Car hit by uninsured driver - left out of pocket?

HearHoovesThinkHorses

Hello, 

I was sitting in my parked car when it was hit by a van. The force of the impact meant the van driver had to reverse to free his vehicle off mine, it wasn’t just a glancing blow. He then drove off with no attempt made to stop. 

I followed him in my car and called the police. When I caught up with him he wanted to bank transfer me money for repairs before the police arrived. I was hesitant to do this as I had no idea what the cost of repairs would be. He is now being prosecuted by the police for driving without insurance (on the day he was allowed to continue with his journey as the van itself was insured, even though he couldn’t prove he was insured.) 

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. Tesco referred it on to a solicitor called New Law, who have now said they can’t help with the car seats as it’s classed as an uninsured loss and I don’t have motor legal cover on my policy. 

I believed that the insurance company who insured the van on the day had to assist with costs, but Tesco have said this isn’t correct and the other company can decline to deal with it as the driver himself wasn’t insured. 

Is the advice I am being given correct please? In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

jackrack

Should have took up his offer of a bank transfer lol

HearHoovesThinkHorses

jackrack said:

Should have took up his offer of a bank transfer lol

He told my insurer that he would pay for the repairs personally and still hasn’t, so I’m inclined to think the bank transfer wouldn’t have been straightforward either! 

DullGreyGuy

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

I was sitting in my parked car when it was hit by a van. The force of the impact meant the van driver had to reverse to free his vehicle off mine, it wasn’t just a glancing blow. He then drove off with no attempt made to stop. 

I followed him in my car and called the police. When I caught up with him he wanted to bank transfer me money for repairs before the police arrived. I was hesitant to do this as I had no idea what the cost of repairs would be. He is now being prosecuted by the police for driving without insurance (on the day he was allowed to continue with his journey as the van itself was insured, even though he couldn’t prove he was insured.) 

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. Tesco referred it on to a solicitor called New Law, who have now said they can’t help with the car seats as it’s classed as an uninsured loss and I don’t have motor legal cover on my policy. 

I believed that the insurance company who insured the van on the day had to assist with costs, but Tesco have said this isn’t correct and the other company can decline to deal with it as the driver himself wasn’t insured. 

Is the advice I am being given correct please? In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

So do you know what the insurance situation was? 

Was the van insured but the driver wasnt named on the policy?

Did they buy the insurance after the accident?

Who in Tesco are you speaking to? The First Notification of Loss Team or Recoveries? You really want to speak to the later who will be the ones trying to get their own outlay back and whilst they won't assist in helping you you should be able to ride their shirt tails through the process. 

Subject to the answers to the above I'd be asking Tesco's why the other insurer isnt being considered either the RTA Insurer or Article 75 Insurer

HearHoovesThinkHorses

DullGreyGuy said:

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

I was sitting in my parked car when it was hit by a van. The force of the impact meant the van driver had to reverse to free his vehicle off mine, it wasn’t just a glancing blow. He then drove off with no attempt made to stop. 

I followed him in my car and called the police. When I caught up with him he wanted to bank transfer me money for repairs before the police arrived. I was hesitant to do this as I had no idea what the cost of repairs would be. He is now being prosecuted by the police for driving without insurance (on the day he was allowed to continue with his journey as the van itself was insured, even though he couldn’t prove he was insured.) 

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. Tesco referred it on to a solicitor called New Law, who have now said they can’t help with the car seats as it’s classed as an uninsured loss and I don’t have motor legal cover on my policy. 

I believed that the insurance company who insured the van on the day had to assist with costs, but Tesco have said this isn’t correct and the other company can decline to deal with it as the driver himself wasn’t insured. 

Is the advice I am being given correct please? In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

So do you know what the insurance situation was? 

Was the van insured but the driver wasnt named on the policy?

Did they buy the insurance after the accident?

Who in Tesco are you speaking to? The First Notification of Loss Team or Recoveries? You really want to speak to the later who will be the ones trying to get their own outlay back and whilst they won't assist in helping you you should be able to ride their shirt tails through the process. 

