Insurance claim seemingly on indefinite hold - can I do anything?

Mosh

Back in January I had a minor bump when another driver decided to pull out of an illegal parking spot (double yellow lines, hatched markings) into my path. I went into the side of them, but fortunately had it all on dashcam. The driver got out of their car and threatened me before driving off. All of this was reported to police and my insurance.

Thing is, it's now April. I haven't had my vehicle repaired as the damage is cosmetic and minor, and I don't want to pay for anything until I know someone else is going to cover the costs. I chased my insurance company last week (it's Admiral) and they confirmed that back in February they passed the footage over to the other party's insurance company so that they could judge their customer's liability.

They now say that there is no way they can push the other company to a decision within any timeframe. Surely there must be a time limit on these things otherwise companies would simply not bother to respond to any claim, ever? With my insurance renewal due in June I'd rather not have an open claim on file (though I know even if / when this is sorted it's going to affect my premium).

DullGreyGuy

Mosh said:

Back in January I had a minor bump when another driver decided to pull out of an illegal parking spot (double yellow lines, hatched markings) into my path. I went into the side of them, but fortunately had it all on dashcam. The driver got out of their car and threatened me before driving off. All of this was reported to police and my insurance.

Thing is, it's now April. I haven't had my vehicle repaired as the damage is cosmetic and minor, and I don't want to pay for anything until I know someone else is going to cover the costs. I chased my insurance company last week (it's Admiral) and they confirmed that back in February they passed the footage over to the other party's insurance company so that they could judge their customer's liability.

They now say that there is no way they can push the other company to a decision within any timeframe. Surely there must be a time limit on these things otherwise companies would simply not bother to respond to any claim, ever? With my insurance renewal due in June I'd rather not have an open claim on file (though I know even if / when this is sorted it's going to affect my premium).

The line above is the problem. 

Until your insurers have an outlay they have nothing to chase. Some insurers won't even reach out to the third party insurers until the invoice from the garage has been received. Others will do basic enquiries etc but they cannot start escalating or consider instructing lawyers etc until they can say what the losses are which they can't do until they have repaired your car. 

Your insurers have up to 6 years to litigate, they won't consider litigating until they have an outlay. The third party insurer will happily run down the clock if their insured isnt alleging you are at fault for the accident. 

Mosh

That's interesting as my insurers haven't bothered to inform me of this. They have, however, told me exactly how much their preferred garage will charge for the work to be done. So essentially they won't take action on a quote, but will take action once there's an actual bill?

Having said that: "if their insured isnt alleging you are at fault for the accident."

His words when he walked up to me after the collision were "You did that on purpose". So certainly at that point he was alleging that I was at fault.

Thanks @DullGreyGuy

DullGreyGuy

Mosh said:

That's interesting as my insurers haven't bothered to inform me of this. They have, however, told me exactly how much their preferred garage will charge for the work to be done. So essentially they won't take action on a quote, but will take action once there's an actual bill?

Having said that: "if their insured isnt alleging you are at fault for the accident."

His words when he walked up to me after the collision were "You did that on purpose". So certainly at that point he was alleging that I was at fault.

Legally the case is Mosh -v- BadParker, various people can help and assist you if they want but with them it's still you -v- them.  Insurers are legally different, they have the right of subrogation, so when they pay you your claim they cease to be someone supporting you and become someone that has inherited your right and so it can become Admiral -v- BadParker (though if litigated they often choose to revert). Matters change, legally and operationally once they've paid.

Insureds make many allegations but not many have no qualifications in law, haven't read case law etc. Similar to the above, insurers are legally allowed to settle claims as they see fit, even if their insured doesnt agree. Have had plenty of policyholders who weren't happy with our decision on liability but ultimately doesnt matter. So whilst he may have said he didnt think it was his fault, they probably will have explained that it will be his fault however as a compromise they won't proactively pursue the claim and await to see if the third party presents. 

