Help with potential insurance claim
Discussion
Hi
I would appreciate some help before my wife contacts her insurance company regarding a recent accident; neither of us have ever made an insurance claim hence the lack of knowledge.
On Sunday afternoon my wife was stationary in a line of traffic when she was rear ended. The female driver claimed that she had been distracted by her child in the rear seat (she was driving a fairly big Mercedes so the momentum would have been significant), and admitted liability and offered to pay for the damage. Our dog was in the boot and didn’t seem injured but we subsequently noticed a graze on his eye (he’s fine). The car (Skoda Scala) has what I would deem superficial damage to the bumper (dents and scratches) and would need repaired and repainted or replaced. My wife called me and I told her to get details and take a pictures; she was obviously flustered and it couldn’t come at a worse time as she has recently been diagnosed with a malignant mole and is waiting to get it removed (this is not relevant to the question, but her stress levels are high!).
I wasn’t far away having just parked up so made my way to the accident. I told the woman driver (she is Polish but her grasp of English seemed okay) that I was going to take some pictures for the insurance claim. When we got home my wife realised she didn’t have any address or email so texted her to politely ask for more information. She then received a text back saying she was distraught and her mental health was impacted by the fact I had taken pictures of her (it was her car I was taking picture off; she was back in it at this point) and she isn’t going to provide any further information and believes our dog “was already injured”. I have dash cam footage from the front, which I am waiting to download once I get an SD card reader as the app isn’t connecting; I anticipate that it will show the sudden “thud” and record the noise of the collision.
In this type of situation what is the likely impact on my wife’s insurance? She is with eSure and has around 4 years NCB, which I think is not protected, with an excess of £250. She is clearly not at fault, but I fully anticipate that the driver who hit her is going to come up with some nonsense given her last text.
I am quite handy and could find a used rear bumper myself and fit it for around £200-300 if it doesn’t need paint, but I would rather do without the hassle. I would rather make a claim, not least because of the subsequent behaviour of the driver, but not to the extent that it would be self defeating in terms of my wife’s insurance. There was no visible damage to the car that hit my wife’s car.
Thanks in advance for some help.
I would appreciate some help before my wife contacts her insurance company regarding a recent accident; neither of us have ever made an insurance claim hence the lack of knowledge.
On Sunday afternoon my wife was stationary in a line of traffic when she was rear ended. The female driver claimed that she had been distracted by her child in the rear seat (she was driving a fairly big Mercedes so the momentum would have been significant), and admitted liability and offered to pay for the damage. Our dog was in the boot and didn’t seem injured but we subsequently noticed a graze on his eye (he’s fine). The car (Skoda Scala) has what I would deem superficial damage to the bumper (dents and scratches) and would need repaired and repainted or replaced. My wife called me and I told her to get details and take a pictures; she was obviously flustered and it couldn’t come at a worse time as she has recently been diagnosed with a malignant mole and is waiting to get it removed (this is not relevant to the question, but her stress levels are high!).
I wasn’t far away having just parked up so made my way to the accident. I told the woman driver (she is Polish but her grasp of English seemed okay) that I was going to take some pictures for the insurance claim. When we got home my wife realised she didn’t have any address or email so texted her to politely ask for more information. She then received a text back saying she was distraught and her mental health was impacted by the fact I had taken pictures of her (it was her car I was taking picture off; she was back in it at this point) and she isn’t going to provide any further information and believes our dog “was already injured”. I have dash cam footage from the front, which I am waiting to download once I get an SD card reader as the app isn’t connecting; I anticipate that it will show the sudden “thud” and record the noise of the collision.
In this type of situation what is the likely impact on my wife’s insurance? She is with eSure and has around 4 years NCB, which I think is not protected, with an excess of £250. She is clearly not at fault, but I fully anticipate that the driver who hit her is going to come up with some nonsense given her last text.
I am quite handy and could find a used rear bumper myself and fit it for around £200-300 if it doesn’t need paint, but I would rather do without the hassle. I would rather make a claim, not least because of the subsequent behaviour of the driver, but not to the extent that it would be self defeating in terms of my wife’s insurance. There was no visible damage to the car that hit my wife’s car.
Thanks in advance for some help.
Sounds pretty clear cut, third party hot you in the rear. Report it ASAP mention the car and dog to your insurers. Take the dog to the vet as without any cost their is no claim for that part.
Let your insurers do what you pay them to do and try not to worry too much, sounds like you have more important things to worry about.
Let your insurers do what you pay them to do and try not to worry too much, sounds like you have more important things to worry about.
