Should I cancel claim and pay myself?

[Duke Caboom]

Having never claimed for 25 years I made a claim 4 years ago for a total loss which went down as myself at fault. Which it sort of was.

3 weeks ago I was hit by a van driver. Damage on my car was limited to a new front wing and wing mirror. I was stationary at the time of the collision. He failed to stop. I took photos of him driving off. I've informed insurance and Police. Police are at least going through the motions - a PC came round and took statement etc.

I'm assuming the van driver will deny fault. There is unlikely to be any damage on his van. It will be my word against his, there were no witnesses. It was a reputable company so they will be insured, I'm sure, but it will be difficult to prove it was his fault.

I phoned for an insurance quote on one of my other cars yesterday. Apparently they have to assume the worst case scenario for the the current claim. It had risen enormously It had risen enormously (by 4 times, despite lowering the millage considerably) as I now had two fault claims.

NCB is protected but I'm worried about the next quote for my main car. If I have to pay 3 or 4 years of inflated premiums on my everyday car and it goes up anything like the other car it could well be cheaper to pay for the repair and save on future insurance costs.

I've got to pay £300 excess anyway. I could pay for the new wing myself.

Is it too late? I've already had the quotes, got the car booked in and the Police are doing something.

Thoughts please? Thanks

[Drawweight]

You would have had to to inform your insurance company of the accident anyway so that would be on your record.

Whether it makes a difference is really up to your individual company but either way they know.

[Sebring440]

Duke Caboom said:

Is it too late?

Duke Caboom said:

I've informed insurance

Caboom!

[Rotary Potato]

Duke Caboom said:

...

I'm assuming the van driver will deny fault. There is unlikely to be any damage on his van. It will be my word against his, there were no witnesses. It was a reputable company so they will be insured, I'm sure, but it will be difficult to prove it was his fault. ...

A lot of reputable companies have dash cams (or other monitoring systems) installed in their vans to prove/disprove claims like this.

It may well be worth speaking directly to the reputable company involved to see if they have anything that might clarify the question of fault (and if the fault is theirs, whether their insurers want to handle your claim directly, rather than going through your insurance company).

As for the rest of it - you've done the right thing (legally speaking) so far. I would hold off making a decision on whether to proceed with a claim with your insurers until you've spoken to the company owning the van that hit you.

[kestral]

Not many people who are not at fault drive off without stopping to give details.

That might have an impact on the "It's my word against his" situation.