Rear ended at Traffic Lights - So I go through my insurance?

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sparkyspost

Active Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2005
Messages
220
Location
London
Car
03 CLK AG Auto
On the way home on Sunday, just before I had to head off to Paris I was stopped at traffic lights and a car drove into the back of mine.

We were stopped in a queue with about 4 cars ahead of me with the lights at red.

The lights changed to green but the cars didn't really go anywhere in front.
I took my foot off the break and moved forward slightly then put my foot back on the brake, I didn't brake sharply as I hadn't gone far.
The car behind me didn't brake and went into the back of my car damaging the bumper.

I stopped and tried to take his details but all I got was his name and phone number as he didn't have his insurance certificate.
I took down the reg and colour of the car he was driving and he said that he was insured as a named driver.

I didn't have time before I left to go to Paris to think about calling my insurance company, as I only had time to go and collect my bags and head off to the Eurostar, and there didn't appear to be any damage to his car.
I don't want to have to claim on his insurance (but I will if I have to) as I would rather give him the chance to sort out the damage. I did say that I would try and get an estimate to get it fixed and I'd call him and let him know.

What I'm wondering is should I have told my insurance company regardless of planning to claim on his or not?

What should I do? :confused:

Also anyone reccomend a good body shop in NW10? North London?

Thanks in Advance

Mark
 
You should always tell them....imho but do stress that you are not planning to claim at the moment.
(it might even be in your terms and conditions or insurance that you must tell them as soon as practical..)
 
I had a similar incident a few years ago. I was hit by a HGV on a roundabout. A Polish truck in the left lane, no indication but went right. Ripped off the side protection on my old Beemer 328. He wouldn't admit it was his fault despite the lane markings showing left only. I phoned my insurance co. Later looked at my damage it was something and nothing. Bar refitted, 30 mins of paint work by Father and was good as new. Claim was cancelled. No Claim proceeded. Still to this sodding day it appears on my insurance details as an accident. No fault, but still an accident. I wrote to E-sure and they would not remove it. Said it would constitute fraud as the accident did occur (No blame, no cost). B@st@rds .... Was less than impressed.
 
blackscooby said:
I had a similar incident a few years ago. I was hit by a HGV on a roundabout. A Polish truck in the left lane, no indication but went right. Ripped off the side protection on my old Beemer 328. He wouldn't admit it was his fault despite the lane markings showing left only. I phoned my insurance co. Later looked at my damage it was something and nothing. Bar refitted, 30 mins of paint work by Father and was good as new. Claim was cancelled. No Claim proceeded. Still to this sodding day it appears on my insurance details as an accident. No fault, but still an accident. I wrote to E-sure and they would not remove it. Said it would constitute fraud as the accident did occur (No blame, no cost). B@st@rds .... Was less than impressed.

Thanks guys.

This is exactly what I am concerned with. On the other hand I am worried that the guy will not want to pay to fix the bumper once he hears how much it is. (Not that I know - Anyone have any ideas?)

Thanks Mark.
 
Have you actually called him yet ?

Are you sure he hasn't given you a false name and number ? :eek:

He could have just said he was insured to drive it to reassure you and to make his escape .....

Maybe i'm just too suspicious .....
 
Howard said:
Have you actually called him yet ?

Are you sure he hasn't given you a false name and number ? :eek:

He could have just said he was insured to drive it to reassure you and to make his escape .....

Maybe i'm just too suspicious .....

No!!! Don't go exposing my worst fears!!!

I haven't called him yet as I haven't got the quote for the repairs and I said that I would call on Wednesday.

At the end of the day if he has done a midnight flit, I have the reg number and his name, I guess if they don't add up I'll have to take the loss :mad: :( and maybe spend weekends and late nights hunting the area for him.....:devil:
 
Sorry to hear about this.Im thinking that if you contact him you are going to do this without claiming on your insurance,and try to get him to pay for it with cash.It could work if you bought second hand parts from a breakers, only problem finding one in the correct colour (if not, more ££ getting it sprayed)and fitting it yourself.Possible tho it could go above his policy excess and you could end up waiting weeks for him to decide whether or not to pay up, In the mean time if he didnt and you end up going through your insurance they will want to know why it took so long to report it!!
 
He's in the wrong ...... and has damaged your car ..... he hit you up the a$$ remember ...

Just phone the insurance and have a proper repair done, why should you do it 'on the cheap' to help him out ... if he'd have been paying attention he wouldn't be having to pay for a new back bumper .... :rolleyes:
 
The ultimate rule of the universe is: Guilt diminishes with time.
This wonderful rule applies not only in personal relationships (where it should be the assumed basis of all arrangements at the time of break-up) but also to motor vehicle accidents.

Let me give you a timeline for your particular indident:

Where we are today: "It's my fault, mate, send me the invoice"

After the weekend: "You stopped suddenly, it's knock-for-knock"

Late November: "Your brake lights must be faulty, you are really responsible"

Early December: "You rolled back into me, you can stick your repair bill where the sun doesn't shine - and I am sending you a bill for the repairs to my car."

Just before Chrismas: "You stuck it in reverse and rammed me, you b*****d. I reporting you to the police and my insurance company is taking you to court for the costs."

It is never a good idea to exclude your insurance company. Without them, you will be left high and dry when - not if, but when - the other party's memory decides it is time to re-write history.

