Minor car bump and insurance

hazeyjane

I had a minor bump the other day, reversing out of a car park space, bumping into another reversing car. The only damage is scuffs and scrapes to the bumpers of both cars.  

At the time I assumed I was at fault, with the other party reversing before I was. I gave my name, address, number and policy number to the other party. I only have their name and number, along with the reg. 

The other party called me later that day to say they’d taken their car to a friend’s garage who tried to buff out the scuffs but some of it was too deep to just buff out. They’re currently waiting for a quote for the job. Their son also called and I said to just go through my insurance and sort it out that way. However, for all I know, we may have just started reversing at the same time. I certainly didn’t see him in my reversing camera before I started. 

The other party then called me again later, as he doesn’t want to do that, not wanting to let his insurance company know he’s been involved in an accident. He said he would pay half of his repair. 

I haven’t yet informed my own insurer as I was waiting for him to get back to me and also get a quote for my own damage. But if he’s not willing to go through the proper channels where do I stand? 

Aretnap

There are basically three possible outcomes:

(1) You come to an agreement that you are both happy with and settle the claim yourselves with a handful of banknotes
(2) You get your insurance companies involved, or
(3) He huffs and puffs for a bit, then gives up and goes away

If you can't agree to do (1), and he doesn't want to do (2), that basically leaves him with (3). So if he won't go through the "proper channels", he's not in a strong position. 

He could in theory issue a claim against you in the small claims court, but you would (or should) immediately pass the claim on to your insurance company to handle, meaning that he still ends up dealing with your insurance company rather than with you. If you think this is a possibility then you should tell your insurer about the incident sooner rather than later so that there aren't any complications down the line from the fact that you didn't tell them until a court claim turns up. 

macman

Settling this through your insurer is not likely to be cost effective, as your excess probably exceeds the cost of the repair, and the claim will impact upon your next renewal. 
The other party's attitude is rather odd. Why does he offer to pay half the cost of the repairs to his own vehicle? That implies he accepts some  liability. Either one or the other party is liable, and, if you cannot agree on it, the solution is to each pay for your own repairs, or hand it over to your respective insurers, who will almost certainly resolve it as a knock for knock.
Until you have his quote, don't agree or admit anything.

Sandtree

You can do 1 in Aretnap's option list but you would still need to inform your insurers but for information purposes only.

Both parties reversing, no dashcams to show anything, then yu are in a classic 50/50 claim which if insurers were dealing with it they'd both pay 50% of the others losses. In the olden days it'd have been "knock for knock" where each party just deals with their own losses. 

hazeyjane

Thanks. 

Why would anyone would go to the small claims court if they refuse to claim through insurance? If I say I’m willing to take the blame and have them claim all their costs from my insurance surely it’s their fault if they don’t? 

I just want to know that I’m within my rights to insist they do it that way if they want any money out of me. 

hazeyjane

macman said:

The other party's attitude is rather odd. Why does he offer to pay half the cost of the repairs to his own vehicle? 

He doesn’t want the fact he’s been involved in an accident on record and to affect his future insurance, I think. 

Thanks everyone, I’d only seen the first response when I replied earlier. 

Aretnap

hazeyjane said:

Why would anyone would go to the small claims court if they refuse to claim through insurance? If I say I’m willing to take the blame and have them claim all their costs from my insurance surely it’s their fault if they don’t? 

Why would they put why could they?

They could because if you negligently damage someone else's property, that person can claim the cost of the damage from you through the courts. That's a fairly fundamental principle which isn't changed by the fact that you or he have insurance - ultimately you are still the person who caused the damage, so you are the one liable.

Fortunately however your car insurance covers your liabilities to other people. So if someone does issue a court claim against you, you can hand it to your insurer and say "deal with this for me" and they deal with it. Usually they would settle the claim out of court, but in the event that the court did order you to pay something, your insurer would pay on your behalf. That's how insurance works, and it's what you pay your insurer for. 

Incidentally you don't get to decide whether your insurer pays the other guy - that's for your insurer (or ultimately a court if it gets that far) to decide. The terms of your policy will say that you just not admit liability to the other party. Instead you tell your insurer what happened (as you see it) and they decide whether you are to blame, and whether to pay or to dispute the claim.

hazeyjane said:

I just want to know that I’m within my rights to insist they do it that way if they want any money out of me. 

Yes and no. You can't force him to speak to your insurer, but if he won't do that his options for making you pay are extremely limited. He can threaten to take you to the small claims court, and if he doesn't understand how the system works he might even do it. However as above he would gain little by doing this, because he would still end up having to deal with your insurance company. 

csgohan4

I am generally weary about settling without Insurer's knowledge. Nothing stopping the other party from requesting more money, especially in cash, no audit trail of there being payment

If you going through settlement with cash, inform your insurers at the least so it doesn't bite you back