Hol

iTrader: (1)

Until last May I had never had an accident or conviction on my insurance record since passing may test in 1985 (im 34) and always seemed to have no trouble getting quoted for anything.

When some bloke rubbed the rear wheel of a temporary car I was driving on a Third Party policy (not protected NCB) I thought there was no way he could claim against me as I had right of way, being in front - it was no way my fault .
Anyway, the car was 10yrs old and all I had as damage was a slightly marked wheel and he had a small rubber scuff on his . For safety I even put the car in for an MOT, which it duly passed.

Initially, things went quiet, but then all of a sudden his company car is repaired, without seeing an engineer, and my insurance company is presented with a £900 bill. For a bumper scuff?! Because I had no independent witnesses I’m told the best I can hope for is 50/50. And an NCB drop to 3yrs.

An independent engineer from my insurer (who have been Very Supportive) has viewed the vehicle I had driven, (luckily stored in my garage for 5mths), and confirmed that the damage to my vehicle and the other drivers claim (new wing, new bumper) are inconsistent. I am convinced that he has had other damage since he hit me.

The moral of this story is that if someone hits you, take photos, and take names and registration numbers of everyone around so that you are sure of a fair recourse..

Its been nearly a year now and I still do not have my Full NCB and my insurance record reinstated, if indeed I ever will, given the time that has passed.

I am therefore looking at having to pay upto £1500 for insurance on an STI that I hope to buy soon.
It’s not the money that bothers me, as when you are talking £12-14k cars, £500 can be negotiated in a price, but it is the issue of being had over.

PaulT00

Deepest sympathy. I had a similar sort of thing a few years ago. Woman in knackered rover 213 pulls out in front of me on a roundabout (I had right of way) and despite my best efforts, we touch - my front n/s wing to her rear o/s wing.

Damage to my car: minor scuff on the bumber rubber, a couple of fine scratches on the wing (which polished out). Don't remember what damage there was to her car at the time - adrenaline overload - but she made a big song and dance about "you t-boned my car, it's all your fault, <snarl><snap>".

Took her details, gave her mine, then drove straight to the police station to (a) report the accident and (b) get someone independent to look at the damage on my car.

Just as well I did... 3 weeks later a nasty letter arrives from her solicitors: "blah blah, major damage to the offside, blah blah, new door skin and rear wing, blah, estimate attached, blah, legal action to recover costs if we don't hear from your insurance company immediately".

It took a lot of arguing, but eventually my insurance company spoke to the police officer I'd shown the damage to, decided that there were inconsistencies between what the third party was claiming and the state of my vehicle, and told her and her solicitor and insurance company to s*d off.

But that wasn't the end of the story. I thought, once they had closed the claim, that that was it. But when renewal came around, I discovered that my insurance company (who hadn't paid out, remember) had closed the claim WITHOUT BONUS ALLOWED, i.e. I had lost a chunk of NCB even though they hadn't made a payout. It took a major argument, working up through the hierarchy there, until eventually I made someone see that either the claim was closed and they hadn't paid out so I should have my NCB allowed, or the claim should still be regarded as open. They finally did restore my NCB but it was a lot of hassle.

The moral of this story: just because your insurance company doesn't pay out doesn't necessarily mean everything is fine. They're in this game to make money...

ADP

I am ****, and carry a disposable in the glove box, not just incase someone crashes into me, but mainly for that purpose,

used once already for somene else, a ferrari infront of me in a ditch in fact

Boost II

iTrader: (1)

We had a similar incident where we had right of way and someone hit us on a roundabout. After getting a repair quote at a local garage they referred us to a company called HelpHire. They will only take on clear cut cases where a third party is to blame, usually when you've been rear ended, so we might have been a bit lucky to be accepted. Anyway they authorise repairs and have legal people to recover costs. They also give you a nice hire car whilst yours is off the road and charge well over the odds for it - this is where they make thier money, but these costs are also recovered from the 3rd party's insurance company.

It is all free but you can pay an optional £10 for an insurance policy which means even if they fail to recover costs you don't have to pay any of the money yourself.

The whole thing got very messy and was going to go to court, but this company fixed everything and it saved going through our insurance company and jeopardising a loss of NCB.

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

ADP

I don't think you'rebeing **** at all by carrying a disposable camera. We have one in our scoob too, you just can't be too careful these days as the above threads show

Sal

Hol

iTrader: (1)

Strangely enough the car that hit me was a Rover!!!

matt.bowey

I also carry a camera in the glove box! Make sure its gotta flash!!

SiDHEaD

i used helphire. very good, got me a courtesy car during repairs and i didnt have to pay my excess (£700!!!) out. Just cost me about £10 for costs.

Andy

Jerome

I also carry a camera in the glovebox. I would also advise taking a photo of the driver as well as the cars, road etc.

[Edited by Jerome - 4/29/2002 6:31:51 PM]