How to reclaim insurance excess following an accident to our car.

tdiman

Hi All
On 12th May 25 we pulled into a large open air shopping centre carpark and parked correctly. As my wife was feeling unwell, I got out and went to get a small amount of shopping. On return, about 15 minutes later, my wife told me that someone had attempted to park their car in the space adjacent to ours. In doing so the driver managed to hit the wing of our car then reversed back and had a few more attempts into the same gap, with the same result. He then reversed out of the space and drove off.
A passing motorist, trying to leave the car park, but delayed by the drivers antics, had witnessed the incident and told my wife that he had parked in the carpark some 30 metres away. My wife told me that she confronted the elderly driver as he was exiting his car and asked why he had driven off after hitting our car. His wife became very vocal, denying it had never happened. My wife made a note of the registration and pointed out the obvious damage to their car which still had paint on it from ours.
A short argument ensued where they both denied any involvement. My wife took him to our car and showed him the damage. He shouted out his surname and a telephone number and walked off. Once they had left to go shopping a gentleman opposite came over and stated that he had seen the incident and was happy to give a witness statement.
A short time later I returned with our shopping, where I was told of the situation.
We waited in the car park until the driver and his wife emerged from the shops, where I stopped him and asked for an explanation. At first he attempted to deny any involvement, but when I mention the witness, still sitting opposite and further showed him the damage and how it compared to the damage on his car, his attitude changed.
A long story that you think should have an easy and happy outcome. 
Insurances were informed and we were told that the 'culprit' had admitted to the accident.
We had to pay a £300 excess for the repair to proceed and was assured it would be paid ASAP.
Unfortunately despite multiple phone calls and messaging of our insurance they state that they are still awaiting a settlement from the other side.
It has been nearly 6 months and we appear no closer at getting our money back. 
Where do we go now?
Sorry about the length of this

Thanks

MattMattMattUK

tdiman said:

Hi All
On 12th May 25 we pulled into a large open air shopping centre carpark and parked correctly. As my wife was feeling unwell, I got out and went to get a small amount of shopping. On return, about 15 minutes later, my wife told me that someone had attempted to park their car in the space adjacent to ours. In doing so the driver managed to hit the wing of our car then reversed back and had a few more attempts into the same gap, with the same result. He then reversed out of the space and drove off.
A passing motorist, trying to leave the car park, but delayed by the drivers antics, had witnessed the incident and told my wife that he had parked in the carpark some 30 metres away. My wife told me that she confronted the elderly driver as he was exiting his car and asked why he had driven off after hitting our car. His wife became very vocal, denying it had never happened. My wife made a note of the registration and pointed out the obvious damage to their car which still had paint on it from ours.
A short argument ensued where they both denied any involvement. My wife took him to our car and showed him the damage. He shouted out his surname and a telephone number and walked off. Once they had left to go shopping a gentleman opposite came over and stated that he had seen the incident and was happy to give a witness statement.
A short time later I returned with our shopping, where I was told of the situation.
We waited in the car park until the driver and his wife emerged from the shops, where I stopped him and asked for an explanation. At first he attempted to deny any involvement, but when I mention the witness, still sitting opposite and further showed him the damage and how it compared to the damage on his car, his attitude changed.
A long story that you think should have an easy and happy outcome. 
Insurances were informed and we were told that the 'culprit' had admitted to the accident.
We had to pay a £300 excess for the repair to proceed and was assured it would be paid ASAP.
Unfortunately despite multiple phone calls and messaging of our insurance they state that they are still awaiting a settlement from the other side.
It has been nearly 6 months and we appear no closer at getting our money back. 
Where do we go now?
Sorry about the length of this

Thanks

Unfortunately you have to wait, the other side's insurance will probably be being held up by the guilty party either claiming that he was not involved or that he did not cause any damage. If they had a decent claims handler they would have already conceded but some will stick it out until your insurer issues court proceedings. It will get sorted eventually, but it is frustrating that these things can drag out a long time even for clear cut cases.  

tdiman

Thank you for the comments. I should have said that we have waited patiently for 6 months even though he admitted it to his insurance company, that info was from our insurance company and that the damage was caused by his car striking ours. Open and shut case? The actual repair was sorted in a few weeks. I am tempted to use my union and release Thompsons on them. One of the benefits of union membership.  Just wondered if this was unusual. We will have another chat with our insurers and see what the delay is. 

TheComplaintGuy

When there’s been an accident and you’ve paid an excess, the part that often causes confusion is what happens next and who is responsible for getting that money back. The insurer hasn’t explained this very clearly to you, so here’s how the process normally works.

1. Your insurer first needs to confirm who they believe is at fault. This can be based on the accident circumstances, photos, dashcam, the other driver’s version and any engineer’s reports. Until that liability position is clear, excess recovery can’t begin.

2. If your insurer believes the other driver was at fault, they will open a recovery claim against the other insurer. When that money is recovered, they refund your excess automatically. You don’t need to chase the other side yourself.

3. If the other driver’s insurer hasn’t yet responded, or if there’s a dispute, recovery can be slower. It’s normal for this part to take a few weeks or even longer depending on how quickly the third party engages.

4. It’s worth asking your insurer two very specific questions:

   • Has a liability decision been made yet?

   • Has a recovery claim been opened with the other insurer?

Those answers will tell you where things stand.

1. If liability is eventually agreed against the third party and your insurer delays or stops updating you, you can raise a complaint with them. The Financial Ombudsman can step in if needed, but usually it doesn’t reach that stage.

Nothing you’ve said sounds unusual at this point, but getting clarity from your insurer on those two questions above will make the next steps much clearer.