Motor Insurance Claim - This can't be right !!!

Isthisforreal99

OP, the £6k is totally irrelevant to your premium increase (as has been pointed out a few times) so obsessing over it is pointless.

HHarry

Arunmor said:

Similar happened to me 20 years ago cracked someone's tail light.  Next thing there is a claim for whiplash of £1,995.   Spoke to my insurer who told me any claims for injury below £2k were were just paid and that was the way it was.  What also infuriated me the woman was driving her mother's mobility car (no mother present).  Complete scam artist.

I had the same - a small knock on a petrol station forecourt which tuned into a £5k claim including personal injury.
At the time I was as angry as the OP - I’ve got over it now!

 I can well believe Arunmor’s comment about low value claims just being paid out - it isn’t worth the cost of challenging it in court.  But that doesn’t make it Ok.

MyRealNameToo

HHarry said:
 I can well believe Arunmor’s comment about low value claims just being paid out - it isn’t worth the cost of challenging it in court.  But that doesn’t make it Ok.

Insurers are ultimately businesses and make decisions with a cold commercial consideration rather than emotively thinking about things. They are however conscious about being seen as a soft target. 

There is no point paying out £10k to dispute a £6k claim, you are simply increasing your losses and will have to increase premiums more to cover it off. 

born_again

SAVNICOTRA said:

Very simple question and then I will focus on the task force who seem to be more aware ...  Is it acceptable for an insurance company to settle a dispute without your concept or even knowledge , irrespective of who's to blame ?  So as it's your fault ,you pay what ever the cost is in the form of increased premiums and not just for you but for everyone generally because insurance company's pay the premium amounts for repairs and car hire without question (which is what has happened in my case)   ... Is this all acceptable ?  Or just a given that no one can do anything about ? 

Yes.
That is what you pay them for.
No matter what you say, they will agree with the other party on the outcome. You do not get them to spend time & money just to prove a point.

Car_54

SAVNICOTRA said:

Very simple question and then I will focus on the task force who seem to be more aware ...  Is it acceptable for an insurance company to settle a dispute without your concept or even knowledge , irrespective of who's to blame ?  So as it's your fault ,you pay what ever the cost is in the form of increased premiums and not just for you but for everyone generally because insurance company's pay the premium amounts for repairs and car hire without question (which is what has happened in my case)   ... Is this all acceptable ?  Or just a given that no one can do anything about ? 

The cost was c.£6,000. Have you been asked to pay that in increased premiums? Of course not.

Car_54

SAVNICOTRA said:

Really do appreciate the responses , thank you.  However, I know for a fact that it was just a small knock and really no damage at all . I understand the bumper situation and also hidden damage , but in this case there really wasn't any. 

So, you didn’t see any hidden damage. Could that possibly be because it was hidden?

HedgehogRulez

You could, of course, stop driving into other people’s vehicles. Would be the easiest fix here.

jimjames

SAVNICOTRA said:

My point is and has been all the way through this chat , how was £6k agreed !!  Totally understand what you were suggesting but if I thought for a minute there was that level of damage to the car then I wouldn't be so incensed .  

But as already posted it almost certainly isn't £6k of damage. Any time a car is off the road for even minor repairs the hire car costs could be substantial so the damage could be a small part of the claim as ridiculous as that sounds.

uknick

This year I was hit in a car park whilst parked.  I was in the car at the time waiting for someone and actually saw it happen.  The damage on my car appeared to be a little scuff on the actual bumper and some scruff marks on the bumper insert.  If I'd done myself with no other party involved I'd probably have got it repaired using a smart repairer costing about £300. 

But, when the insurer's repairer looked at it they noticed more damage which required the bumper (a very small crease in the plastic was caused by the other car) and the insert to be replaced (not only was the paint scrapped off, the plastic itself had small gouges in it).  Those parts cost about £600 plus VAT.  They had to be painted, about £300?  Then there was the labour to dismantle and re assemble, couple of hours work at about £100 per hour?  So repair could have cost over £1,500 with VAT.  I didn't get a hire car for the 8 days the car was at the repairers, but if I did that could have cost another £200 per day, if I'd used one of the claim management companies, so another £1,600.  You can see how easy it is to get to over £3k for a simple quick repair as the parts were in stock.

And if you had a parts supply problem like my neighbour had with her Audi Q7 last year she was without the car for over 3 months.  During that time she had a Mercedes SUV as a hire car.  Goodness knows what that cost.

With regard to the insurer paying out without you admitting fault, yes they should do if they have enough evidence you caused the accident. Many years ago my brother was rear ended whilst stationery at a red traffic light.  Clearly the other parties fault but as they refused to admit liability the repairs went down as an at fault claim against my brother.  

mikrt

Genuine question as a side note.....

Quite a few posters here have said the repair bill is of no consequence (if I have understood correctly).

But I have two no fault accidents in the last 12ish years, when these were declarable while seeking renewal quotes within 3 (or was it 5) years, I was asked to declare the cost of repairs, why was this?