insurance claim or not????

[gileon]

Hi There.

On friday evening I was literally forced off the road and up a huge curb by an oblivious Jeep driver who decided to swap lanes and take the space my car was occupying. Had I not driven up the curb my pride and joy would have been seriously damaged. The driver had obviously not even seen me! The Jeep did not stop, so after getting the contact details of the driver behind me (witness) I persued the Jeep for 4 miles until the driver finally stopped at a set of traffic lights. I took the opportunity to get out of my car and politely knocked on the window and the driver had no knowledge of the event and apologised profusely.
Having exchanged phone numbers a phone call was made over the weekend to exchange insurance details.
I have now been in touch with my insurance company who tell me that as there was no collision they would not persue a claim against the Jeep driver though I can claim on my policy! This obviously means that any claim I make will affect my NCB and premium.
They suggested I ring the Jeep drivers insurance company to see if they can help but my question is this - why should they if there was no collision and would I have been better off letting the accident happen rather than avoiding it?
I now have to pay for the repair of 2 alloys, replacement of 2 tyres, replacement of the front nosecone and wheel alignment. Thats gonna be expensive.
Any ideas!
Ian

[Rory]

Im sorry to hear about your accident. Your insurance company will already use this against you to increse your premium. As you told them you will now have to declaire it as an accident even though you didnt claim. Insurance companys are bastards. I would see if you can repair the damage cheaply (doing a good job). You may find that you can repair it for less than the cost of your insurance excess anyway. If I smashed my car and it was my fault I dont think i would claim. I would break my car for bits and buy another one. I think if I had a fault claim it would ruin any chances of me insuring a fast car again in the near future.

Rory

[Si_Crewe]

I'd phone up the driver and politely explain the situation regarding how the insurance companies don't seem willing to intervene.

Then tell him that unless he springs for the repairs himself, you'll report him to the police for driving without due care and attention and/or dangerous driving.... as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

Make it clear that you have a witness and that a £350 fine and what 6 points does to his premium will, ultimately, be more expensive than doing the honourable thing and paying to get your wheels refurbed/replaced.

Try to be polite while you're threatening the blind cnut though.

[edit]
Be totally sure to put a time limit on any "negotiations" you discuss.
Tell him he's got a week to decide what he's going to do.
If he decides not to help repair the damage he caused, report him to the rozzers.
You can justify this, should it come to it, by saying that you didn't want to get the law involved but found that you had to report it before you could make an insurance claim of any kind.

Also, hopefully, he'll have a job which requires him to drive. A lot of companies demand a clean license so the threat of possibly losing his job as well as the court case might make him cough up.




Speaking as somebody who had the side of a car wrecked on a barbed wire fence when I was forced off the road by a 4x4 you have my deepest sympathy.

[The TVIS Kid]

As above. If you have a witness then you will have a case against him for dangerous driving although you will need to go to the police and report it.

Unfortunatly the chance of getting the bloke to court is very slim and actually getting some kind of conviction or compensation is even slimer.

To be honest this countries justice system is that sh*t it just ain't worth the time or effort.

[ENSMR2]

As I said in another post,

A friend of mine got done by an insurance company after she pulled out on someone. Causing the car she pulled out on to swerve and crash into road furniture. Seeing the crash in the rear view mirror she stopped up the road and walked back. Exchanged details and got hit by the insurance companies lol.

Your insurance co. should still persue this as this is was happened to my friend.

You've got a witness so even better.

[mr tim]

soundz like good advise by the si crew !

[b2hbm]

I think the first thing I'd do is go back and try your insurance again. If they still refuse to pursue it, then on the basis that "there was no accident, no collision" then I can't see how they can use it to increase your premium unless you make a claim on your policy.

Before doing anything though I think I'd get a quote for repairs then you know exactly what you're talking about.

You can legally sue the other driver, something most folks overlook these days. If the insurance fails, then you could try to talk to the guy in the vein of "sorry but I'm going to have to report this to the police and take you to court". Tell him the costs involved and don't forget to mention your independant witness.....

Traditionally people don't use this approach because the insurance companies take over, and he could well contact his insurance company to deal with you directly - he's paying them to keep HIM out of court.

If all else fails though, I've always said that if it's under £1k and no-one else involved then I'd just pay myself and keep quiet. When you take your excess, the fact you lose ncb which means higher premium for at least 2yrs and then they bump up the basic premium "because you've had an accident in the last 5yrs", then it's easy to lose £1k and probably far more.

If you're in doubt, then go-online and get a quote using 2yrs less ncb & an accident in the last 12 months - compare with the same company with your pre-accident details so you can see the real difference.

[Draven]

I'd phone up the driver and politely explain the situation regarding how the insurance companies don't seem willing to intervene.

Then tell him that unless he springs for the repairs himself, you'll report him to the police for driving without due care and attention and/or dangerous driving.... as well as leaving the scene of an accident.

Make it clear that you have a witness and that a £350 fine and what 6 points does to his premium will, ultimately, be more expensive than doing the honourable thing and paying to get your wheels refurbed/replaced.

Try to be polite while you're threatening the blind cnut though.

[edit]
Be totally sure to put a time limit on any "negotiations" you discuss.
Tell him he's got a week to decide what he's going to do.
If he decides not to help repair the damage he caused, report him to the rozzers.
You can justify this, should it come to it, by saying that you didn't want to get the law involved but found that you had to report it before you could make an insurance claim of any kind.

Also, hopefully, he'll have a job which requires him to drive. A lot of companies demand a clean license so the threat of possibly losing his job as well as the court case might make him cough up.




Speaking as somebody who had the side of a car wrecked on a barbed wire fence when I was forced off the road by a 4x4 you have my deepest sympathy.

Sounds like very good advice..

[andy c]

Your insurer will definitely NOT increase your premiums or use the reporting of an accident against you unless they incur an outlay i.e. either you claim or the third party claims.

I work for a large UK insurer and unless your policy wording says differently, this is standard practice.

[gileon]

Thanks all for the advice - its much appreciated!
At least now I have a couple of directions I can go in (though I'll be avoiding Jeep drivers in future!)
I'll keep everyone informed of my progress.
Ian