Motor Insurance Claim

JasonHand

Hello,
I recently scraped a car whilst I was parking my own vehicle. I clearly took responsibility for the accident, as there was no way anyone else was to blame. Now the damage was minimal and the 3rd party at the time actually believed he would be able to resolve this himself.  This was a few weeks ago and I was actually under the impression he had sorted it because I'd not heard anything.

Today I received a call from a solicitor representing him telling me he had received a quote of over £700 to get the damage fixed.  The solicitor in question remarked that it sounded awfully high. My initial thoughts at the time of the accident would be to avoid going through my insurance and simply pay for the damage myself. Now because of this I'm not sure that would be my best course of action.  

But the advice I am seeking is can I ask for them to get more quotes to fix this damage? Or can they legally say they want to get their car repaired at this specific place? 

TIA

Sandtree

As pointed out in a recent judgement on the Motor section here... the courts only expect that its a "reasonable cost" and that is ultimately down to the judge. So if he has a 10 year old Ford Fiesta but has gone to Rolls Royce's accident repair centre then clearly there are grounds for challenge but there is no requirement for them to get multiple quotes nor for them to go for the cheapest. Ultimately what they are actually claiming for is the devaluation of their property, the repair invoice is just considered a reasonable proxy for this.

Going to any mainstream bodyshop and say you are thinking of possibly going through insurance will rarely end up with a sub £750 estimate.

JasonHand

Thanks Sandtree. I think I will still beg the question to them though to see if they would try and get some other quotes. I was totally accepting of the situation at the time and took full responsibility and we parted on good terms so I am hoping they may go down this route. 

If not I guess I just need to decide if I stump up the cash myself or do I go through my insurance. I really want to avoid going through my insurance though.

Do you know if I can ask to see the quote?

lisyloo

If you are sorting it out personally then of course you can ask. They can decline (supicious?) but why not ask politely? If it's completely genuine and you're polite I don't see any reason that wouldn't supply it. They might not have the time to get loads of quotes or may have a preferred supplier for example one that has a good reputation and/or is local to them. Personally I wouldn't take too kindly to being told where to get my car fixed if I had preferences for reasons of convenience, reputational or terms e.g. courtesy car.
Not sure what kind of damage it was, but paintwork is expensive to fix. Paint needs to be matched individually as it may have faded. To be done properly panels need to be taken off and put into an oven which is expensive equipment. Is your solicitor a good source for opinion on the quote?
Why do you want to avoid going through your insurance?
Is you NCD protected?
Do you have other claims in the last 3 or 5 years?
Obviously there is cost but not necessarily £700.
I did similar and it didn't affect my costs much (but it was my only claim).
We might be able to help if you can reveal why you don't want to. For example subsequent claims will hurt your premiums more than a single claim and protected NCD will mean you don't lose NCD.

jimbo6977

When a bus scraped the front wing of my parked car a few years back, the repair at a local independent body shop came to £600, including paint. So the quoted £700 doesn't seem ridiculous on the face of it. 

Sandtree

JasonHand said:

Thanks Sandtree. I think I will still beg the question to them though to see if they would try and get some other quotes. I was totally accepting of the situation at the time and took full responsibility and we parted on good terms so I am hoping they may go down this route. 

If not I guess I just need to decide if I stump up the cash myself or do I go through my insurance. I really want to avoid going through my insurance though.

Do you know if I can ask to see the quote?

Yes, its a claim being made against you, you are entitled to inspect the evidence.

You can always ask whatever you want... you just cant force them to get another quote or go for a lower one if thats what they get next. If they are willing to do it at your request then great.

chrisw

You can try but they have the upper hand. Basically you either pay what they ask or stick it through insurance.

losgiganteskid

Don't forget, their claim may not be restricted to just repairs - they may wish to hire an alternative vehicle whilst theirs is being repaired - in that case the overall claim may be quite substantial

JasonHand

lisyloo said:

If you are sorting it out personally then of course you can ask. They can decline (supicious?) but why not ask politely? If it's completely genuine and you're polite I don't see any reason that wouldn't supply it. They might not have the time to get loads of quotes or may have a preferred supplier for example one that has a good reputation and/or is local to them. Personally I wouldn't take too kindly to being told where to get my car fixed if I had preferences for reasons of convenience, reputational or terms e.g. courtesy car.
Not sure what kind of damage it was, but paintwork is expensive to fix. Paint needs to be matched individually as it may have faded. To be done properly panels need to be taken off and put into an oven which is expensive equipment. Is your solicitor a good source for opinion on the quote?
Why do you want to avoid going through your insurance?
Is you NCD protected?
Do you have other claims in the last 3 or 5 years?
Obviously there is cost but not necessarily £700.
I did similar and it didn't affect my costs much (but it was my only claim).
We might be able to help if you can reveal why you don't want to. For example subsequent claims will hurt your premiums more than a single claim and protected NCD will mean you don't lose NCD.

I've got years and years of no claims so guess its more of a pride thing which in fairness is a little silly of me. But all your points are spot on. I obviously want to ensure their vehicle is as it was before I scraped it. Pretty certain I'm going to go through insurance. I'm pretty happy it will have a negligible affect on my premiums. 

JasonHand

chrisw said:

You can try but they have the upper hand. Basically you either pay what they ask or stick it through insurance.

Yep thats fair enough. I think it will be a case of sticking it through the insurance

brianposter

A friend of mine who lives in a remote area received a small scratch on his car and claimed through his insurance. Taking in the replacement car (delivered to his house), and the journeys to take the car to be repaired he reckoned the claim cost the other party several thousand pounds. Had he known what was going to happen he would have ignored the scratch.

People getting their own cars repaired is a lot cheaper.