Car accident but don't want to claim on insurance

stop_it

I recently had an accident in my car. The particulars of this incident are not important.

I reported the accident to my insurance company on the basis that this was a 'non fault' incident providing documentation as believe that I was not the driver at fault.

Regrettably, there were no witnesses. Upon investigation, both the insurers have now agreed that this should be treated as a 50/50 fault incident.

The damage to my car is about £150-200 over my excess. The other car had only barely noticeable damage (it was a white van). Not sure if the white van submitted a claim for any repair to their insurers.

Rather than mess about with my insurers and for reasons of the excess, it was my intention to get my car repaired independently.

A couple of questions please

1. Can I at this stage inform my insurance company that I now wish to discontinue my claim and proceed to repair the car myself or is it too late?

2. Does the fact that I would not now be claiming on my insurers for this incident theoretically mean that my premium may not go up as a result of this incident?

3. Despite the fact that I would not be claiming on my insurance will this incident nevertheless be recorded as a 50/50 by my current insurer?

An additional reason that I am asking question 3, is because I feel that my current insurers have not really batted my corner during this incident.

I am therefore considering changing them when my policy renews with them and since a new car insurance policy requires disclosing information about any previous accident I would like some help in respect of this matter ie if I now pay for the cost of repair, does my recent accident stay on my file with my insurers as a 50/50?

Many thanks for any info provided

Car_54

Even if you cancel your claim, the 3rd party's claim remains and will be on your record. It will be shown as "fault", whether it's 50/50 or 10/90.

As for "batting your corner", your insurers really had no choice but to agree 50/50. With two conflicting stories, and no witnesses or other independent evidence, what else could they have done?

Aretnap

Car_54 said:

Even if you cancel your claim, the 3rd party's claim remains and will be on your record. It will be shown as "fault", whether it's 50/50 or 10/90.

This is true if there is a third party claim. However the OP seems unsure as to whether there actually has been one. So his first job is to find out whether the other driver has claimed.

If there is a claim from the other driver and it really is a small one it might be worth asking his insurer if he can reimburse them their costs and have his NCD restored and the accident re-recorded as a non-claim. However if the van has been repaired through insurance the costs may be surprisingly high even if the damage looked minor - especially if there was also a claim for a replacement van while the repairs were being carried out. 

neilmcl

stop_it said:

1. Can I at this stage inform my insurance company that I now wish to discontinue my claim and proceed to repair the car myself or is it too late?

2. Does the fact that I would not now be claiming on my insurers for this incident theoretically mean that my premium may not go up as a result of this incident?

3. Despite the fact that I would not be claiming on my insurance will this incident nevertheless be recorded as a 50/50 by my current insurer?

An additional reason that I am asking question 3, is because I feel that my current insurers have not really batted my corner during this incident.

I am therefore considering changing them when my policy renews with them and since a new car insurance policy requires disclosing information about any previous accident I would like some help in respect of this matter ie if I now pay for the cost of repair, does my recent accident stay on my file with my insurers as a 50/50?

Many thanks for any info provided

1. Yes, it's not too late.

2. The minute you informed them of the accident may (probably will) have an affect on your future premiums. You're now classed as a higher risk regardless of whether you go ahead with a claim or not.

3. Yes, and you will have to declare it as an at fault incident on renewal, or with any other insurer for the next 5 years.

stop_it

Many thanks for your informative replies.

May I please ask one further question.

If I were to change my current insurer, then obviously any new insurer is of course going to ask about any previous accident.

Would they also ask for the value of any such claim and if so would it be accurate to say zero (if i proceed with my own repair). If you see what I mean...

@Artenap I shall find out from my insurer if there was a claim lodged by the other driver.

Cheers

neilmcl

Yes, you can put zero as you've not actually made a claim.

Carrot007

neilmcl said:

Yes, you can put zero as you've not actually made a claim.

But with 50/50 surely the other side will be paid something and that will make it a non zero claim.

jimjames

Carrot007 said:

neilmcl said:

Yes, you can put zero as you've not actually made a claim.

But with 50/50 surely the other side will be paid something and that will make it a non zero claim.

Most of the time you will have no knowledge of any other side's claim so can only report the value of your car claim

neilmcl

Carrot007 said:

neilmcl said:

Yes, you can put zero as you've not actually made a claim.

But with 50/50 surely the other side will be paid something and that will make it a non zero claim.

As above, you can only report the value of your own claim.

Carrot007

jimjames said:

Carrot007 said:

neilmcl said:

Yes, you can put zero as you've not actually made a claim.

But with 50/50 surely the other side will be paid something and that will make it a non zero claim.

Most of the time you will have no knowledge of any other side's claim so can only report the value of your car claim

But if OP is not using their insurance they would surely have to pay it themselves?

chrisw

The value of the claim doesn't really make much difference, whether it's £10 or £10000.

It's rare to know the value of the third party claim and most of the time to know the value of your own claim so there's usually a box to tick which says value of claim unknown.