Non fault accident. Auxillis.

greentreeman

Hi, I was recently involved in a minor accident in my daughters car. I'm a named driver. I was stationary at a give way junction and was hit from behind. It was clearly not my fault and the 3rd party agreed.

My daughter's insurance company,  Admiral, have referred us to Auxillis to arrange hire car , and Admiral Law to recover costs and deal with a probable whiplash claim. She does not have legal expenses cover.

We have been provided  with the 3rd party's insurance details and a reference number but haven't called yet.

Having read some bad reviews about Auxillis I'm wondering if we should deal with the 3rd party's company direct rather than through Auxillis.

[Deleted User]

Do not deal with the 3rd parties insurance or anything/anyone.
Use your own company to sort out and advise you.

From experience, using your own service is better.

daveyjp

And I have had a far better experience going through the third party than using an accident (mis) management company whose only aim in life was to get me in an expensive hire car, which wasn't needed, for as long as possible.

My approach is to get the third party to agree their client is 100% at fault before passing the vehicle over for repairs, but this may not be possible if the car cannot be driven and is needed.

caprikid1

"And I have had a far better experience going through the third party than using an accident (mis) management company whose only aim in life was to get me in an expensive hire car, which wasn't needed, for as long as possible."

I use to be of that opinion, then I dealt with a certain Direct insurance company, they lied, bullied, blackmailed me into submission. 

I had to take some money and spend out to get my car repaired safely in the end. Considerably out of pocket but the standard of repair they wanted to carry out would have made the car unsafe (Straightening structural panels instead of replacing them).

Needless to say I was not insured with the Direct insurance company the person who hit me was, I was stationary and ended up about £3K out of pocket. Not sure dealing with an accident management company would have made the outcome different but at least it would not be me who was lied to and bullied.

DullGreyGuy

No matter which of the three paths you take you will find some that say they've had a great experience and others, probably more vocal, that have said they had a bad experience. 

Every claim is different, every claim handler is different, every claimant is different. No matter the option you can have bad luck but ultimately the majority dont, going through a claim will never be fun but most are ok. 

Personally, I'd prefer to go direct and avoid the inflated hire car charges that credit hire involves but others prefer the simplicity of a company that'll do everything for them and give them a like for like replacement vehicle rather than trying to get the 3 baby seats into the back of a 3 door Corsa etc.

greentreeman

This car is likely going to be a total loss so repair quality is unlikely to be an issue. Was more concerned with inflated hire costs from Auxillis which could become payable if 3rd party contest.

 I think I'm going to call them and see if they accept  100% liability.

Edit. Thanks DullGreyGuy our posts crossed.

ontheroad1970

Bear in mind that if write off is likely, if you through third party, you will have no recourse through the regulator if you can't agree a settlement figure set by them, as you are not their customer.

[Deleted User]

Best thing to do is call the third party insurer and explain that you want to make a claim, and you believe that the accident is 100% the other person's fault. Hopefully their customer has already contacted them and admitted it.

If they agree then it's easy to proceed. They will likely offer to repair the car for you and provide a courtesy car. You can also tell them you want to use your own repair shop, but you will need to get a quote and get it approved first. If you go that route the quote can include a courtesy car, or you can hire one as long as it's reasonable (similar to your daughter's, market rate hire costs).

The only time using the third party insurer can be an issue is if you have a dispute with them, because you are not their customer so you can't complain to the Ombudsman. The most common issues are low valuation if the car is written off, and quality of repairs. Using your own garage makes the latter less likely.

If you use your own insurer then you have more rights as a customer, but the fact that they want you to use a known dodgy management company that over-charges for hire cars means that route may be its own can of worms.

greentreeman

Thanks for all advice. Have gone through 3rd party's insurers for car replacement and left total loss claim with my daughter's insurers.

DullGreyGuy

greentreeman said:

Was more concerned with inflated hire costs from Auxillis which could become payable if 3rd party contest.

 I think I'm going to call them and see if they accept  100% liability.

Edit. Thanks DullGreyGuy our posts crossed.

You clearly need to read the Auxillis agreement personally, it may require a dark room, cold towel and strong drink ready for afterwards and the wordings tend to be very convoluted to deal with various legal issues.

Generally speaking, as long as you continue to support a credit hire company and havent committed fraud, then you will have no liability for anything they are unable to recover. A big part of the justification of the high rates is because its a service to innocent parties and they have to write off notable sums, eg when the third party turns out to be uninsured or they gave fake details etc. 

greentreeman

We have now gone through the 3rd party's insurer for hire car ,  which was hassle free so far. But now Admiral are saying they'll deduct her excess from the settlement AND she'll lose her no claims discount, 4 years.

 I'm  wondering  if we should  forget Admiral completely,  other than "information only" and just go with the 3rd party's insurer?