Had a non fault claim in similar circumstances, took a long time (2 years total) to finally be completely resolved due to dodginess on the part of the other driver, but was all ok in the end. Insurance company (Axa) actually came back to me later and voluntarily refunded the amount they'd increased my premium by while it was an open claim.
Sounds like you've got one who's going to be hassle here. Save yourself some grief and pass it to your insurers.
Sounds like you've got one who's going to be hassle here. Save yourself some grief and pass it to your insurers.
tim0409 said:
She then received a text back saying she was distraught and her mental health was impacted by the fact I had taken pictures of her (it was her car I was taking picture off; she was back in it at this point) and she isn’t going to provide any further information and believes our dog “was already injured”.
Oh dear, the desperately shallow lies of a blatantly dishonest person. No reg number? The mobile number might well have a name and address but that might be a police-only thing. Or could an insurance company trace it? If not and you have insurance against non-insured drivers would that work? But you don't want to be hit by higher premiums for the next few years.Sorry I can't help further; good luck getting it sorted out.
As a few have already said, just go straight to insurance with all the details you have available and let them do their thing.
I can speak from experience, it does not pay to try to settle outside of the insurance or to do the repairs yourself, there will almost certainly be things you can't see that have been broken e.g. clips and clasps, brackets, things that sound cheap but can be expensive and a ball ache to sort.
A woman recently drove into the front of my car while it was parked outside of the house, I allowed her to settle outside of the insurance company, so I got a quote and she gave me cash. Well, the car is in having the work done this week and the number of extra unknown damage is surprising, just small things, brackets etc, but it adds time and cost, even a tiny crack in a grill turns out to be a full crack and needs £120 in repairs, a used grill is £200 and a new one even more again, unexpected costs. So, I will be out of pocket on this one....but I do still have my long no claims....live and learn I guess....
I can speak from experience, it does not pay to try to settle outside of the insurance or to do the repairs yourself, there will almost certainly be things you can't see that have been broken e.g. clips and clasps, brackets, things that sound cheap but can be expensive and a ball ache to sort.
A woman recently drove into the front of my car while it was parked outside of the house, I allowed her to settle outside of the insurance company, so I got a quote and she gave me cash. Well, the car is in having the work done this week and the number of extra unknown damage is surprising, just small things, brackets etc, but it adds time and cost, even a tiny crack in a grill turns out to be a full crack and needs £120 in repairs, a used grill is £200 and a new one even more again, unexpected costs. So, I will be out of pocket on this one....but I do still have my long no claims....live and learn I guess....
Similar thing happened to the wife just under a year ago, we informed her insurance straight away and let them deal with it, her car was pretty heavily damaged and eventually written off. Her insurance had us sorted with a rental car next day, paid out the write off value within a couple of weeks of being declared written off, with just one objection about the value. As soon as we had everything agreed we bought a replacement car to minimise the rental.
Personal injury bit was sorted relatively quickly.
Only issue, our son passed his test, we bought him a car and, as the claim was still open, couldn't add the wife to his policy as a second driver. Her insurance renewal didn't go up any more than everyone else when that came around.
Personal injury bit was sorted relatively quickly.
Only issue, our son passed his test, we bought him a car and, as the claim was still open, couldn't add the wife to his policy as a second driver. Her insurance renewal didn't go up any more than everyone else when that came around.
As others have said, that's what your insurance is for, so report it and let them deal with it. Hopefully you also have Legal Expenses Cover.
I imagine the woman in the other car, realises she's at fault and thinks she can get away with it. Having an accident is one thing, but getting home and realising that you've selected a £1,500 excess to reduce the premium often brings people around to a reality.
If she hasn't given you guys her name/address and is refusing to, then she hasn't complied with the RTA procedure and you can report her for failing to provide.
I imagine the woman in the other car, realises she's at fault and thinks she can get away with it. Having an accident is one thing, but getting home and realising that you've selected a £1,500 excess to reduce the premium often brings people around to a reality.
