Making a Claim against 3rd Party - when insured 3rd party only

tintin1960

My daughter has just had her car written off by a truck pulling into the inside lane without seeing her. She is only insured 3rd party and her insurers say that they will not deal with the third party if she wants to claim against them....is this normal? What is the best way for her to proceed? The truck was effectively undamaged, so probably wont claim against her insurance. I am sure the 3rd party will want to argue the toss, but she has been left in limbo. Help/advice appreciated.

uknick

Yes, as she's not comprehensive her insurers don't have to act on her behalf.  When you have comprehensive cover they act as they want to recover any costs they incur whilst repairing their client's car.

She needs to make a claim against the other party.  This is one reason we have legal cover for uninsured losses.  Does she have this?

I am a little puzzled by your comment "...so probably wont claim against her insurance...".  Is there some doubt as to liability?

Aretnap

It's fairly normal. Having third party only cover means that her insurers are only responsible for covering her liabilities to third parties - if she has any liabilities. Damage to her own car is not her insurer's problem in any way, shape or form.

The exception to this would be if she has legal cover (aka motor legal protection), which is an optional extra on some policies. If she does then her insurers should provide a solicitor to assist her with the process of claiming against the lorry driver - if they judge that she has a reasonable chance of success. If they didn't mention this option when she spoke to them then it implies that she doesn't have this cover - but she should check anyway.

If she doesn't have legal cover then her options depend on how clear cut liability is, whether the lorry driver is admitting that it was his fault etc. If it's straightforward then she can probably just contact the lorry driver's insurer and they will deal with her directly. If she's not sure who his insurer is, she can frin out here for a small fee. https://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx

If liability is disputed then things get more knotty - ultimately the only way to force the third party insurer to pay is to take them to court and prove that it was his fault. If he claims that, eg, she drifted into his lane, or she was undertaking him as he pulled in, are there any witnesses who can back up her side of the story.

The other thing she can do is use an accident management company - though as they make most of their money by providing a hire car at exhorbitant rates that they can bill the third party while hers is being repaired they might not be too interested if her car is an obvious write-off, and they certainly won't be interested if there's a serious dispute over liability.

Car_54

Another case where a dashcam would probably have helped establish fault.

DullGreyGuy

Car_54 said:

Another case where a dashcam would probably have helped establish fault.

But still wouldn't be helping the OP.


When you buy TPO/TPFT insurance then for accidents your insurers act in defence only. So if the TP approaches them saying you caused the accident then they will defend you and indemnify you should you be found at fault (partially or fully). 

If the third party makes no approach, eg there's no damage to their truck or they're happy to live with another set of scratches, then there is nothing for your insurers to do. They won't assist you in pursuing the third party for your uninsured losses which in TPO/TPFT includes the damage to your vehicle. If you have LE cover however they will appoint someone to assist under that optional extra policy. 

Her choices are:

1) Approach the third party or their insurers and try to claim directly
2) Appoint an accident management company to deal with it on credit but they may not think its clear cut enough for them to be interested
3) Live with your own damages

TPO/TPFT is often more expensive than comp cover due to negative selection but if you do go with it again in the future I'd argue LE cover becomes even more valuable