Sainsbury's van run into car

Downthedrain

I've just had a call from my wife saying a Sainsbury's delivery van has run into the back of her and seriously damaged the car. It appears she is shaken but appears to be OK.

The driver has completed an accident report sheet and given her a copy. She has taken photographs of the damage and the scene. The driver said Sainsbury's will handle the repairs. I'm concerned about the knock-on with other vehicle insurance - premiums, no claims etc.

We will need to hire a car as we live far from public transport and right now my Father who is 93 has a serious and worsening prognosis and I need to have transport. We only have one car at present (plus 2 motorcycles).

Any advice on the immediate next steps would be greatly appreciated.

pramsay13

Phone your insurance and inform them.
Do you have hire car replacement? 

born_again

Talk to Sainsburys would be the best option. 
Or if you are fully comp your insurance co (who should be informed anyway) about a hire car.

mr_stripey

Inform your insurance company. If you have courtesy car replacement on your policy they will sort it.

Downthedrain

She's just got back home and the car is driveable, but not good. The form she's been given says Sainsbury's will take care of the garage bills and hire car cost and there's a number to contact. If they do, then there's no excess to pay to our own insurer, but there's bound to be a knock-on in future premiums.

[Deleted User]

Hi,

Downthedrain said:

 but there's bound to be a knock-on in future premiums.

wouldn't think so if your wife is faultless.

daveyjp

Don't assume there will be a knock on with future premiums.

I had a non fault claim late last year (only reported to my insurance, claim was through third party) just before a renewal quote had arrived, updated the quote to include the incident, no change to premium.

Car_54

Downthedrain said:

She's just got back home and the car is driveable, but not good. The form she's been given says Sainsbury's will take care of the garage bills and hire car cost and there's a number to contact. If they do, then there's no excess to pay to our own insurer, but there's bound to be a knock-on in future premiums.

Any excess would be recoverable from Sainsbury's.

DullGreyGuy

Downthedrain said:

She's just got back home and the car is driveable, but not good. The form she's been given says Sainsbury's will take care of the garage bills and hire car cost and there's a number to contact. If they do, then there's no excess to pay to our own insurer, but there's bound to be a knock-on in future premiums.

A single non-fault incident is unlikely to materially impact premiums for someone is otherwise a good risk, as others have said, some people see no impact at all others a modest one. If you are a poor risk or already have a string of claims (fault or otherwise) then due to the compounding nature of most rating engines the impact will be much more significant. You can only really judge at the next renewal when you shop around. 

There are several reasons why dealing directly with Sainsbury's selected accident management firm is likely to be the easiest route but be aware as you are not legally their insurance customer you wont have the right to complain to the Ombudsman if things go wrong. 

Grumpy_chap

Take care to ensure that you do not inadvertently engage in a credit hire agreement for any hire car.

Given that this is a Sainsbury's vehicle and they are not disputing liability, I suspect that Sainsbury's will manage things in a fairly smooth way.

Downthedrain

There's no dispute in liability. Just got to get a quote tomorrow for the repair. However, they did say that there's no need to notify my own insurer as they're handling everything. I'm not sure about this. We've always been entirely open in all dealings with insurers of any kind.