Mosh

DullGreyGuy said:

Mosh said:

That's interesting as my insurers haven't bothered to inform me of this. They have, however, told me exactly how much their preferred garage will charge for the work to be done. So essentially they won't take action on a quote, but will take action once there's an actual bill?

Having said that: "if their insured isnt alleging you are at fault for the accident."

His words when he walked up to me after the collision were "You did that on purpose". So certainly at that point he was alleging that I was at fault.

Legally the case is Mosh -v- BadParker, various people can help and assist you if they want but with them it's still you -v- them.  Insurers are legally different, they have the right of subrogation, so when they pay you your claim they cease to be someone supporting you and become someone that has inherited your right and so it can become Admiral -v- BadParker (though if litigated they often choose to revert). Matters change, legally and operationally once they've paid.

Insureds make many allegations but not many have no qualifications in law, haven't read case law etc. Similar to the above, insurers are legally allowed to settle claims as they see fit, even if their insured doesnt agree. Have had plenty of policyholders who weren't happy with our decision on liability but ultimately doesnt matter. So whilst he may have said he didnt think it was his fault, they probably will have explained that it will be his fault however as a compromise they won't proactively pursue the claim and await to see if the third party presents. 

Ugh. So as the cost of the damage is within my excess, that means I have to cough up out of my own pocket for repairs and attempt to claim them back... which will potentially be unsuccessful if his insurer claims I'm liable? It's also unclear whether I have to use my insurer's repairer who are quoting an amount which matches my excess when I'm pretty certain I could get the work done elsewhere for less.

As with many people, now that I'm actually _using_ my insurer (rather than just having to legally pay them money every 12 months) I'm finding them a little "less than ideal"

Again, thank you for your reply.

DullGreyGuy

Mosh said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Mosh said:

That's interesting as my insurers haven't bothered to inform me of this. They have, however, told me exactly how much their preferred garage will charge for the work to be done. So essentially they won't take action on a quote, but will take action once there's an actual bill?

Having said that: "if their insured isnt alleging you are at fault for the accident."

His words when he walked up to me after the collision were "You did that on purpose". So certainly at that point he was alleging that I was at fault.

Legally the case is Mosh -v- BadParker, various people can help and assist you if they want but with them it's still you -v- them.  Insurers are legally different, they have the right of subrogation, so when they pay you your claim they cease to be someone supporting you and become someone that has inherited your right and so it can become Admiral -v- BadParker (though if litigated they often choose to revert). Matters change, legally and operationally once they've paid.

Insureds make many allegations but not many have no qualifications in law, haven't read case law etc. Similar to the above, insurers are legally allowed to settle claims as they see fit, even if their insured doesnt agree. Have had plenty of policyholders who weren't happy with our decision on liability but ultimately doesnt matter. So whilst he may have said he didnt think it was his fault, they probably will have explained that it will be his fault however as a compromise they won't proactively pursue the claim and await to see if the third party presents. 

Ugh. So as the cost of the damage is within my excess, that means I have to cough up out of my own pocket for repairs and attempt to claim them back... which will potentially be unsuccessful if his insurer claims I'm liable? It's also unclear whether I have to use my insurer's repairer who are quoting an amount which matches my excess when I'm pretty certain I could get the work done elsewhere for less.

As with many people, now that I'm actually _using_ my insurer (rather than just having to legally pay them money every 12 months) I'm finding them a little "less than ideal"

Again, thank you for your reply.

Do you have Legal Expenses on your policy? 

Unless you have crazy excess very little is below the policy excess when an insurer is dealing with the repairs... they dont use a "chips away" type person and cost of blending paints etc are always vastly higher than most imagine. 

If it is below the excess and you have LE cover then the insurer would appoint a recovery agent to help you recover any uninsured losses, which in that case would include the repairs. Given you are using Admiral I'm surprised they havent suggested using Auxillis on a credit basis rather than going through your own policy. 

