Accident help

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Lo guys,
Had someone reverse into me while they were parking yesterday. I have had some guesstimates done up at MB Mitcham and an Independant garage and they are in the £600-£700 at MB and the independant said he would get back to me. MB think the front bumper will need replacing even though the dents on it are about half a inch (something about not repairing plastic) and also it seems to have pushed the bumper in slightly so the bonnet is not sitting flush although the bonnet isin't damaged. They say the headlamp looks alright but they can't be sure until they take the bumper off.

Question is for those who have had similiar accidents, what would be the best course of action ? I don't really fancy paying my excess which is quite high £500'ish as I am off on holiday soon and although I will get it back would rather spend it on booze and partying there.

Can I claim it off there insurance ? What would be the best course of action ? He did admit liability on the scene and I do have a couple photos and a witness.

Thanks !
 
Last edited:
If it's his fault, you will not pay excess. Excess is only paid if it's your fault. As this is a non-fault claim, it will all be paid for by *his* insurance, and *he* will have to pay *his* excess.

-simon
 
Ah right, thanks for that ! Helps quite a bit
 
Unfortunately, that's not quite right. You will have to pay your excess to the repairer upon completion of the repairs. You can then claim the excess back off the responsible driver's insurance company, using a ULR (uninsured loss recovery) company, as your excess is, you guessed it, an uninsured loss :)

Alternatively, and this is very much dependent on the ULR company, if liability is clear-cut (as appears to be so here), then the claim can be treated as if you didn't have Comprehensive insurance, i.e. as if you had TPF&T. You report it to your insurers, "for information only", and your ULR provider has an independent engineer's report prepared. The repairers repair your vehicle according to the report and submit their invoice to the ULR provider, who recover it from the third-party insurers. This is what is known as a credit repair. Not all ULR providers will do this though.

If you don't have ULR cover, there may be providers who will provide this service for free. Are you with a broker?

f you don't go down this route, if you make a claim on your insurance, you will have to pay your excess to the repairer :(
 
One small thing. Most insurance policies state "do not admit liability if you are involved in accident" or words to that effect. So don't make a big deal about him admitting liability or you might invalidate his insurance!

It's the facts of the accident which establish liability, not something someone says at the scene.
 
Bugblatter said:
One small thing. Most insurance policies state "do not admit liability if you are involved in accident" or words to that effect. So don't make a big deal about him admitting liability or you might invalidate his insurance!
I know where you're coming from, but it won't happen. Most policies do state that, but once an insurer has accepted the risk, they can't refuse a claim from a legitimate third-party, based on what their policyholder has said. Indeed, in this case, if the third-party driver had been drunk, his policy would still indemnify the OP; and that's surely worse than admitting liability ;)
 
I've found where I'm not at fault in crashes, I don't have to pay my excess. Just tell insurance co you aren't paying it as it wasn't your fault and they should claim the full cost from the 3rd party. It's worked for the last 2 incidents I / My wife had.
 
rees_A said:
I've found where I'm not at fault in crashes, I don't have to pay my excess. Just tell insurance co you aren't paying it as it wasn't your fault and they should claim the full cost from the 3rd party. It's worked for the last 2 incidents I / My wife had.
So you didn't have to pay your policy excess to the repairer at all? Who paid the repairer?

If your car(s) were total losses, then I can sort of understand where you're coming from. Assume your excess is £200. Your vehicle is valued at, say £10,000. Your insurers would have paid you this less your excess, so £9,800. They may have an internal ULR service or you could be with a broker, like the AA, so the insurers could pass the offer (which would have details of the excess on) to the ULR team to recover from the third-party insurers. You then get your £200, so you're not out of pocket

Bit different for repairs though ...

If your repairs cost, say £1000 and you have a £200 excess, the insurers will pay the repairers £800. You then have to pay the repairers £200 or they won't release the car. You then submit the excess receipt to a Uninsured Loss Recovery provider/solicitor who will, hopefully, recover it (and any other uninsured losses, such as personal injury damages, torn clothing, inconvenience, etc.)

I've never heard of an insurer paying the repairers the full cost of the repairs if there's an excess to be paid by the insured, on the basis that they believe they are not at fault for an accident.

So, com, are you with a broker, or direct with an insurer? If you're with a broker, my old company, CRS, might be able to help you.
 
Fortunately haven't had to make any claims for a few years but the last one my wife made was against a third party.
To avoid paying excess etc we contacted the third parties insurance company, who approved the repair and paid the repairer.

We didn't pay anything.

The same senario happened with a work collegue.
 
Dieselman said:
Fortunately haven't had to make any claims for a few years but the last one my wife made was against a third party.
To avoid paying excess etc we contacted the third parties insurance company, who approved the repair and paid the repairer.

We didn't pay anything.

The same senario happened with a work collegue.

Yes, this is a variation on this:
Flyer said:
Alternatively, and this is very much dependent on the ULR company, if liability is clear-cut (as appears to be so here), then the claim can be treated as if you didn't have Comprehensive insurance, i.e. as if you had TPF&T. You report it to your insurers, "for information only", and your ULR provider has an independent engineer's report prepared. The repairers repair your vehicle according to the report and submit their invoice to the ULR provider, who recover it from the third-party insurers. This is what is known as a credit repair. Not all ULR providers will do this though.

TP Insurers like this, when liability is clear cut, as they can control the costs more. However, always better to go through a ULR provider if possible as they will be looking after your interests, whereas a TP insurer certainly won't be :D For example, you would most likely be offered a group 1 courtesy car whilst your own is being repaired, whereas a ULR provider will try and get you a car comparable to your own. If there is a PI claim, it is certainly inadvisable to contact them direct for repairs.
 
Thanks for the info guys, its helped quite a bit. I have contacted the guy who reversed into me and he would like to settle it off the books as he does not want to pay his excess / loose his no claims. I have still notified y insurance company and made them aware of the situation and will be taking the car in for a quotation at a garage early next week and will take things from there.
 
Flyer said:
I know where you're coming from, but it won't happen. Most policies do state that, but once an insurer has accepted the risk, they can't refuse a claim from a legitimate third-party, based on what their policyholder has said. Indeed, in this case, if the third-party driver had been drunk, his policy would still indemnify the OP; and that's surely worse than admitting liability ;)

Ah but they can! They have no legal obligation to a third party. Their contract is with their policyholder. Insurers can and do refuse to indemnify their policyholders. This is why the MIB was set up to provide compensation to victims of uninsured drivers. "Uninsured" includes those who have had their policies invalidated. Trust me, I have been in the game since 1975!

OK, it is probably unlikely they would invalidate the policy in this case, but why take the risk?
 

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