Car accident - Not my fault

thecrater

Hello,
Unfortunately, I had a car accident that was not my fault. The driver only gave me his name and mobile number. He moved his car after the accident and went into a side road. I had to move to follow him in case he ran off.
I managed to take pictures of the damage to his van and the registration number. He refused to give me anything else and drove off. I was still startled by the whole thing so did not think to call the police or do anything especially since he drove away as soon as he could. 

I submitted a claim to my insurance company. They are trying to send me to one of their repair garages. I would rather go with one I am more familiar with, but they basically said that if I went with my own garage (Toyota approved) that I would not receive a courtesy car and that any courtesy car that Toyota provide me with would need to be added to my policy (implying that I would have to pay to add it). They also said that I would have to pay the excess and lose my no-claim bonus until they receive an admission of guilt from the other party. I thought the whole point of insurance and the picture evidence etc was that they would clearly determine that it is not my fault. The damage to my car is on the rear right side of the car and the damage to the other party's van is to the front left. It would be impossible for me to be guilty, and I expect this to be their final conclusion.

I asked how long the investigation would take and they said as long as it takes basically.

What shall I do? The engineer I saw who is looking to give me a repair estimate will replace the tyre and wheel as they're also scratched and explained that insurance companies don't like doing that to try and save money. I fear that the garage the insurance company is pushing me to use would probably do the minimum required to repair the car while minimising the costs to the insurance company which would obviously not be in my interest.


Thank you in advance

DanDare999

thecrater said:

Hello,
Unfortunately, I had a car accident that was not my fault. The driver only gave me his name and mobile number. He moved his car after the accident and went into a side road. I had to move to follow him in case he ran off.
I managed to take pictures of the damage to his van and the registration number. He refused to give me anything else and drove off. I was still startled by the whole thing so did not think to call the police or do anything especially since he drove away as soon as he could. 

I submitted a claim to my insurance company. They are trying to send me to one of their repair garages. I would rather go with one I am more familiar with, but they basically said that if I went with my own garage (Toyota approved) that I would not receive a courtesy car and that any courtesy car that Toyota provide me with would need to be added to my policy (implying that I would have to pay to add it). They also said that I would have to pay the excess and lose my no-claim bonus until they receive an admission of guilt from the other party. I thought the whole point of insurance and the picture evidence etc was that they would clearly determine that it is not my fault. The damage to my car is on the rear right side of the car and the damage to the other party's van is to the front left. It would be impossible for me to be guilty, and I expect this to be their final conclusion.

I asked how long the investigation would take and they said as long as it takes basically.

What shall I do? The engineer I saw who is looking to give me a repair estimate will replace the tyre and wheel as they're also scratched and explained that insurance companies don't like doing that to try and save money. I fear that the garage the insurance company is pushing me to use would probably do the minimum required to repair the car while minimising the costs to the insurance company which would obviously not be in my interest.


Thank you in advance

What if they claim you changed lanes/moved into their path giving them no time to respond? No dash cam/cctv or independent witness then it's 50/50.

Car_54

The van driver was obliged by law to give his name & address, plus those of the vehicle owner. A mobile phone number is not enough and may be useless. Reporting that to the police can’t do any harm, and it’s certainly something you should be aware of in future.

Read your policy. The insurer probably guarantees any repairs, if they do it doesn’t  matter which repairer they use. Your ‘Toyota approved’ garage may well subcontract their bodywork to the same shop!

diystarter7

Hi
Sorry to hear about your accident.
It happens to the best of us as the often careless etc are well versed on avoiding blame etc and basically bullies.

Re insurance, take it to the garage you want tell them first. However, be aware they may have a longer wait .

The repair has to be satisfactory.

possibly call the non emergency cop shop number and see what they say

prowla

Check what your policy says about using your own preferred repairer.

daveyjp

The insurer approach is how it works.  Get the car fixed then argue liability.  It can be done the other way if your vehicle is still safe to drive and if the other side is 100% at falt you won't have to pay anything.

However Both parties always say they weren't at fault.  Insurers will often agree unless there is very good evidence to suggest otherwise.

DanDare999

Car_54 said:

The van driver was obliged by law to give his name & address, plus those of the vehicle owner. A mobile phone number is not enough and may be useless. Reporting that to the police can’t do any harm, and it’s certainly something you should be aware of in future.

Read your policy. The insurer probably guarantees any repairs, if they do it doesn’t  matter which repairer they use. Your ‘Toyota approved’ garage may well subcontract their bodywork to the same shop!

What good can it do? 

I agree with the in future comment but I would suggest that as it's in the hands of the insurance company the details are there to follow this one up. 

diystarter7

OP

I was thing back re courtesy car when some clown crashed into my car and my insurance said the same as per link,
I used my own garage and used a now win, no fee lot to claim back car costs ie hire costs i rented a like for like car.

https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/guide/approved-repairers/

from the link

Key points

• When you make an insurance claim for car repairs, you can choose your own repairer
• Your insurer probably won’t include a courtesy car if you choose to do this
• You might have to pay higher excess and the repairs won’t be guaranteed by your insurer
• Send quotes to your insurer for approval before having repair work carried out

If you take up their offer of using an approved repairer, that means using the insurer's own network of garages that they work with to get better deals and keep costs down.

