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

Reason123

EssexExile said:

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.

Thank you for your comment - this is exactly how I expected my conversation to go with my insurance company. But it was almost as if they didnt want to have to deal with it. And if I go via them, I will have to pay the excess etc

Reason123

Car_54 said:

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.

Thank you for your comment - this is where I need clarification on, and perhaps its just my ignorance. So through no fault of my own, regardless of how I claim. I will have lifted premiums for the next 5 years because of this?

Reason123

DullGreyGuy said:

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

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. 

Thank you for your comment - You are correct, I am insured with Admiral.

I have connected with the drivers company and they will send 'first notification' to their insurance company. They have also offered me their insurer name and policy number for contact / reference.

This also occurred at a place that likely has CCTV which my insurer will try to retrieve.

I also have the 'top' policy and had legal advice which are supposed to be in contact with me at some point?

DullGreyGuy

Reason123 said:

EssexExile said:

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.

Thank you for your comment - this is exactly how I expected my conversation to go with my insurance company. But it was almost as if they didnt want to have to deal with it. And if I go via them, I will have to pay the excess etc

You agree to have to pay your excess in all cases, some insurers in certain circumstances may choose to waive the excess because they are confident that they'll get it back anyway. Admiral make good money referring to Auxillis and so need the stick of the excess to encourage people to take the accident management route. They are also fairly cheap and cheerful in nature so things like those excesses waived where recoveries then aren't made or the loss of return in the gap between payout and recovery could be more material than for those more premium brands who sell on quality rather than price.

Reason123

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

Thank you for your comment - would declaring this incident which is not my fault increase my future policies? Or only if I was at fault? I am able to drive the car and the damage is not excessive although will likely need new front bumper / grill / bonnet / headlights. 

DullGreyGuy

Reason123 said:

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

Thank you for your comment - would declaring this incident which is not my fault increase my future policies? Or only if I was at fault? I am able to drive the car and the damage is not excessive although will likely need new front bumper / grill / bonnet / headlights. 

It depends... if you are otherwise a good risk then for most insurers it will have a small to no impact. If you've other black marks then it's likely to have a bigger impact.