Admiral are a budget provider, probably why they are the largest personal lines motor insurer in the UK. Never worked for them but have been insured by them many times and a claim with them. Sure they arent like Hiscox but would put them in the "cheap and cheerful" category rather than "bottom of the barrel" and they dont have a minimum £3k premium. 

maman

I had a similar incident 2 years ago. Fortunately the damage to my car was minimal (cracked light fitting) so I got it fixed myself. 

The problem was the guy who reversed out of a parking place and hit me said (through his insurer) he was going to claim 50/50 for damage to his car although we had photos to show there was none. 

This was in February 2023 and in the April my premium went up 90+%. My insurer wouldn't admit it was the open claim that caused the size of the increase, just a load of platitudes about there are many factors that can increase a premium . They did tell me at the time that the other guy had 6 years to claim. 

Roll on two years and I got the renewal notice for this year's insurance a couple of weeks ago.  I called the claims department of my insurer. They checked and as he'd sent no evidence of the damage to his car, they closed the case.

As a result, my renewal premium went down by about £250 so now roughly back to where it was plus inflation.

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that this open claim was the problem. 🤔

Mosh

maman said:

I had a similar incident 2 years ago. Fortunately the damage to my car was minimal (cracked light fitting) so I got it fixed myself. 

The problem was the guy who reversed out of a parking place and hit me said (through his insurer) he was going to claim 50/50 for damage to his car although we had photos to show there was none. 

This was in February 2023 and in the April my premium went up 90+%. My insurer wouldn't admit it was the open claim that caused the size of the increase, just a load of platitudes about there are many factors that can increase a premium . They did tell me at the time that the other guy had 6 years to claim. 

Roll on two years and I got the renewal notice for this year's insurance a couple of weeks ago.  I called the claims department of my insurer. They checked and as he'd sent no evidence of the damage to his car, they closed the case.

As a result, my renewal premium went down by about £250 so now roughly back to where it was plus inflation.

It's hard not to come to the conclusion that this open claim was the problem. 🤔

Yeah, this is my worry. My ex had two bumps some years ago shortly before her insurance renewal (neither her fault! One like yours, the second an 18-wheeler reversing after going too far through a traffic light...). As they were open at the time of renewal her premium was far higher than it should have been despite neither being contested.

Mosh

DullGreyGuy said:

Do you have Legal Expenses on your policy? 

Unless you have crazy excess very little is below the policy excess when an insurer is dealing with the repairs... they dont use a "chips away" type person and cost of blending paints etc are always vastly higher than most imagine. 

If it is below the excess and you have LE cover then the insurer would appoint a recovery agent to help you recover any uninsured losses, which in that case would include the repairs. Given you are using Admiral I'm surprised they havent suggested using Auxillis on a credit basis rather than going through your own policy. 

Admiral are a budget provider, probably why they are the largest personal lines motor insurer in the UK. Never worked for them but have been insured by them many times and a claim with them. Sure they arent like Hiscox but would put them in the "cheap and cheerful" category rather than "bottom of the barrel" and they dont have a minimum £3k premium. 

No, my excess isn't high (£350) and I do have legal cover. The quote their preferred repairer has given me (based on two photographs I sent them) is... £350. I'm not saying this is excessive, I'm just sure I could get it done for less at a garage I know. I'd rather be £250 out of pocket if the third party contest and win (somehow, but it could happen) than £350.

I'll call them tomorrow and query further. Thank you for the above information.

daveyjp

If you can get the job done cheaper I'd have it repaired and tell your insurance company to close down the claim.

DullGreyGuy

daveyjp said:

If you can get the job done cheaper I'd have it repaired and tell your insurance company to close down the claim.

Presumably you mean cheaper than your excess? 

Most people can get repairs done cheaper than what it will cost an insurer, insurers demand a higher level of repair whereas most people will accept a more basic repair if they're paying from their own pocket.