Car accident advice needed - letter received from other party's insurers

jr92897

Hi guys and gals, could do with some car accident related legal-advice please - I'll try and keep this brief:

Back in 2019, a lady reversed into my car in a car park whilst my car was stationary.  The lady claimed, of course, that I hit her, despite this being physically impossible unless cars can now travel sideways. There was no damage on either vehicle.  She and her two passengers get out of the car and make their way into shopping centre without even saying anything. I then discover she's made a claim against my insurance and is claiming whiplash also, again, impossible given her car was reversing at about 2mph. 

I had two independent witnesses who were in the car park at the time, however somehow, despite being husband and wife, their statements didn't quite match up (or so I'm told)

and weren't admissable. The lady's passengers obviously confirmed her version of events but my passenger wasn't even contacted until this week.

Now this has been ongoing for two years now. A few weeks ago, my insurance company called to ask if I would accept 50/50, or it will go to court. I chose court because it is absolutely not my fault and it's completely fraudulent. Now today, I have received a letter from the lady's insurance company:

"Final Notice

Amount required of £600 for our insured's outlay. 

We have contacted your insurance company requesting the sum for the above costs on several occasions, but they have failed to respond. 

We have informed your insurer that if payment is not received, we will pass the claim to our solicitors who will start legal proceedings.

As we hold you responsible for this incident, you should be aware that in the event that your insurance company fail to make payment in time,

any legal proceedings will be issued againt you, in your name, at the above address."

I am currently unable to get hold of my insurance company, although I will try again on a weekday. 

What I'd like to know is - is this just a scare tactic, or can they issue legal proceedings against ME personally? I thought the whole point of insurance is that they cover this.

If this does make it as far as court, would I have to personally cover any costs here or is this covered by my insurance company? 
What should I do next?
Thanks

Aretnap

The proceedings would indeed be issued against you personally - you're the one who (they are claiming) caused the accident, so ultimately you are the person who is (allegedly) liable.

They can't issue proceedings against your insurance company unless they are claiming that your insurance company caused the accident - which would be even less credible than claiming that you caused it.

So instead they issue proceedings against you, and you ask your insurance company to handle them on your behalf, as your policy says that they will do. Rest assured that even if it did go to court and you lost, it will still be your insurance company putting their hand in their pocket, not you personally.

Don't panic, contact your insurer as soon as practical and pass the letter onto them. 

Sandtree

jr92897 said:
If this does make it as far as court, would I have to personally cover any costs here or is this covered by my insurance company? 

What should I do next?

Leave it unanswered and inform your insurers at the earliest opportunity.

As above, cases will normally remain in the name of the people involved in the incident even if its the insurers arguing. If you look at the boring insurance press you will see Allianz had a long fight with RSA over how RSA adds 25% to the cost of repairs plus additional costs for free courtesy cars when claiming for damages for their customers. However if you look at the court records its the name of their respective customers.

olgadapolga

That's interesting as when DH's claim against another party ended up going down the legal route, the case was "DH vs third party insurance company". 

It never went to court in the end as the first scheduled hearing was rearranged by the court without the court actually telling anyone (!) then the pandemic delayed the second scheduled hearing,  the third hearing was delayed due to ill-health and the fourth scheduled hearing was cancelled after the defendant decided to pay up. It took over two years to resolve, from the date of the accident.

DH's insurance company also suggested that he accept 50/50 which he refused to do as the third party hit DH but of course, the third party told a different story. We found the legal team dealing with the claim really helpful and reassuring, unlike the insurance company, who just seemed to want to take the easy route. 

pelirocco

I own a transport  and removals company ,and am only too aware of " dodgy" insurance claims and insurance  companies  settling them to make  them go away
Our company has also received County  Court summons  to encourage  us to speed up their claims ,so don't ignore their threat