle in any manner they deem fit.  The fact is the amounts involved are not worth them making a fight of it as the cost of litigation outweighs the cost of settlement.  If every such case was fought we would be paying even more for motor insurance and it is expensive enough as it is.  Whilst I appreciate that you may want the satisfaction of being acknowledged as not at fault that would be an expensive way of achieving it.  That said, if you want to make a bun-fight of it, you are free to litigate if your pockets are deep enough.       

Nomis65 said:

I fully intend to take it up with the FOS, but is there anything else I could or should do?

Why?  What are you hoping to achieve?  Your insurers have settled in accordance with their terms and conditions - which you signed up to and have acted reasonably in view of the evidence presented to them.  Your complaint will go nowhere.  Third parties lie, it is a fact and unless you have hard evidence to back up your version of events you just have to suck it up, draw a line under it and move on with life.  Any further emotional or financial resources you throw at this are wasted.   

That said, I hope that venting helped.   

Nomis65

Thanks for all the advice. It does look like I'm going to have to let it go.

I fitted dash cams front and rear as soon as I realised that in the absence of independent witnesses other drivers could get away with practically anything.

DUTR

Nomis65 said:

Thanks for all the advice. It does look like I'm going to have to let it go.

I fitted dash cams front and rear as soon as I realised that in the absence of independent witnesses other drivers could get away with practically anything.

Which dashcam did you opt for?

froggy1

im having same problem my ins company agreed other driver at fault (as did police and the driver admitted fault at the scene of accident) NOW BECAUSE other ins company disagree and want 50/50 and wont budge i am being asked to agree,I wont  point being that ins companies dont really take much notice of police even though they were asked as i provided photos etc  i lost my car got paid out plus a payment for their inability to let me know what was going on, saga is still ongoing  insurance jumped by £500 so i left as another was £100 less for same deal 
its not worth getting stressed over as i found out unless you have a dash cam as above very sad state of affairs
car insurance is a compulsory scam-and the whole industry needs a shake up! that said there appears to be an awful lot of fraudsters taking advantage of them too!