But you might prefer to go for your own choice of repairer, because you trust them to do a good job, or simply because they’re local to you.

 

Your rights when it comes to repairs

You have a legal right to choose who repairs your car, even if you’re making a car insurance claim for it.

According to legislation known as the Block Exemption Regulation, your insurer can’t force you to use their repairers and they’ll still pay out for the repairs if your claim’s accepted.

It means you can choose to use a garage you know and trust to do a good job, and saves you travelling to your insurer’s chosen repairer.

However, your insurance provider might impose extra terms if you don’t use their approved mechanics such as charging a higher excess, limiting the repair cost or not giving you a courtesy car.

 

Disadvantages of using your own repairer

There are a few drawbacks to going to your own repairer - check the terms of your policy to find out if you’re affected by any of these.

Courtesy car

According to Defaqto, 90% of 344 comprehensive car insurance policies listed offered a courtesy car as standard.
But only 6% would provide the courtesy car if the customer[1]

Guarantees

Following a claim where a repair has been completed by an approved repairer, insurance providers will typically guarantee the repairs for a set period, such as three years or more.

If you use your own repairer you won’t benefit from this guarantee, although your chosen repairer might still offer their own guarantee.

Of the 344 policies checked on Defaqto, 89% would guarantee all repairs made by a nominated repairer.
Of the policies that offered a guarantee on repairs, the guarantee was three to four years for 39% of policies and five years or more for 59%.

Additional excess

You could be charged an additional excess for using your own repairer.

This can be as much as 100% added to the standard excess.

Check your policy documents carefully to find out if there’s an additional excess for choosing your own repairer.

Equivalent cost of repairs

The final issue with using your own choice of repairer is that your insurer may not pay out the full cost of the repairs.

This is because it might argue that it could’ve arranged the repairs for less through its approved repairer.

If this is the case, the insurer may only agree to pay out what it would have paid to have the work done with its approved garage, which may be less than what your own repairer would charge.

It’s a good idea to get a quote from your own chosen repairer before getting any work done so you can send it to your insurer and find out if it’s willing to bear the full cost.

 

What to do if you want to use your own repairer

If you do want to use your own repairer, the first thing you’ll need to do is check your policy documents for any conditions and additional excesses.

Remember, you’re highly unlikely to be provided with a courtesy car by your insurer, so if you need to stay on the road, find out if your chosen repairer can offer you a vehicle instead. They might even give you one free of charge.

Get a quote from your chosen repairer and send it to your insurer for approval - you might have to email it post it. Follow it up with a phone call if you’re in a hurry to get repairs done.

If your insurer agrees to the cost of the work, make sure you’re clear over whether you’ll have to pay the garage yourself and claim the money back, or if your insurer will pay the repairer directly.

 

What happens once your claim’s approved

After your insurer has processed your claim, it’ll send someone out to assess the damage to your vehicle and work out how much it’ll cost to fix.

It’ll then send you a list of its approved repairers.

If you decide to use your own choice of garage, your insurer might ask you to send it an estimate of the repairs instead.

If you attempt to repair your car before it’s been assessed, your insurer could refuse you a courtesy car and your pay-out.

Once your insurance company has all the details, it can decide whether it’s worth repairing the car.

If the damage is particularly bad, it’ll write off your vehicle and offer you its market value.

Chat to your insurer if you think any decisions it’s made have been unfair.

If you can’t resolve the issue with it, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman.

By Derri Dunn

First published 8 June 2015

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thecrater

Surely, they would be able to tell from the damage to my car that it couldn't have been a case of changing lanes! he was doing a 3 point U turn and was still reversing when I passed him. He started moving forward and hit me. The fact that he hit the passenger door and it needs to be replaced now clearly proves that I couldn't have been changing lanes and hit the left corner of his van. It also proves that I had enough clearance to move hence the hit to the rear passenger door on the right. It shows that he did not look before changing gears to move forward. It's difficult to describe but surely the engineer who inspects the car will be able to tell right? 

Am I being unreasonable in expecting my insurance company to be on my side and prove me right especially given the damage to my car? 

Flight3287462

So why didn't you stoop and allow him to complete his three point turn?

DanDare999

thecrater said:

Surely, they would be able to tell from the damage to my car that it couldn't have been a case of changing lanes! he was doing a 3 point U turn and was still reversing when I passed him. He started moving forward and hit me. The fact that he hit the passenger door and it needs to be replaced now clearly proves that I couldn't have been changing lanes and hit the left corner of his van. It also proves that I had enough clearance to move hence the hit to the rear passenger door on the right. It shows that he did not look before changing gears to move forward. It's difficult to describe but surely the engineer who inspects the car will be able to tell right? 

Am I being unreasonable in expecting my insurance company to be on my side and prove me right especially given the damage to my car? 

Given what you've said an element of this accident is down to you, you'll be lucky to get out of this with 100% his fault.