Non-fault car accident - claim through own insurance, third partys insurance or credit hire company?

Bingjamin

Hi all,

My neighbour reversed into my car yesterday whilst I was driving past and they were coming off their drive. I have been in contact with my insurer today who has said, due to the current value of the vehicle and the estimated cost of repairs, has deemed the vehicle a total loss, despite the vehicle still being in general working order, albeit dents and scratches on one side.

They have given me three options:
1) Claim through them to provide courtesty car and compensation settlement based on the current value of the vehicle, minus excess (arount £350) +  affected no claims bonus.
2) Claim through Credit Hire company (who they recommend) who will take the claim on, provide care hire and compensation settlement based on the current value of the vehicle, and then retreive payment from the third partys insurance (no excess paid and protected no claims).
3) Claim through the third partys insurance directly to request they settle and provide car hire (no excess paid and protect no claims)

First options doesn't make sense, but I am undecided on other two.

I have read that Credit Hire is a sometime decent route (although I may find my own company), but can become problematic if third party insurance dispute high costs. My thoughts are also that going directly through the third partys insurance may be feaible but I worry they'll try to rip me off with the cars value and give me subpar car replacenent so as to keep costs low.

To add to this, we are also waiting for a lease car to be delivered but are unsure exactly when that may be, so the 'total loss' part of this isnt completely inconvenience if the valuation is acceptable and the timings can line up, as disputing the decision could be another possibility.

Any thoughts, experience, advice welcome here.

Thanks in advance.

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Whichever route you choose, you are not entitled to a hire car beyond the day that your claim is paid out.

In fact, if you go the credit hire or third party insurer route, the third party insurer can argue that you didn't even need a hire car as yours is driveable.

Will your insurer let you retain the salvage?  Then you can keep driving your car on your present insurance until the lease car arrives, and then scrap/sell it.

You will need to claim your excess from the third party, which is what "uninsured loss recovery insurance"  is for if they won't pay up easily..

If you allow your car to be written off and go car-less whilst you wait for the new one, you will have to try and suspend your policy or it will be cancelled.

I'd be wary of the credit-hire parasites.

Grey_Critic

My question to you is what do you pay insurance for if you do not use them.

The horror stories we hear about Credit Hire companies - if you are into pain and grief then buy all means. At this stage you do not know what the other parties insurance are going to say - until then you should not dismiss them and you do not have to make a snap decision on tour own insurance..

Of concern for many must be the readiness of insurance companies just to write vehicles off - no wonder insurance costs are going up.

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Grey_Critic said:

Of concern for many must be the readiness of insurance companies just to write vehicles off - no wonder insurance costs are going up.

They write cars off to save money (that they can pass onto their customers as reduced premiums )

If the cost of repair, storage, a hire car whilst waiting for parts (remember everything, including paint comes from war-torn Ukraine) exceeds the value of the car, they pay out the value of it, and then have a nice deal with the salvagers to get a fat wedge for the scrap.

Blame The War, manufacturers inflated spares prices and the repair industry.

daveyjp

For non fault accidents I have had quotes from my local trusted garage approved by the third party insurer and they paid them.

Far easier, quicker and cheaper (in one case 90% less) than insurance claims management company.

Bingjamin

So speaking with the third party insurer they have refered me to a insurance claims managment company (AX) anyway. Also deemed it a write off and are wanting to assess for compensation amount. I asked the insurer to settle with them direcly but they said dealing with AX is the only way they handle claims. 

This insistence of providing me with a courtesy car unsettles me if I'm honest. I don't need it as I've been using the car since the accident, albeit the third party is saying its unroadworthy.

So I think my options are:
1) Claim through AX, courtesy car, car taken away for assessment and valuation - compensation & scrappage paid 
2) Claim through AX, third party engineer come out to assess and value car + provide quote to buy back.
2) Settle through my own insurance, pay excess (hopefully reimbursed) + assessment for compensation, no optiont to retain

3) Find an alternative insurance management company (AX have some horrible reviews)

Really I just want to get a good deal on the car and limit any fallback.

DullGreyGuy

Are you sure you called the third party insurer? Accident management companies (and feeders) advertise using insurance details to make people call them rather than the insurers claims departments. Secondly people often mistake brokers/intermediaries as their insurers and brokers will certainly sell refer you to an accident management company.

Some insurers do outsource claims handling to third party administrators, some openly, some covertly, but in those cases they'd give you a hire car not a credit hire car. AX do play in both games, as an accident management company for anyone selling details and a TPA for insurers who want to outsource.

Bingjamin

I used the contact number from a screen grab of the third partys policy. I would assume it was the correct no, although I will doube check

DullGreyGuy

Bingjamin said:

I used the contact number from a screen grab of the third partys policy. I would assume it was the correct no, although I will doube check

That Claims telephone number is for Insure Daily who are an intermediary.

This one is slightly complex because the stated underwriter is KGM who have a different number for claims of [Removed by Forum Team] however KGM themselves are an intermediary as well. The true insurer appears to be Zurich

Sometimes insurers delegate claims handling to intermediaries/sellers (fully or partially), sometimes they dont but the intermediary puts their own number out there to take the first notification of loss and look for revenue opportunities via accident management companies. 

Bingjamin

DullGreyGuy said:

Bingjamin said:

I used the contact number from a screen grab of the third partys policy. I would assume it was the correct no, although I will doube check

That Claims telephone number is for Insure Daily who are an intermediary.

This one is slightly complex because the stated underwriter is KGM who have a different number for claims of [Removed by forum Team] however KGM themselves are an intermediary as well. The true insurer appears to be Zurich

Sometimes insurers delegate claims handling to intermediaries/sellers (fully or partially), sometimes they dont but the intermediary puts their own number out there to take the first notification of loss and look for revenue opportunities via accident management companies. 

Im assuming I'd get similar treatment speaking to KGM, so do you think contacting Zurich directly could work?

DullGreyGuy

Bingjamin said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Bingjamin said:

I used the contact number from a screen grab of the third partys policy. I would assume it was the correct no, although I will doube check

That Claims telephone number is for Insure Daily who are an intermediary.

This one is slightly complex because the stated underwriter is KGM who have a different number for claims of [Removed by forum Team] however KGM themselves are an intermediary as well. The true insurer appears to be Zurich

Sometimes insurers delegate claims handling to intermediaries/sellers (fully or partially), sometimes they dont but the intermediary puts their own number out there to take the first notification of loss and look for revenue opportunities via accident management companies. 

Im assuming I'd get similar treatment speaking to KGM, so do you think contacting Zurich directly could work?

MGAs (which is what KGM are, or a coverholder if you dislike americanisms) can go either way and can have full claims handling authority. Zurich may be happy to deal direct or may push you to KGM if they've delegated their authority on claims.

In some MGA arrangements, its worrying how little the true insurer really knows about what their capacity has been put against (but then if you're looking for jobs in the insurance industry in projects there is always demand for those that know how to make MGAs work from the insurer perspective).