Credit hire after accident

Ik51

Hello,

Recently somebody went into the back of my car at some traffic lights. Not much damage, a small dint and some scratches. I told my insurance partly incase they tried to claim against me. I was thinking about just leaving the damage as it isn't much. But then if I come to sell I don't want to end up with it valued less than it should. And also I would like the car to be checked as somone else has mentioned the underneath may have damage that I wouldn't know about.

My insurance has put me though to auxillis which I had never heard of before. They said it would save me the excess and I wouldn't lose my no claims as I wasn't at fault. I just wondered if anyone had any experience with them and could offer any advice.

Thanks.

daveyjp

As the car is still driveable and damage appears light, get the other side to fully admit liability before progressing the repair.

Sandtree

Ik51 said:

My insurance has put me though to auxillis which I had never heard of before. They said it would save me the excess and I wouldn't lose my no claims as I wasn't at fault. I just wondered if anyone had any experience with them and could offer any advice.

They are Admiral Group's pet credit repair/hire company.

95% of all credit repairs/hire go fine without any problems. Of the remainder 90% have a minor bit of back and forth on the number of days hire or if you really needed a like for like hire car etc but ultimately get settled. The remainder are the horror stories you will see posted here but are typically when the OP has a £500 car that was a total loss but ran up a £30k credit hire bill (unbeknownst to them at the time) and the third party insurers refuse to settle the hire bill.

The only thing to remember is that as soon as you sign you must continue to support them and their efforts in whatever they request. Obviously read the T&Cs, some are complex for legal reasons, but most the only time you can become liable for anything is either 1) you stop supporting them, 2) you refuse to give the car back when instructed etc or 3) you've committed fraud - a dispute on circumstances isn't sufficient to trigger this.

Ik51

Thank you. That makes me feel better. Somone had told me about getting pushback and the other side requesting their bank statements to prove they couldn't afford a hire car themselves which seems crazy considering I thought insurance is meant so you don't end up with these kindnof bills when something happens!

Sandtree

Ik51 said:

Thank you. That makes me feel better. Somone had told me about getting pushback and the other side requesting their bank statements to prove they couldn't afford a hire car themselves which seems crazy considering I thought insurance is meant so you don't end up with these kindnof bills when something happens!

Your insurance only covers certain losses like damage to your vehicle, £100 of personal effects in your vehicle etc. In the event of an accident you may sustain a host of other losses that you haven't insured... the new MacBookPro that well exceeds £100, whiplash, time off work, your excess etc.

Temporary replacement vehicle is a bit more of a grey area as most policies only provide for a garage provided courtesy car that will typically be a group A vehicle which may or may not be sufficient for peoples needs and is subject to availability. 

Most insurers generally trust each other, and indeed there are things like the RIPE agreement, and so insured losses are generally  settled easily once liability has been resolved.

Uninsured losses, like credit hire or the other times listed above are checked more rigorously because anyone can claim anything

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't do it. Just contact the 3rd party's insurance and claim. They will offer to sort it for you. Tell them no, you will get quotes from your preferred garage/dealer and let them know. Get quotes including a courtesy car, or using local hire prices.

Keep track of all your costs. Time off work, taxis, increased insurance premiums etc.

It's more work but you will probably be better off than going with those clowns.