(In one of my experiences, I was knocked off my bike by a bad driver. At the scene she admitted guilt and offered to pay all costs directly. After 12 months of wrangling - I kid you not - her version of evenets was that she was parked up and saw me drive by and fall off my bike of my own accord and that she then got out of her stationary car to assist. Of the final verdict [against her] she wrote: "if that's what happens when you are a good samaritan, I shan't bother helping out next time I see someone fall off."

Philip
 
I hope you went round and set her on fire afterwards Philip .....
 
Howard said:
I hope you went round and set her on fire afterwards Philip .....

the right outcome soothed my mental state considerably. I did spend many hours plotting my fanciful revenge, though. Sadly (or probably for the best) I would never go through with my devine retribution.

The silly thing was, despite being injured, I just wanted my bike repaired (no compensation). However, to get it to court, I had to claim £5,000 in damages. So I did and her insurer settled at £3,500 for personal injury.:D
 
prprandall51 said:
The ultimate rule of the universe is: Guilt diminishes with time.
This wonderful rule applies not only in personal relationships (where it should be the assumed basis of all arrangements at the time of break-up) but also to motor vehicle accidents.

Let me give you a timeline for your particular indident:

Where we are today: "It's my fault, mate, send me the invoice"

After the weekend: "You stopped suddenly, it's knock-for-knock"

Late November: "Your brake lights must be faulty, you are really responsible"

Early December: "You rolled back into me, you can stick your repair bill where the sun doesn't shine - and I am sending you a bill for the repairs to my car."

Just before Chrismas: "You stuck it in reverse and rammed me, you b*****d. I reporting you to the police and my insurance company is taking you to court for the costs."

It is never a good idea to exclude your insurance company. Without them, you will be left high and dry when - not if, but when - the other party's memory decides it is time to re-write history.

(In one of my experiences, I was knocked off my bike by a bad driver. At the scene she admitted guilt and offered to pay all costs directly. After 12 months of wrangling - I kid you not - her version of evenets was that she was parked up and saw me drive by and fall off my bike of my own accord and that she then got out of her stationary car to assist. Of the final verdict [against her] she wrote: "if that's what happens when you are a good samaritan, I shan't bother helping out next time I see someone fall off."

Philip
This can be true but just to brighten the thread...I once skidded into a guy on a slip road having hit a diesel spill.
Anyway my bumper is pushed out proud by 2 cm and we inspect his car and see no obvious damage inside the boot or out.
I offer him my details and he simply says "I can't see anything to make a claim on...and it is nearly Christmas, here shake my hand".
That was that!
 
I've just had a similar incident where a woman ran into the back of my wife's Jazz. No visible damage to the other car but one of the Jazz's bumper mountings was bulging through the bumper.
The woman called and said that her brother knows about cars, he can sort it out. Hmm..no thanks.
I claimed on my insurance (Frizzell) and they agreed to a Honda dealer replacing the bumper (comes ready painted!). My insurance company waived my excess and said they will recover the cost from the other woman.

Isn't that what insurance is for?
 
AFAIK you are supposed to report any accident to your insurer, regardless of whether it was your fault or not. I believe no-blame accidents can affect your premium (more than a certain number of them), even if your insurers don't have to pay out.
 
Howard said:
He's in the wrong ...... and has damaged your car ..... he hit you up the a$$ remember ...

Just phone the insurance and have a proper repair done, why should you do it 'on the cheap' to help him out ... if he'd have been paying attention he wouldn't be having to pay for a new back bumper .... :rolleyes:

A good point well said.

When we were on holiday in Cornwall, filling with fuel, the rear seat passenger in the car beside us tried to get out. She opened the door into the wing of our ML. When she felt resistance, ie our car, she thought better of it and closed the door again ...and then immediately tried again, but harder!! :crazy:

Turned out it was he Mother in Law, and she had no reason to get out of the car at all - she just fancied it. She didn't say sorry, and even when her son-in-law asked her what she was doing she denied it and said she hadn't even opened the door!! Luckily he had seen it all - with eyes like this :eek: - from his position in the queue waiting to pay.

I got two quotes - ChipsAway at £117.50 and a bodyshop at £317 - guess which I went for to minimise impact on him, and guess how I feel with the quality of the repair? :mad:

To help me sleep at night, I decided it was a valuable lesson in life!!
 
I'd have stuffed him with the full bill , and let him pass it onto his MIL who did the damage.

Have to agree with the others , ALWAYS inform insurance ; I had 3 no-blame incidents in as many years a while back ( hit by a drunk driver on a roundabout , rear ended on 2 separate occasions whilst stopped in traffic queues ) and it didn't make any noticeable difference to my renewal premiums .

I'd also say , ALWAYS call the police and insist if they are reluctant to come out - you can insist - and get them to check the other driver's details ; they will give him a 'producer' if he has no documentation on him and you are much less likely to be fobbed off with a false name or address - you also have less chance of the 'story' being changed afterwards as the cops will take statements from each of you and these will go on record .
 
Bobby Dazzler's story reminds me of when a guy shunted my Harley at some traffic lights. It was only a scratch on the rear fender and he was a decent guy and very apologetic so I let him off for the price of a bottle of touch-up paint (about a tenner).

So, after I had driven over to the dealership to buy it (about a 30 mile round trip and 2 hours of my life, forgot to charge him for petrol to go and buy it), I was down on my hands and knees touching up this scratch and thinking how crap the repair looked and also thinking: "You, Philip me lad, are a total and utter, stupid, muggins, brainless donkey.... Eeyore! Eeyore!:mad:

Never again....

Philip
 

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