Hit a taxi in slow moving traffic - minor damage, he wants to claim - best option?

Aretnap

derobe said:

DullGreyGuy said:

derobe said:

Also the other drivers insurance called me this afternoon and have text me asking to call them back (I was busy at the time) should I dodge them until I've spoken to my own insurance?

Given its a fault accident I'd speak to your insurers first, they'll give you a claim reference number and you can then speak to their insurance in good faith of knowing your insurers know about it/ give them the claim reference etc. 

Were it a non-fault accident Id say speak to their insurers first as they may have a better offer

thanks, should i get the engine light fixed and perhaps mot done first before contacting my insurers though? Just thinking if they decide not to invalidate with me having no MOT as I mentioned - but then they find out I had an engine light on they could deem the car wasn't roadworthy and invalidate my insurance?

The basic rule is that if you breach the terms of your insurance policy, your insurer can only use that as a reason to reject a claim if the breach was somehow relevant to the claim. This has been part of industry codes of practice for donkeys years, and was made law by the Insurance Act  2015.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/4/section/11

So if your home insurance had a clause that says that you had to lock your doors when you left the house unoccupied, your insurer could reject a claim for a burglary that happened when you left the house unlocked. However they could not reject, say, a subsidence claim just because they found it that you didn't always lock your door when you went out. Which is obviously fair enough.

Or if your car insurance had a clause that said your car had to be roadworthy and you had no working headlights, your insurer could reject a claim for an accident you caused by driving into something in the dark, but not for an accident that happened in daylight. 

In the case of an MOT, there are no circumstances in which the lack of a piece of paper could cause an accident, so there are no circumstances in which an insurer could decline a claim just because you didn't have an MOT certificate. This applies equally to a claim for your own damage or to a third party claim. They *might* be able to decline a claim if your car had a defect that would have been picked up by an MOT and that defect was a significant factor in causing the accident, but it would be down to the insurer to prove that this had happened. 

By the same token it's not at all obvious how an engine management light could cause you to drive into a taxi, especially if the car is generally running OK, so no, your engine management light being on could not invalidate your insurance either.

derobe

The insurers are asking if I want to claim for my own damage or not... I haven't submitted that bit so far as I'm waiting to get a quote for repairing my grill and bumper, will chase tomorrow, not sure if it will be more than my excess (£400)

Also just wondering they may use expired MOT to not pay out for my own damage.... if that's the case there's no point claiming my own damage and paying the excess!

If anyone has any experience on this would be grateful..

cw8825

derobe said:

The insurers are asking if I want to claim for my own damage or not... I haven't submitted that bit so far as I'm waiting to get a quote for repairing my grill and bumper, will chase tomorrow, not sure if it will be more than my excess (£400)

Also just wondering they may use expired MOT to not pay out for my own damage.... if that's the case there's no point claiming my own damage and paying the excess!

If anyone has any experience on this would be grateful..

I believe your making a mountain out of a molehill
as others have pointed out as long as it’s not the cause of the accident. They cannot reject for no mot. 

You also have it booked in already
as there is going to be a claim anyway I would personally go through the insurance. If it’s under the excess you will only pay the repair cost anyway 

derobe

cw8825 said:

derobe said:

The insurers are asking if I want to claim for my own damage or not... I haven't submitted that bit so far as I'm waiting to get a quote for repairing my grill and bumper, will chase tomorrow, not sure if it will be more than my excess (£400)

Also just wondering they may use expired MOT to not pay out for my own damage.... if that's the case there's no point claiming my own damage and paying the excess!

If anyone has any experience on this would be grateful..

I believe your making a mountain out of a molehill
as others have pointed out as long as it’s not the cause of the accident. They cannot reject for no mot. 

You also have it booked in already
as there is going to be a claim anyway I would personally go through the insurance. If it’s under the excess you will only pay the repair cost anyway 

Ok that's what I needed to know if it's under the excess and I'm only having to pay the repair cost that's fine.... Thanks

cw8825

Just to add. The repairs through the insurance will be using manufacturer parts and come with warranties. 

Even if the cost to do it yourself is similar. I would go through them

DullGreyGuy

derobe said:

The insurers are asking if I want to claim for my own damage or not... I haven't submitted that bit so far as I'm waiting to get a quote for repairing my grill and bumper, will chase tomorrow, not sure if it will be more than my excess (£400)

Also just wondering they may use expired MOT to not pay out for my own damage.... if that's the case there's no point claiming my own damage and paying the excess!

If anyone has any experience on this would be grateful..

If you've asked for a quote for the purposes of your insurers dealing with the damage then it will be way over £400. Insurers get charged for brand new original parts, respray will be panels and blending into the neighbouring ones, a long warranty on the repairs etc etc. Very different if you go to the same backstreet garage and get a quote for them repairing it privately where non-perfect dent pulls and touch up paint are considered acceptable and come without a formal warranty. 

derobe

My Insurer has put my claim on hold due to there being no MOT. I've spoken to them and they are saying that they will need an engineer to inspect the vehicle to see if it was drivable at the time of the incident.

The Vehicle was completely drivable and still is, but now I'm concerned as I mentioned the engine light came on (It has been coming on and off repeatedly) I took it to the garage yesterday and it's a faulty sensor that's causing the light, they cleared the codes but I'll need to get the sensor replaced as it may still keep coming on.

Worried that they'll use this against me.. not sure how they can inspect the vehicle and say whether it was drivable on the 16th October or not?? Can anyone advise what the process would be

photome

derobe said:

My Insurer has put my claim on hold due to there being no MOT. I've spoken to them and they are saying that they will need an engineer to inspect the vehicle to see if it was drivable at the time of the incident.

The Vehicle was completely drivable and still is, but now I'm concerned as I mentioned the engine light came on (It has been coming on and off repeatedly) I took it to the garage yesterday and it's a faulty sensor that's causing the light, they cleared the codes but I'll need to get the sensor replaced as it may still keep coming on.

Worried that they'll use this against me.. not sure how they can inspect the vehicle and say whether it was drivable on the 16th October or not?? Can anyone advise what the process would be

They will start by checking the tyres are legal and the brakes work…neither would have deteriorated to much between then and now…have you had a new MOT yet