No-Fault Accident & Injury - Make a Claim Through My Own Insurer?

Jambo27

I am wondering if anyone had experience/guidence.

I had an accident where someone ran into the back of my car while I was stationary waiting to come onto a roundabout. Massive crack running almost the whole length of the bumper.

Their insurer (Hastings) has telephoned multiple times and left a VM/SMS offering to repair.

I already have a back/neck problem and claim PIP for it, but this has made it worse. Not sure if I want to make a claim for injuries though, depending on how much hastle it is.


Should I make a claim through my insurer or let their do it? I know that if I want to make a claim for in injuries, I will need to do this myself if I don't go through my own.

Brie

You at a minimum need to inform your insurer.  Why not take the opportunity to discuss what's best with them?  Frankly if you are going to have expenses sorting out the injury you need to be claiming from someone - but that's just my opinion.

Jambo27

Brie said:

You at a minimum need to inform your insurer.  Why not take the opportunity to discuss what's best with them?  Frankly if you are going to have expenses sorting out the injury you need to be claiming from someone - but that's just my opinion.

Thank you for commenting. Yes I am going to inform them anyway as I'm I have to.

I see insurance companies as always trying to ill-inform based on what's best for them and then putting up premiums for simply discussing and saying it's an claim, even though it's only informed.

But yes, I think the best is to ask them directly.

Car_54

I have had several rear-end shunts over the years, and on three occasions suffered whiplash.

In every case my own insurer referred me to a no win- no fee lawyer for the injury claim, which was settled  without any problems.

Brie

You don't say what you are employed or not but assuming you are employed you might be penalised for not being at work if you have a lot of medical appointments, in which case making a claim would be crucial. 

On the other hand if you are on benefits take care about payouts in case you get something that takes you over the allowed limits for any means tested benefits.  In this case having interim payments may work better.  So saying "I will accept this payment but consider it only a portion of what I'm due while you sort out the rest" might mean you get a couple of £K which won't take you over the limit, you can make sure you pay some bills and when you get the balance you will be able to tuck that away without penalty.   Just a thought...

Jambo27

Brie said:

You don't say what you are employed or not but assuming you are employed you might be penalised for not being at work if you have a lot of medical appointments, in which case making a claim would be crucial. 

On the other hand if you are on benefits take care about payouts in case you get something that takes you over the allowed limits for any means tested benefits.  In this case having interim payments may work better.  So saying "I will accept this payment but consider it only a portion of what I'm due while you sort out the rest" might mean you get a couple of £K which won't take you over the limit, you can make sure you pay some bills and when you get the balance you will be able to tuck that away without penalty.   Just a thought...

Benefits and payout a concideration thanks.

Not working at the moment. Got made redundent 8 months ago, plus the pain/spazaming from my back was intense. Have spent a lot of time seeing private physical therpists and made big recoveries since then, but this accident has made it feel intense again.

Like Car_54 mentioned earlier, the insurance referred them to a lawyer, rather than doing anything themselves. and have just read other stories of this scenario.

Jambo27

Car_54 said:

I have had several rear-end shunts over the years, and on three occasions suffered whiplash.

In every case my own insurer referred me to a no win- no fee lawyer for the injury claim, which was settled  without any problems.

Good to know, thanks for the info.

Aretnap

Your car insurance does not cover you for personal injury (other than possibly a very small amount for very serious injuries) so claiming for the injury through your own insurer is not really an option that you have - any claim for that has to be against the other driver and his insurer.

If you have legal cover with your policy then your own insurer should appoint a solicitor to help you with the process of making an injury claim. If you don't then the injury is not really any of your insurer's business - they might refer you to/recommend a personal injury solicitor or you can find your own. 

As far as damage to your car goes, the advantages of claiming through your own insurer are that the quality of the repairs will be guaranteed by the insurer, and that you can use the Financial Ombudsman service (which is free to you) to make a complaint if you're not happy with the quality of the repairs, or the amount that you are offered if the car turns out to be a write-off. The advantage of using the third party insurer is that there is no need to pay your excess upfront and claim it back later, no reduction in your no claims bonus if your renewal comes before the claim is settled, and they will likely be keen to provide a like for like replacement car rather than a small runabout which your repairs are being done.

Jambo27

Aretnap said:

Your car insurance does not cover you for personal injury (other than possibly a very small amount for very serious injuries) so claiming for the injury through your own insurer is not really an option that you have - any claim for that has to be against the other driver and his insurer.

If you have legal cover with your policy then your own insurer should appoint a solicitor to help you with the process of making an injury claim. If you don't then the injury is not really any of your insurer's business - they might refer you to/recommend a personal injury solicitor or you can find your own. 

As far as damage to your car goes, the advantages of claiming through your own insurer are that the quality of the repairs will be guaranteed by the insurer, and that you can use the Financial Ombudsman service (which is free to you) to make a complaint if you're not happy with the quality of the repairs, or the amount that you are offered if the car turns out to be a write-off. The advantage of using the third party insurer is that there is no need to pay your excess upfront and claim it back later, no reduction in your no claims bonus if your renewal comes before the claim is settled, and they will likely be keen to provide a like for like replacement car rather than a small runabout which your repairs are being done.

@Aretnap Thank you so much for that explanation, it really helps to give me a cleaer picture.

I've never been involved in accident before adn now I'm realising that if I was at fault I have to make a claim. But if I am the victim I have different options and need to consider the best options for me.

rigolith

Claim for the injury and get all the treatment you can for it. Don't be a few years down the line in pain and regretting it.

unforeseen

rigolith said:

Claim for the injury and get all the treatment you can for it. Don't be a few years down the line in pain and regretting it.

The problem will be separating the existing back/neck problems that the OP is getting Pip for and new injuries not part of the existing condition.