Damage to Car, insurers not authorising works

neptunio

Hello,
I'm a bit lost with all this accident claiming and not sure where to turn for advice!
At the end of last month I came off a country road, onto a ridge and then into a hedge. Two of my tyres were left suspended in the air so I couldn't reverse out. This happened quite late at night, so I called RAC recovery (despite not being a member) for a one-off call out for recovery.
The recovery chap had a hard time finding something to attach the tow to, eventually got it attached to something under the car and pulled me out and sent me on my way.
When it came to claiming for the damages, my car insurance (Hastings) have approved all the works, except to some damage to the rear bumper (the bottom of it is ripped like its been dragged and is now over the exhaust). They are saying they can't see how driving into a hedge would cause damage to the rear bumper, and I'll admit I was surprised when I saw it myself the next morning. Initially I thought since I rode up a ridge, the back of the car must have dragged along the mud (it's an MX-5 so quite low) and ripped the plastic at the bottom of the bumper. Later I thought, I wonder if the RAC recovery caused the damage when he pulled me out. Of course I have no evidence of the direct cause of the damage, the pictures I took after the incident/before the call out focus mainly on the front of the car, and it's in the middle of the night so the quality is awful anyway.
I suppose my question is two fold - if the insurer refuses to pay out for this, what action can I take with RAC etc.? , and also, if the damage was caused by the RAC during the recovery should it still not be covered by my car insurance anyway?
Another complication to all this is that I never received any paperwork from RAC about the recovery at all. The only evidence I have they even arranged a call out is a text on the night saying they are on their way! I have contacted them though with the details of the incident so hopefully they will be able to forward me on a report etc.
Thanks for your advice,
Jonathan

neptunio

Worth saying as well, there is still a lot of mud and grass stuck all over the bottom of the car, which kind of confirms that there was some dragging along the bottom of the car on the ridge right as I had my collision.

AdrianC

If the damage was caused by the RAC being careless, then the insurance won't pay for it - the RAC should.
OTOH, if the damage was caused by the RAC extracting the car, taking all reasonable precautions, then that's part of the claim.

I suspect the RAC will say "No, it wasn't us, it was damage from the collision". And you can't prove either way.

The car went along the ridge travelling forwards? I'd have thought that would rip the bumper off completely - but for the bottom to be "over the exhaust" sounds like it's been pulled forwards rather than backwards. Did the RAC pull you out forwards or backwards?

The RAC should have taken photos and marked damage up - can they provide you with a copy of the paperwork relating to the collection and drop-off?

neptunio

Thanks Adrian,
The car was fine to drive after getting out the hedge, so I just drove myself home. I just couldn't initially get out so needed to be pulled out. On the MX5 the bottom of the bumper normally folds up, and it's been ripped and pulled backwards, to the point it now covers part of the exhaust:
And the bottom of the car showing all the mud: 
Do you think it's more likely the accident or the RAC caused this? I doubt it's going to be possible for me to prove either way, but I don't want to be left to pay for the damages. Garage is saying whole bumper needs replacing, at least £700

neptunio

AdrianC said:

If the damage was caused by the RAC being careless, then the insurance won't pay for it - the RAC should.
OTOH, if the damage was caused by the RAC extracting the car, taking all reasonable precautions, then that's part of the claim.

I suspect the RAC will say "No, it wasn't us, it was damage from the collision". And you can't prove either way.

The car went along the ridge travelling forwards? I'd have thought that would rip the bumper off completely - but for the bottom to be "over the exhaust" sounds like it's been pulled forwards rather than backwards. Did the RAC pull you out forwards or backwards?

The RAC should have taken photos and marked damage up - can they provide you with a copy of the paperwork relating to the collection and drop-off?

And here's a pic on the night of me stuck on the ridge in the hedge. (the only one that shows the back but not at the right angle to confirm whether the bumper was already damaged)

AdrianC

I presume they pulled you out using the towing eye visible under the NS tail light?

That does look to be damage from the incident... The bumper under-section has been pulled back and down.

Look on the bright side - even if it won't just fold back up, that's a bit designed to be sacrificial and easily changed, and it's a bit that there's going to be lots of aftermarket alternatives for even if the original part is expensive.

neptunio

AdrianC said:

I presume they pulled you out using the towing eye visible under the NS tail light?

That does look to be damage from the incident... The bumper under-section has been pulled back and down.

Look on the bright side - even if it won't just fold back up, that's a bit designed to be sacrificial and easily changed, and it's a bit that there's going to be lots of aftermarket alternatives for even if the original part is expensive.

I'm not sure what he attached to in the end, it seemed like something close to the rear tyre on the drivers side? Like underneath the car.
Well it's good to hear you say that, the garage it's with now are saying the whole bumper needs replacing. But when I looked at it, like you, I thought, oh that bit at the bottom just needs replacing surely!
I suppose if nobody is willing to pay I should shop around after this is all finished and see if anyone can do it cheaper than £700?

Sandtree

AdrianC said:

If the damage was caused by the RAC being careless, then the insurance won't pay for it - the RAC should.
OTOH, if the damage was caused by the RAC extracting the car, taking all reasonable precautions, then that's part of the claim.

The insurers would certainly pay for the damage caused by the RAC being careless, and potentially look to recover the money from the RAC, however it would be a second incident and so second claim and correctly excluded from the original claim.

Did they use the towing eye to pull the car back? The original post suggested to me that they hadn't hence the 

neptunio said:

The recovery chap had a hard time finding something to attach the tow to, eventually got it attached to something under the car and pulled me out and sent me on my way.

I wouldnt describe the tow eye behind the rear bumper panel as "something under the car"

neptunio

Yeah it was very dark in the middle of the night with no lights really around so can't be sure what he attached to. He was under the car for a good couple minutes trying to find something to attach to though. I don't remember hearing any sounds like ripping etc. when he pulled me out, which I would have expected if he ripped my bumper.

Were_Doomed

Sandtree said:

I wouldnt describe the tow eye behind the rear bumper panel as "something under the car"

I agree .. and the cover for the towing eye can be clearly seen in the photo above. Did you @neptunio have the towing hook with you in the car? (Would normally be in the boot near the spare wheel).

neptunio

Were_Doomed said:

Sandtree said:

I wouldnt describe the tow eye behind the rear bumper panel as "something under the car"

I agree .. and the cover for the towing eye can be clearly seen in the photo above. Did you @neptunio have the towing hook with you in the car? (Would normally be in the boot near the spare wheel).

Yeah we had a look for it but couldn't find it in the car. No idea where it has gone to to be fair I never remember removing it etc.