Subject to the answers to the above I'd be asking Tesco's why the other insurer isnt being considered either the RTA Insurer or Article 75 Insurer

Yes correct, the van was insured but he was not. 

His story was that he had bought the van that day and was driving it home but I’ve no idea if that’s true. 

He admitted to Tesco that he didn’t have any insurance and would settle the bill with them himself, but has gone radio silence since they sent him the repair bill. 

Honestly I’m not sure who I’ve been speaking to, I’ve just been calling the number for existing claims.

I haven’t heard of the RTA insurer or article 75 insurer - shall I just pose the question to Tesco, why hasn’t this been considered?

Thank you for your help.  

DullGreyGuy

So if van was insured, but he wasnt and he had bought it that day who's was the insurance on the vehicle at the time of the accident? The sellers?


Its not a thrilling reads but you can have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RTA_Insurer or  https://www.2tg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2TG-Practical-Guide-Motor-Insurance-Law-John-McDonald.pdf 

eskbanker

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. 

[...]

In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

How was the £300 calculated, i.e. was this starting from the original purchase value and depreciating over the time of ownership, or do you have the right to new-for-old replacements?  

HearHoovesThinkHorses

DullGreyGuy said:

So if van was insured, but he wasnt and he had bought it that day who's was the insurance on the vehicle at the time of the accident? The sellers?


Its not a thrilling reads but you can have a look at 

Honestly I’m not sure who held the insurance on the van. At the scene he produced a company insurance certificate which had expired 3 months earlier. All I’m certain of is that the vehicle itself was insured on the day, but he was not insured on the policy. 

Thank you. I’ll take a look at the links. 

HearHoovesThinkHorses

eskbanker said:

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. 

[...]

In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

How was the £300 calculated, i.e. was this starting from the original purchase value and depreciating over the time of ownership, or do you have the right to new-for-old replacements?  

The £300 was a benefit on my Tesco policy, £300 of car seat cover. I thought that limit would only apply if I had been at fault in an accident. I believe usually when it’s a non fault incident, the full cost of the car seats are recovered from the at fault party’s insurer. It’s the driver being uninsured that seems to be muddying the waters.

DullGreyGuy

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

eskbanker said:

HearHoovesThinkHorses said:

My car has been repaired by my insurer Tesco however they have only paid out £300 for my children’s car seats, despite one seat alone costing more than this. 

[...]

In total the car seats will cost over £1000 to replace. 

How was the £300 calculated, i.e. was this starting from the original purchase value and depreciating over the time of ownership, or do you have the right to new-for-old replacements?  

The £300 was a benefit on my Tesco policy, £300 of car seat cover. I thought that limit would only apply if I had been at fault in an accident. I believe usually when it’s a non fault incident, the full cost of the car seats are recovered from the at fault party’s insurer. It’s the driver being uninsured that seems to be muddying the waters.

Your "insured losses" are those that are covered by a policy you have purchased. In most cases they will be identical irrespective of if you are to blame for an accident or not though some insurers at their discretion will waive certain things in a non-fault accident (eg the policy excess).

Any losses you've sustained that arent covered by your own insurance are "uninsured losses". This could be things like loss of earnings which Motor insurance would never cover or can be things like stuff that was in the boot of the car where the losses exceed the policy limit. 

In a non-fault accident irrespective of your own insurance you have a right to recover your losses from the third party, who if its another motor vehicle should by law have third party insurance with a minimum of £1.2m of property damage and unlimited bodily injury. When your insurer pays your claim we then have subrogation and the insurer inherits your right to sue the third party. 

Unfortunately those without insurance are more often than not the type that dont have thousands in the bank to repay insurers or third parties for the damages they caused. 

Mildly_Miffed

You were hit by a vehicle that was insured, but not for that driver.

You need to claim from YOUR insurance, who will then counter-claim from the other vehicle's insurer.
They have to pay by law.

They can then pursue the driver and/or their policyholder, but that's irrelevant to what you receive.

All claims from your own insurance are deemed to be at fault unless and until your insurer's costs are covered in full by the other party and/or their insurers.