Just had accident (Not my fault) - How to handle?

Reason123

Hi All

I just come off the phone from my insurance company confused and was hoping for guidance please.

I was stationary and the driver in front reversed into my car causing damage to my car. 

I have the details of the driver / his company / his insurer

I also have contact of witness confirming the same

Option 1.
My insurance says I can go via them but I pay the excess, will now have a claim against my name and possibly lose NCB. (What have I been paying for for all these years?)

Option 2.
My insurance recommended 3rd party, no excess to pay, but I have to put my name down for all damage repair costs should they not recover from the other person / insurance company.

Option 3.
I go direct to the other drivers insurance hoping they accept fault and will fix my car. And any issues thereafter, my insurance company will not help me.


Any guidance on how best to proceed I will greatly appreciate

Thank you

MattMattMattUK

Reason123 said:

Hi All

I just come off the phone from my insurance company confused and was hoping for guidance please.

I was stationary and the driver in front reversed into my car causing damage to my car. 

I have the details of the driver / his company / his insurer

I also have contact of witness confirming the same

Option 1.
My insurance says I can go via them but I pay the excess, will now have a claim against my name and possibly lose NCB. (What have I been paying for for all these years?)

Option 2.
My insurance recommended 3rd party, no excess to pay, but I have to put my name down for all damage repair costs should they not recover from the other person / insurance company.

Option 3.
I go direct to the other drivers insurance hoping they accept fault and will fix my car. And any issues thereafter, my insurance company will not help me.


Any guidance on how best to proceed I will greatly appreciate

Thank you

What evidence do you have that they reversed into you, dashcam footage, witness? It is highly likely that they will claim you drove into the back of them unless you have evidence.

Reason123

I have a witness that see that the other driver reversed into me. As my first thought was exactly as you say

Mark_d

In your situation I would use an accident management company eg.
https://www.autoclaimsassist.co.uk/

With my insurer I have a comprehensive policy with legal protection.  In an accident my insurance company has always acted in my best interest however I appreciate that the same is not everyone's experience

Reason123

Thank you, I will consider the same. My insurance advised to use 3rd party Auxillis which may be similar to above.
I paid for the top policy which includes legal protection so I may speak with them also before deciding my claim route

Exodi

Reason123 said:

I have a witness that see that the other driver reversed into me. As my first thought was exactly as you say

OK I won't beat around the bush - did you (or the other party) happen to know this witness before the accident?

If your witness just so happens to be someone that was also in the vehicle with you and may or may not be a friend/family member, then the credibility of your witness would be considered (especially if the two parties end up having conflicting versions of events)

Furthermore, it's not uncommon that after some thought the other party may claim that you drove into the back of them (and damage to the back of someones car is usually viewed as the other parties fault by default).

If you had an independent witness (and ideally footage) it doesn't matter which insurance you claim off.

EssexExile

When I had a no-fault accident I told my insurance company and they did everything at no cost to me, that's what I pay them for.

I do use a well known insurance company and I did have dashcam evidence, perhaps these helped.

Car_54

Reason123 said:

Hi All

I just come off the phone from my insurance company confused and was hoping for guidance please.

I was stationary and the driver in front reversed into my car causing damage to my car. 

I have the details of the driver / his company / his insurer

I also have contact of witness confirming the same

Option 1.
My insurance says I can go via them but I pay the excess, will now have a claim against my name and possibly lose NCB. (What have I been paying for for all these years?)

Option 2.
My insurance recommended 3rd party, no excess to pay, but I have to put my name down for all damage repair costs should they not recover from the other person / insurance company.

Option 3.
I go direct to the other drivers insurance hoping they accept fault and will fix my car. And any issues thereafter, my insurance company will not help me.


Any guidance on how best to proceed I will greatly appreciate

Thank you

Whichever option you choose, you will have to declare an accident and a claim for the next five years.

But only option 1 will affect your NCB, and then only if the other driver's insurer .doesn't pay up.

DullGreyGuy

Reason123 said:

Thank you, I will consider the same. My insurance advised to use 3rd party Auxillis which may be similar to above.
I paid for the top policy which includes legal protection so I may speak with them also before deciding my claim route

Ok, so you're insured with an Admiral Group insurer.

Reason123 said:

Option 1.
My insurance says I can go via them but I pay the excess, will now have a claim against my name and possibly lose NCB. (What have I been paying for for all these years?)

Option 2.
My insurance recommended 3rd party, no excess to pay, but I have to put my name down for all damage repair costs should they not recover from the other person / insurance company.

Option 3.
I go direct to the other drivers insurance hoping they accept fault and will fix my car. And any issues thereafter, my insurance company will not help me.

Fault for insurance is nothing to do with blame but if at the end of the claim they have a net outlay or not. 

So go with option 1, the third party is insured and your insurers get their money back it's a non-fault claim, won't impact your NCD etc. If it turns out they're not insured, then your insurer may or may not be able to get their money back from the the third party themselves and so it may become a fault claim. Clearly having a witness will help reduce the risk, as soon as they can check insurers are correct helps again. 

If it does go down as fault then it depends if you have NCD Protection or not, if you do then its one life lost NCD stays the same. If you dont then typically your NCD will reduce to 3 years, if you have 5 or more years, or by 2 years if you have less than 5 years. 



Option 2 - typically you are not on the line for any shortfall from what they get back as long as you support them in their recovery attempts (and haven't committed fraud). However inevitably read what you are agreeing to as there are variances. 

Option 3 - Its not really a "hoping", give it X days, you speak to them, if they aren't in a position to help you either wait a bit longer or chose one of the other two routes. 

There is one other consideration to point 3 which is if things do go wrong and you cannot come to an agreement with the insurer you cannot go to the Ombudsman for help as you are not their customer and would need to go to court. 

cw8825

Reason123 said:

Hi All

I just come off the phone from my insurance company confused and was hoping for guidance please.

I was stationary and the driver in front reversed into my car causing damage to my car. 

I have the details of the driver / his company / his insurer

I also have contact of witness confirming the same

Option 1.
My insurance says I can go via them but I pay the excess, will now have a claim against my name and possibly lose NCB. (What have I been paying for for all these years?)

Option 2.
My insurance recommended 3rd party, no excess to pay, but I have to put my name down for all damage repair costs should they not recover from the other person / insurance company.

Option 3.
I go direct to the other drivers insurance hoping they accept fault and will fix my car. And any issues thereafter, my insurance company will not help me.


Any guidance on how best to proceed I will greatly appreciate

Thank you

All options will require you to declare an accident at renewal

The best option will depend on the extent of the damage, 

If the car is still driveable i would go option 3

If you have a strong witness and believe its not your fault and want it dealt with sooner than later, - Option 1

Reason123

Exodi said:

Reason123 said:

I have a witness that see that the other driver reversed into me. As my first thought was exactly as you say

OK I won't beat around the bush - did you (or the other party) happen to know this witness before the accident?

If your witness just so happens to be someone that was also in the vehicle with you and may or may not be a friend/family member, then the credibility of your witness would be considered (especially if the two parties end up having conflicting versions of events)

Furthermore, it's not uncommon that after some thought the other party may claim that you drove into the back of them (and damage to the back of someones car is usually viewed as the other parties fault by default).

If you had an independent witness (and ideally footage) it doesn't matter which insurance you claim off.

Thank you for your comment - the witness is an unknown truck driver at the time of the incident. The driver has no connection to either of us.
My preference to the version of where I claim is where is doesnt effect my future policies