If she hasn't given you guys her name/address and is refusing to, then she hasn't complied with the RTA procedure and you can report her for failing to provide.
my wife was rear-ended on the M40 a few years back by a white van driver from Poland whose command of EngRish was quite poor (according to TVP officer).
making matters worse was the same TVP officer didn't get any details of the Polish WVD.
when i went to the breakers yard in Taplow the Polish WVD's car was there. so i took a bunch of pictures including of their reg plate (which had dealer name, phone #, etc) on it AND took pictures of the Polish tax decal on WVD's windscreen.
when we filed for the incident, it took our insurer a day to agree not our fault, and in the space of < 1mo they had traced all the drivers details and were going after them.
moral? ALWAYS take pictures of the foreign tax decal on foreigners windscreen (and reg plate frame if it has dealers info)!
making matters worse was the same TVP officer didn't get any details of the Polish WVD.
when i went to the breakers yard in Taplow the Polish WVD's car was there. so i took a bunch of pictures including of their reg plate (which had dealer name, phone #, etc) on it AND took pictures of the Polish tax decal on WVD's windscreen.
when we filed for the incident, it took our insurer a day to agree not our fault, and in the space of < 1mo they had traced all the drivers details and were going after them.
moral? ALWAYS take pictures of the foreign tax decal on foreigners windscreen (and reg plate frame if it has dealers info)!
Steve-B said:
my wife was rear-ended on the M40 a few years back by a white van driver from Poland whose command of EngRish was quite poor (according to TVP officer).
making matters worse was the same TVP officer didn't get any details of the Polish WVD.
when i went to the breakers yard in Taplow the Polish WVD's car was there. so i took a bunch of pictures including of their reg plate (which had dealer name, phone #, etc) on it AND took pictures of the Polish tax decal on WVD's windscreen.
when we filed for the incident, it took our insurer a day to agree not our fault, and in the space of < 1mo they had traced all the drivers details and were going after them.
moral? ALWAYS take pictures of the foreign tax decal on foreigners windscreen (and reg plate frame if it has dealers info)!
If you’re taking photos, always take a picture of the VIN in the windshield (by law it has to be visible). That will cover dodgy VRMs.making matters worse was the same TVP officer didn't get any details of the Polish WVD.
when i went to the breakers yard in Taplow the Polish WVD's car was there. so i took a bunch of pictures including of their reg plate (which had dealer name, phone #, etc) on it AND took pictures of the Polish tax decal on WVD's windscreen.
when we filed for the incident, it took our insurer a day to agree not our fault, and in the space of < 1mo they had traced all the drivers details and were going after them.
moral? ALWAYS take pictures of the foreign tax decal on foreigners windscreen (and reg plate frame if it has dealers info)!
tim0409 said:
Hi
I would appreciate some help before my wife contacts her insurance company regarding a recent accident; neither of us have ever made an insurance claim hence the lack of knowledge.
On Sunday afternoon my wife was stationary in a line of traffic when she was rear ended. The female driver claimed that she had been distracted by her child in the rear seat (she was driving a fairly big Mercedes so the momentum would have been significant), and admitted liability and offered to pay for the damage. Our dog was in the boot and didn’t seem injured but we subsequently noticed a graze on his eye (he’s fine). The car (Skoda Scala) has what I would deem superficial damage to the bumper (dents and scratches) and would need repaired and repainted or replaced. My wife called me and I told her to get details and take a pictures; she was obviously flustered and it couldn’t come at a worse time as she has recently been diagnosed with a malignant mole and is waiting to get it removed (this is not relevant to the question, but her stress levels are high!).
I wasn’t far away having just parked up so made my way to the accident. I told the woman driver (she is Polish but her grasp of English seemed okay) that I was going to take some pictures for the insurance claim. When we got home my wife realised she didn’t have any address or email so texted her to politely ask for more information. She then received a text back saying she was distraught and her mental health was impacted by the fact I had taken pictures of her (it was her car I was taking picture off; she was back in it at this point) and she isn’t going to provide any further information and believes our dog “was already injured”. I have dash cam footage from the front, which I am waiting to download once I get an SD card reader as the app isn’t connecting; I anticipate that it will show the sudden “thud” and record the noise of the collision.
In this type of situation what is the likely impact on my wife’s insurance? She is with eSure and has around 4 years NCB, which I think is not protected, with an excess of £250. She is clearly not at fault, but I fully anticipate that the driver who hit her is going to come up with some nonsense given her last text.
I am quite handy and could find a used rear bumper myself and fit it for around £200-300 if it doesn’t need paint, but I would rather do without the hassle. I would rather make a claim, not least because of the subsequent behaviour of the driver, but not to the extent that it would be self defeating in terms of my wife’s insurance. There was no visible damage to the car that hit my wife’s car.
Thanks in advance for some help.
