Car Accident- 3rd party trying tricks with insurance

gunner786

Had an accident where 3rd party opened her door in front of me without looking therefore writing my car off.
I have dashcam footage and got the 3rd parties phone number & name on the spot along with pics of the car.
The car was her husbands and she was apparently named on the policy too.
When contacted by the insurance he has now told his insurance(aviva) that he sold the car. My insurance has requested him to provide a sale invoice if he has sold the car.
Also the point to be noted if he has sold the car how did i get his name and number?
I am a taxi driver and its been dragging on for 3 weeks meaning i have missed 3 weeks of work. I will do loss of earnings but now with him trying to get out of it i could lose out on that too.
What is the likely outcome will his insurance refuse to pay out or what are my chances?

Car_54

If he had indeed sold the car, and the new owner (a) gave you a false name and address, and (b) hadn't insured the car herself, then AFAIK Aviva are still on the hook.

However, I'd be prepared for them to hold you at least partly to blame.

gunner786

Thats the thing he is obviously lying to them. Or how would i have his nane and telephone number?

Nobbie1967

Presuming the other car is at fault, I don’t see how the insurance company can get out of paying if the policy was still in force on the car as it is legally required to cover third parties. The owner lying about ownership shouldn’t really affect this unless he had changed the insurance over to another car which seems unlikely.

DiddyDavies

gunner786 said:

Had an accident where 3rd party opened her door in front of me without looking therefore writing my car off.

How close were you passing to the other vehicle and what sort of speed were you doing? as these factors will both have an influence as to how liability is determined.

Sandtree

gunner786 said:

I am a taxi driver and its been dragging on for 3 weeks meaning i have missed 3 weeks of work. I will do loss of earnings but now with him trying to get out of it i could lose out on that too.

What are you doing to mitigate your losses? Have you looked at hiring a replacement taxi? Is there a reason why your own insurance hasnt settled your claim?

If he maintains his story and Aviva stick by him then you are looking at months or longer for it to be settled. Does your footage show the actual driver? If it does then you'd hope theyd ask for a copy of the driving license or passport of the wife to compare the photo with your footage.

If he had just done a private sale its very plausible that the buyer has his name and telephone to give to you... though was it on a card or their phone or recited from memory? If the later its less likely the buyer would have memorised it but if they looked it up then its plausible.

gunner786

Sandtree said:

gunner786 said:

I am a taxi driver and its been dragging on for 3 weeks meaning i have missed 3 weeks of work. I will do loss of earnings but now with him trying to get out of it i could lose out on that too.

What are you doing to mitigate your losses? Have you looked at hiring a replacement taxi? Is there a reason why your own insurance hasnt settled your claim?

If he maintains his story and Aviva stick by him then you are looking at months or longer for it to be settled. Does your footage show the actual driver? If it does then you'd hope theyd ask for a copy of the driving license or passport of the wife to compare the photo with your footage.

If he had just done a private sale its very plausible that the buyer has his name and telephone to give to you... though was it on a card or their phone or recited from memory? If the later its less likely the buyer would have memorised it but if they looked it up then its plausible.

Loss of earnings. She was on the phone to her husband and i spoke to him aswell. The lady was having a panic attack. He changed his tune after my insurance said to him we have dashcam footage and on the spot said he had sold his car

gunner786

DiddyDavies said:

gunner786 said:

Had an accident where 3rd party opened her door in front of me without looking therefore writing my car off.

How close were you passing to the other vehicle and what sort of speed were you doing? as these factors will both have an influence as to how liability is determined.

Its clear cut her fault i was doing 15mph with nowhere to swerve if i had swerved i would have hit oncoming traffic. Only thing holding it up now is they are saying they sold the car to get away from their insurance paying out

Sandtree

gunner786 said:

DiddyDavies said:

gunner786 said:

Had an accident where 3rd party opened her door in front of me without looking therefore writing my car off.

How close were you passing to the other vehicle and what sort of speed were you doing? as these factors will both have an influence as to how liability is determined.

Its clear cut her fault i was doing 15mph with nowhere to swerve if i had swerved i would have hit oncoming traffic. Only thing holding it up now is they are saying they sold the car to get away from their insurance paying out

That wouldnt stop your insurance paying out to enable you to get another vehicle and stop your loss of earnings claim

gunner786

Sandtree said:

gunner786 said:

DiddyDavies said:

gunner786 said:

Had an accident where 3rd party opened her door in front of me without looking therefore writing my car off.

How close were you passing to the other vehicle and what sort of speed were you doing? as these factors will both have an influence as to how liability is determined.

Its clear cut her fault i was doing 15mph with nowhere to swerve if i had swerved i would have hit oncoming traffic. Only thing holding it up now is they are saying they sold the car to get away from their insurance paying out

That wouldnt stop your insurance paying out to enable you to get another vehicle and stop your loss of earnings claim

Thats what im doing now to speed up getting back to work. But the liability situation is stresing what are the chances of them getting away

Sandtree

Depends on a number of factors, in particular if the driver is identifiable from the video. 

In my claims handling days Aviva used to be a bit of a pain to go against because they stuck with their policyholder a little more strongly than other insurers when faced with evidence of their PH not telling the whole truth.

Ultimately if it comes to going to court the judge effectively decides who he believes... ie which is more likely to be true, and so its all about adding bits of evidence that supports your version of events.