Claim on Car Insurance - Not sure how it works

rtidrtid

Hi there - I am confused about car insurance. I had my first ever accident recently. I hit another unattended parked car. The owner came out and we exchanged details.

Both our cars had damage. I called up Swinton to register the claim.

Later the other party and I went to the same garage (it was local to us) and the garage gave two seperate quotes. The garage said to me, my car doesn't have much damage but as a claim is being made anyway I may as well get mine fixed.

A month later...

I haven't got mine fixed yet, the other party contacted me to say their car is fixed and sorted. I called up Swinton a few days later and they confirmed the other car was repaired it was registered as non-fault and the case is now closed.

My insurance policy is ending soon, so I started looking at new quotes

However I haven't had my car repaired yet. This is where I am confused. If I don't get my car repaired, that means I don't pay excess and also does that mean that when I look for new insurance technically I haven't made a claim? Or is it a claim has been made, but there is just no excess for me to pay as I haven't had my car repaired?

If I need to pay excess I can probably live without getting my car repaired, the damage wasn't that great. But I am confused as to if I need to declare that a claim has been made or not.

Sorry if this is simple and I am not getting it.

DE_612183

you have made a claim on your insurance - your insurance company have aid for the other car to be repaired - you must disclose this when you get quotes.

Why have you not had your car repaired yet?

rtidrtid

Thank you. The garage need to keep my car for 3 days, but I need it daily for work, so I haven't found the time yet

BarelySentientAI

rtidrtid said:

Both our cars had damage. I called up Swinton to register the claim.

You had a claim.  A no-fault claim (which seems very strange if you hit an unattended parked car and your insurer has had to pay for their repair), but certainly a claim.

Annemos

Does the Poster mean its the other car that has the no-fault claim? This just happened to my sister. She was the one with the parked car. 

On the CUE, my sister has "Notification Only" for her Insurer and she has kept her No claims. 

We can also see the other driver with personal details blacked out. His entry shows ACCIDENT and we can see what was claimed to fix my sister's car.  (Not amounts, but where it was done etc.) 

Yes you must declare this, I would agree. 

lisyloo

it's a bit concerning if they've closed the case. You really should get your car sorted ASAP if you want it done.
Can you get a lift, public transport, do it whilst you take leave,
Have you asked the garage if a courtesy car is available.
Worst case you'd have to hire a car if you can't fit it in with leave.

cw8825

Op does not need to get it repaired if they so wish. 

As long as it is roadworthy and not a danger

Op should be saying yes been involved in a claim which should be fault bear in mind Swinton are a broker and unlikely to have dealt with any claim