On the way back home in a queue of traffic and someone shunts me from behind (ooer!) Got the chaps details but he says that he wants to avoid going through his insurance as he’s not got much no claims (a young chap.) We both managed to drive the cars away but they’re not in great shape.

Question is how to deal with this? Should I just insist we do it through his insurance and that he sorts out collection of my car etc.? Or should I try and be helpful and take it to a garage for a quote first? I’m now without a car too so a hire car would be handy and I guess that’s something his insurance would cover? My car is also only worth about 500 quid, what’s the insurance company likely to do as it’ll probably cost quite a bit more than that to put right? Advice much appreciated.

WINS WIN WIN WIN

I wouldn’t mess around if you have his details, as he might turn out to be pulling a fast one and you will end up out of pocket for something which is not your fault, get onto your insurers, especially if you are now without a car.

So I get my insurers involved as well or just his?

(Apologies for numptie questions, never done this before.)

A friend of mine had good experience with that Win solicitors. They appear to have protected his no claims, he refused the injury crap but got a hire car etc.

Worth making a call to them before messing up your own insurance

You could speak to your insurers….ask them.

If you want to do it above board and legal, you have to tell your insurers anyway, regardless of whether the other guy decides to pay out of his own pocket.

I think you’re supposed to tell the police too, but don’t suppose many people bother with that.

So I get my insurers involved as well or just his?

You won’t have any contact with his insurers…yours will contact them on your behalf.

I had someone go into the back of me (40 ton lorry on straight 50mph stretch of dudl carriageway). It didn’t affect my no claims or insurance premium as it was his fault and his insurance paid for EVERYTHING, I didn’t even need to pay my excess. I would get both insurance companies involved if the damage is that bad. Unless he is willing to pay you enough in CASH to cover hire car and getting damage suitably fixed.

Hmm a company that has it’s own accident claims calculator iphone app…?

Called the cops from the scene so they have a record of it. Calling my insurance company now.

Hmm a company that has it’s own accident claims calculator iphone app…?

That’s them. Said they were great. They offered to do the whole whiplash business, but he wasn’t interested, just needed a hire car and his car fixed without having to record it on the insurance database, because it will affect the renewal.

if he doesn’t want to use his own insurance company, he can pay yours directly – fairly standard practise.

Regardless, always go through your insurer – this is what you pay them for!

Be prepared for it to affect your renewal premium whatever even if your no claims are protected. They’ll ask about accidents and you should declare it even if it hasn’t gone through the insurers and they use some logic like “if you are in an accident that isn’t your fault you must be an unlucky person and therefore more likely to be in an accident again” 🙂

My insurance premium is affected by an accident which wasn’t my fault when I was driving a hire car. It wasn’t my car, not my insurance, the other insurance paid out in full but it still puts my premium up.

You’re legally obliged to tell your insurer anyway…when you apply for insurance you have to state any accidents (regardless of fault).

If you don’t tell them, you’ll have to lie on all your insurance applications for the next 5 years!

“if you are in an accident that isn’t your fault you must be an unlucky person and therefore more likely to be in an accident again”

kind of true. a certain number of accidents which arent their fault may well have been avoided if they had driven with extra awareness or defensiveness. Technically its not their fault, but by not being a better driver they have a higher risk of costing the underwriter more money (i.e. a better driver would save the underwriter money)

As with all statistics, its about the population distribution, not individual people.

I know it’s kind of true. Just a bit galling when someone drives into the back of you at 50mph when you’re in queuing traffic when someone tells you that a better driver would have avoided it 🙂

a better driver would have seen the lorry in their rearview mirror and nipped up on the pavement out of the way. Face it, you are just Mr Magoo 🙂

You’re legally obliged to tell your insurer anyway…when you apply for insurance you have to state any accidents (regardless of fault).

Knocked wingmirror, opening your door into another vehicle in a car park, stonechips on your body coloured bumpers? Do these count?
Insurance companies are the modern highway men in my opinion. The less they know the better.

No pavement, dual carriageway!

a better driver would have seen the lorry in their rearview mirror and nipped up on the pavement out of the way. Face it, you are just Mr Magoo

I’ve had to do this twice now. Once with a cement mixer bearing down on me with blue smoke pouring from his wheels (I avoided that one with a pavement dash) but the second one I failed to avoid as I stalled in the rush, and the 4WD tractor drove up over the back of my car!

I rear ended a brand new SAAB back in my twenties. I had a brand new (to me) car at the time and was only insured for my old car – hadn’t taken the required ten minutes that morning to swap the policy to the new car. Lots of damage to my car (write off) but his had a few tiny dents and a few chips in the paintwork.

I explained to the guy I’d hit that I wasn’t insured but would pay for repairs and a hire car. Cost me 2.5Gs even though the guy was very reasonable about it and didn’t go down the main dealer / police route. I did have to pay him in cash though, which hurt a LOT – it was my savings for a bike trip along the Karakoram Highway 😥

So it may be worth waiting to see if the guy who hit you can make good on his promises, and put his money where his mouth is…

Just a bit galling when someone drives into the back of you at 50mph when you’re in queuing traffic when someone tells you that a better driver would have avoided it

Not exactly – somebody who doesn’t sit at the back of queueing traffic would have avoided it.

A similar thing happened to me. The other night I was driving home when I suddenly realised there was a police car RIGHT UP MY ARSE,
I wish the kids would stop leaving their toys lying around all over the place

It does make me wonder though what having an accident that does £30,000 pounds worth of damage (and that’s just to the cars nevermind any other costs) does to your insurance premiums…

It does make me wonder though what having an accident that does 30,000 pounds worth of damage does to your insurance premiums…

Not that much surprisingly. I had a mild bump, non-fault, which wrote off my £500 car and the other drivers £10,000 car (new super duper corsa IIRC). The total from that came to somewhere near £20,000 all in, £30,000 is fairly small-time.

Be prepared for it to affect your renewal premium whatever even if your no claims are protected.

Exactly. I was in the identical scenario mentioned above. Slow moving traffic, end of a queue. Postie in his van was late on his round, concentrating on something on his lap and comes steaming up behind at about 30+mph. I still have 8 years no claims, no points, no actual claims to my own insurer, but my premium went up by about 5%.

I would personally try to avoid dealing with insurance companies if the other party is willing.

Thanks for the help all. I’ve gone through it all with my insurer and will call the chap later tonight.

Mr Magoo.

Thanks for the help all. I’ve gone through it all with my insurer and will call the chap later tonight.

Good move imo.

Either go through the insure, or him personally if you think he can be trusted.

The worst thing you could do would be to involve lawyers straight away – that’s exactly why insurance costs so much!

mrblobby – dont bother calling the guy, just let your insurer deal with it all now.
Had the same experience pre xmas with the guy offering to sort it all off record and the call me later blah blah – just let the insurer do their job

my insurance went up by 30 quid after i had an accident (no fault, all came from other parties insurance), so it does make a difference but its not massive.

Its why i can’t help but wonder if insuring a no claims bonus is worth it if you still have to tell them you’ve had an accident and it was your fault!

My car got side swiped when it was parked up bonfire night 2009.
I had a real struggle to get my insurance moving on it. The day after, the other insurance co rang me and offered to deal with all at no expense to me. I wish I’d taken them up on the offer, but the far was already booked in for repair.

It makes sense for the other insurance co to deal with it themselves if they can. Their own garages doing the work plus lower levels of admin must save them quite a bit.

If in the same position again, I’ll be calling their insurance company before my own.

Increases of 5% and 30 quid just sound like normal price inflation to me, not necessarily claims related surely?