no courtesy car/ legal cover on car insurance help!!!!

edmundli

i dont have any of the above on my fully comp policy and now I have no car for at least 3weeks (2weeks for claim and at least 1 week to buy car).

Need a car desperately as it takes 2hrs via public transport which would mean getting up at 5am :S

Is there anyway I can swing a courtesy car, maybe by taking legal action, the accident wasnt my fault.

Bossyboots

The insurers of the other driver that hit me offered me a courtesy car from day 1. This would have applied until they wrote it off but my car was driveable so I didn't bother.

You can hire a car and claim it back from the other insurers. You would need to show however that you hired the minimum car for your needs and that you could not manage with it. This is a risky option if there is any question at all about liability being disputed. You would only be able to claim hire fees up to the settlement payout for your car.

I was lucky as we know our local dealer and he had a car in that wasn't ready to leave the forecourt but ideal for me. He agreed that if my own car wasn't written off he would release me from the sale and refund my deposit. By the time a settlement was agreed the new car was ready and I received my money immediately so it worked out okay for me.

Even if you issued proceedings now, you are not going to get into Court within the next three weeks.

edmundli

how would i find out if the other party has admitted liability? he admitted it to be at the scene but not sure what he said on his statement...

maclean2

Hi - as the accident is not your fault suggest you arrange car rental via driveassist 01827319400 or helphire 0500224455.You will not have to pay for it as these firms recover the money direct from the other guys insurance.Yes I repeat you will not have to pay for it.You are entitled to hire like for like so go for the same size car as your own.You do not have to wait for the other insurance company to admit liability

Best of luck.

Bossyboots

maclean2 wrote:

Hi - as the accident is not your fault suggest you arrange car rental via driveassist 01827319400 or helphire 0500224455.You will not have to pay for it as these firms recover the money direct from the other guys insurance.Yes I repeat you will not have to pay for it.You are entitled to hire like for like so go for the same size car as your own.You do not have to wait for the other insurance company to admit liability

Best of luck.

How do they recover the costs then if liability turns out to be disputed or indeed the blame falls with the driver hiring the car?

MarkyMarkD

They decide whether they believe it's your fault, on the basis of what you tell them about the accident.

If they believe it WAS your fault, they won't give you a car in the first place.

If they believe it was not, they will give you a car. If they reckon the case is slightly dodgy Helphire then charge you £10 to insure against the risk they fail to recover.

What if you take my case on, then decide I was partly to blame?

As long as you have told us the truth and continue to co-operate with us we will honour your case.

The £10 insurance policy you were asked to buy through us at the outset would protect you from having to pay.

Obviously, if you lie to them and get a car, then they fail to recover from the third party, you'll be fully liable for any costs they've incurred.

edmundli

just called them up and gave my details to helphire they said they going to bring over the car and some documents this afternoon, hopefully i dont sign my life away.......

The woman on the phone has assured me I wont have to pay anything apart from the £10 insurance, is this legally binding?

MarkyMarkD

It's what their Ts & Cs say - the paperwork will doubtless confirm that - as long as you are 100% truthful, your liability is restricted to £10.

What were the actual circs of the accident, edmundli?

lisyloo

Sorry to butt in but I am interested in this.

How long is it reasonable to have a coutesy car for??

My parents (in law) have recently been in an accident which they believe is a pedestrians fault. The car (which was very old) is written off.
The accident was 3 weeks ago. They have a courtesy car for 2 weeks but it will run out.

We have advised them not to purchase another car until they have heard from the police.
We have spoken to the police and they seem to have a natural bias towards the injured pedestrian rather than the motorist although a witness says the pedestrian ran out without looking at all and markings show the car was way below speed limits.
The police have recommended an eyesight test (as driver is 77) but this has not been done yet. They don't seem to be in any hurry.

We don't think they should buy yet just in case he is prosecuted and can't drive. How long is it reasonable to have a courtesy car for???

They are both elderly and disabled so unfortunately walking to the bus stop or train station is not possible as is going on foot. They can only use a car to get around.

I presume there is some sort of limit of "reasonableness".

MarkyMarkD

He's not very likely to get banned for this one-off incident, particularly if the circumstances are as you describe.

Where it's a third party liable claim, they tend to allow a courtesy car for just a week if the car is written off - that is all we got when my wife's car was written off. If they faff about paying up, then a week beyond the point at which they pay up is reasonable, but you will be lucky to get any more ... it doesn't take THAT long to find a replacement car of some sort to make you mobile again.

There's naff all chance of getting any money out of the pedestrian for this incident - but I presume they've already been told that. I'm glad, for their sake, that there were witnesses and hope that the eyetest proves satisfactory.

lisyloo

I have been told that if he fails the eyesight test then his licence would be revoked.

I agree it doesn't take that long tp get a car (although they are reliant on family at weekends), but we have advised them against it.

Why do you say they will get naff all out of the pedestrian?
He should have house insurance to cover 3rd party liability, but even if he didn't, why can their legal cover not retrieve the £120 excess from him?
Assuming all the evidence is their (independent witness) then why should they not get this either via their legal cover or small claims court?