This may or may not be helpful and of course is just my view but be prepared for a fight with Esure. My father was with them last year when a car cut in front whilst braking and hit his front bumper before driving off. Luckily, having front and rear cameras meant we had everything including the number plate. I did an askMID request to get the insurers and we submitted the lot to Esure.I would appreciate some help before my wife contacts her insurance company regarding a recent accident; neither of us have ever made an insurance claim hence the lack of knowledge.
On Sunday afternoon my wife was stationary in a line of traffic when she was rear ended. The female driver claimed that she had been distracted by her child in the rear seat (she was driving a fairly big Mercedes so the momentum would have been significant), and admitted liability and offered to pay for the damage. Our dog was in the boot and didn’t seem injured but we subsequently noticed a graze on his eye (he’s fine). The car (Skoda Scala) has what I would deem superficial damage to the bumper (dents and scratches) and would need repaired and repainted or replaced. My wife called me and I told her to get details and take a pictures; she was obviously flustered and it couldn’t come at a worse time as she has recently been diagnosed with a malignant mole and is waiting to get it removed (this is not relevant to the question, but her stress levels are high!).
I wasn’t far away having just parked up so made my way to the accident. I told the woman driver (she is Polish but her grasp of English seemed okay) that I was going to take some pictures for the insurance claim. When we got home my wife realised she didn’t have any address or email so texted her to politely ask for more information. She then received a text back saying she was distraught and her mental health was impacted by the fact I had taken pictures of her (it was her car I was taking picture off; she was back in it at this point) and she isn’t going to provide any further information and believes our dog “was already injured”. I have dash cam footage from the front, which I am waiting to download once I get an SD card reader as the app isn’t connecting; I anticipate that it will show the sudden “thud” and record the noise of the collision.
In this type of situation what is the likely impact on my wife’s insurance? She is with eSure and has around 4 years NCB, which I think is not protected, with an excess of £250. She is clearly not at fault, but I fully anticipate that the driver who hit her is going to come up with some nonsense given her last text.
I am quite handy and could find a used rear bumper myself and fit it for around £200-300 if it doesn’t need paint, but I would rather do without the hassle. I would rather make a claim, not least because of the subsequent behaviour of the driver, but not to the extent that it would be self defeating in terms of my wife’s insurance. There was no visible damage to the car that hit my wife’s car.
Thanks in advance for some help.
That was July 2024. I had to chase them every two weeks until Feb this year when Direct Line finally settled. Esure were not bothered about pushing, said they had the footage, then didn't, then said it was my Father's fault, rinse and repeat until I had enough, got extremely foul with them and got managers etc involved.
Two weeks of pushing for 6 months. Had I not, it would still be ongoing now.
I've moved him away from them on renewal and have vowed never to use Esure again.
If liability is clear cut, just use the services of an Accident Management Company. A decent one will take all the hassle out of the situation, you won’t have to pay an excess and they’ll deal with everything as well as giving you a like for like hire vehicle whilst yours is being repaired.
KungFuPanda said:
If liability is clear cut, just use the services of an Accident Management Company. A decent one will take all the hassle out of the situation, you won’t have to pay an excess and they’ll deal with everything as well as giving you a like for like hire vehicle whilst yours is being repaired.
Be careful using accident management companies and having the "free" hire car. If the other party's insurance can't be made to pay or it ends up partially your fault, you will end up footing the bill (or a proportions of it).Also, the cost of hire cars can lead to your car being written off with relatively minor damage.
Pica-Pica said:
If you’re taking photos, always take a picture of the VIN in the windshield (by law it has to be visible). That will cover dodgy VRMs.
I don't think (by law it has to be visible) is actually a law although I agree it should be.There are quite a few cars that don't have a visible vin, the very common Fiat 500 for instance is on the nearside of the boot floor.
Tyre Tread said:
KungFuPanda said:
If liability is clear cut, just use the services of an Accident Management Company. A decent one will take all the hassle out of the situation, you won’t have to pay an excess and they’ll deal with everything as well as giving you a like for like hire vehicle whilst yours is being repaired.
Be careful using accident management companies and having the "free" hire car. If the other party's insurance can't be made to pay or it ends up partially your fault, you will end up footing the bill (or a proportions of it).Aretnap said:
Tyre Tread said:
KungFuPanda said:
If liability is clear cut, just use the services of an Accident Management Company. A decent one will take all the hassle out of the situation, you won’t have to pay an excess and they’ll deal with everything as well as giving you a like for like hire vehicle whilst yours is being repaired.
Be careful using accident management companies and having the "free" hire car. If the other party's insurance can't be made to pay or it ends up partially your fault, you will end up footing the bill (or a proportions of it).Better explained here : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/64...
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