Car insurance claim

[User19313]

Hello

Someone reversed into my parked car and left details. We spoke and she said she was hoping to pay the repair costs herself rather than go through insurance. I spent two weeks getting difference quotes and advised the damage costs would be £800. She then said she will need to go through her insurance but has now checked and it says she needed to notify them within 48 hours. Can she not claim now? But she also can't afford to pay?

Just report it to your insurance company, and don't contact her again. Your insurance company will peruse her's for settlement. Do not correspond with anyone other than your insurance company.

I don't want it to effect my no claims bonus etc I thought it was better doing it through hers?

It's also been more than 48 hours for me to contact my insurance company?

It won’t affect your bonus as it was a non fault claim.

Your insurance should pay to get your car fixed and then claim from hers. This is why you pay your premiums!

It helps if you protect your bonus it’s costs very little.

If she is at fault, it shouldn't affect your NCB. Be sure to claim yor excess from her, via your insurance company.

But it's been a few weeks now because I thought she was just going to pay out of pocket

It’s usually a week but they should accept it.

I would always report any claim straight away - regardless of what they say.

You’ve wasted your own time getting quotes - insurance companies just send you to their preferred garage in the area.

And your insurance tells you to report every claim regardless of it resulting in a payment.

claim online now There should be a 24 hour claims lines

Someone I know claimed 3 months after the accident, the claim was dealt with, no problems.

My policy says 12 hours though, her policy 48 hours

Well you can eother report it now and see what happens, or do nothing! .......if you do claim your insurance premium will rise and you have to declare it on any future quotes for 5 years.

Why don't you just report it and see what happens? The more you dither about it, the less you know!

Although it won't (shouldn't) affect your no claims bonus, your premiums will go up. Insurance companies say that the fact that there was no fault on your part is immaterial....'statistics show' that a car involved in an accident (no matter whether any fault) will be at risk of being in another incident. I don't understand this (I can be thick) but have been charged more (above the prevailing increase in rates) the following year with no other incidents or change in circumstances. Apologies for long post.

If you intend to try to claim you need to report it to your insurance ASAP . If you have her insurance details report it to her insurance too

But I thought if I'm not at fault then these things aren't affected?

@User19313

I believe the premium will rise , regardless of fault. DD parked car was hit and her premiums look like they will go up ( according to comparison sights ) she's gutted as she's being penalised when her car was parked,nothing to do with her driving.

By how much do they go up by?

Will I need to pay an excess?

You need to claim through your insurance.

They will claim the costs back through hers.

Ring them and explain you misunderstood and thought she had to claim through her policy. Do it tonight.

@User19313
DD is looking at £200 extra from last year, she is a young driver . Her insurance said they will speak to the underwriters and see what they can do . So cross as her car was parked .

If you claim via your own insurance then you have the option to wait until they confirm the third party has accepted liability, at which point they should waive your excess as they’ll be reclaiming all costs from the other party’s insurer. Or, you can get your car repaired straight away and pay your excess, which will be refunded to you once the third party insurer pays out on the claim.

Re the whole 12 hour/48 hour rule, don’t worry about it. The insurer will still accept and deal with the claim if you report it now.

She or you can report it to HER insurers now, its not too late. Likewise you can go via your own if you so wish and they can recover the repair costs and any excess you will be liable for from hers.

DD didn't pay anything, the lady who hit her admitted liability and her insurance paid everything.

Statue of limitations for non injury is 3 years so you've plenty of time

Your no claims bonus is unaffected, but you have had a no fault accident so it will increase your premiums next rime you renew. It's not fair but it is what happens

Why don't you have this conversation with your insurance company, who will be able to give you exact and relevant information, unlike a bunch of randoms?

You contact them. They deal with it. Assuming the third party does admit fault, then they'll cover your excess as part of the claim.

Your no-claims bonus will probably be reduced, you don't lose it altogether but it will be reduced.

However, statistically speaking, making a no-fault claim does make you more likely to make an at-fault claim - so your premium at next renewal is likely to be higher, because you are a bigger risk to the insurer. If you claim via the third party, your insurance company will still find out, so any claim will mean your premium probably goes up. This is why insurers say report it within x time, it's to try to get customers to report it quickly rather than try to sort it themselves and fail to declare the accident. This is why people tend to think they should not do through insurance, ignoring the fact that this is what insurance is for; going via the insurance means greater protection about the standard of repairs; and, you should be declaring the accident regardless of whether you make a claim.