Best course of action?

waribai

No real urgency, just my annoyance and stress of having had to spend an hour yesterday evening hunting for the owner in the rain and then them once busted trying to indirectly suggest that there is more damage than would have come from their collision. Soon backed down though when they saw the camera footage. Had they just knocked on the door and apologised in the first place, then no probably I wouldn't be so tetchy!

DullGreyGuy

waribai said:
My only concern is that I have not heard from Admiral motor insurance (their insurer). How long to leave it?

You contact them... their job is to defend their client and respond to claims you make against them. If they'd damaged your car they likely would be proactive to avoid accident management companies but for non-vehicle property damage they'll sit back and see if anyone approaches them.

ButterCheese said:

DullGreyGuy said:

waribai said:

Thanks. I actually left a note on their windscreen with words to the effect of "We know it's you, we have the footage". They came round this morning and tried to say that they thought they had hit a bin and didn't realise the damage they caused.  After insisting on seeing the footage, they have now filed a report with Admiral (their insurer) and supplied me with the claim reference. I have also reported it to Admiral (home insurance) but just as a notification. Is there anything else I need to do to achieve a satisfactory outcome?

Speak to their insurer to discuss making the claim... they may ask you to provide estimates or they may say they'll send a loss adjuster. 

Make sure you have clear photos of the damage and measurements of both what's actually been knocked down and what's damaged but still standing. The most common contention on this kind of claim is that a 3m of a 6m wall is knocked down but the claimant then submits quotes for building a 6m wall so the insurer just offers 50% pointing out they are only liable for the damaged portion not the undamaged elements. 

Whilst they are the same company, by claiming off their insurance you dont have any rights to go to the Ombudsman if you are unhappy with their settlement etc.

ButterCheese said:
BTW, this was drunk/drug driver who was arrested on scene.  We eventually got the payout to repair the wall but it took over a year

Many insurers exclude cover if the driver is over the drink/drug limit. They still have responsibilities under the road traffic act as the RTA Insurer but how insurers deal with this does vary. Technically the RTA required an unsatisfied court order against the driver before they are legally obliged to respond but most will act before this but it does significantly slow things.

Just to add some more detail - the drink driver was too violent to get a blood sample from.  The Police did not have any evidence to prove he was driving (even though a neighbour tackled him and got the keys off him).  So he was not charged. 

This was covered by another thread on here the other day, you dont have to be convicted of DD for an insurer to apply the DD exclusion in the policy. Insurance etc is dealt with under civil not criminal law where the hurdle is "on the balance of probabilities" whereas criminal law has a higher test of "beyond reasonable doubt" plus other considerations like public interest. 

Once case I linked to from the Ombudsman was one where the person was tested at the road side and was materially above the limit but when tested again back at the station some time later they were fractionally below it. The police didnt prosecute but the ombudsman agreed that on the balance of probability she was DD given her behaviour, statement and the fact you metabolise alcohol over time so its more likely than not the roadside reading of above the limit was correct given 2-3 hrs later she was fractionally below it. 

waribai

Thanks. I’ve just contacted Admiral. Of course, they were going to call me anyway…On the face of it they seemed quite sympathetic that effectively this was a hit and run until I found the driver. Anyway, let’s see what happens next!

DullGreyGuy

waribai said:

Thanks. I’ve just contacted Admiral. Of course, they were going to call me anyway…On the face of it they seemed quite sympathetic that effectively this was a hit and run until I found the driver. Anyway, let’s see what happens next!

Its a reasonable opportunity for them to showcase themselves, and it helps ensure you stick with them so they can control the costs rather than going off to an accident management company or making "new for old" claims on your Home insurance.

My first job in claims was dealing with third parties without injuries where our policyholder was at fault, a good number of direct claimants often said that they intended to switch to us at renewal because of the service they received (no idea how many actually did). It worked in our favour though, we would arrange a "suitable" hire car at a fraction of the cost of what Helphire/Enterprise Accident Management etc would have given a like for like hire car at. No that doesn't mean everyone got a 3 door VW UP but may mean your E class driver got a Mondeo potentially saving us £200/day

waribai

DullGreyGuy said:

waribai said:

Thanks. I’ve just contacted Admiral. Of course, they were going to call me anyway…On the face of it they seemed quite sympathetic that effectively this was a hit and run until I found the driver. Anyway, let’s see what happens next!

Its a reasonable opportunity for them to showcase themselves, and it helps ensure you stick with them so they can control the costs rather than going off to an accident management company or making "new for old" claims on your Home insurance.

My first job in claims was dealing with third parties without injuries where our policyholder was at fault, a good number of direct claimants often said that they intended to switch to us at renewal because of the service they received (no idea how many actually did). It worked in our favour though, we would arrange a "suitable" hire car at a fraction of the cost of what Helphire/Enterprise Accident Management etc would have given a like for like hire car at. No that doesn't mean everyone got a 3 door VW UP but may mean your E class driver got a Mondeo potentially saving us £200/day

This doesn't apply here though does it?! My property has been damaged. There is no hire car to arrange for me!