Car accident involving colleague

[WrendaleCountryDogs]

On Thursday, a colleague was driving into our work place car park and swerved to avoid a car coming out, and went straight into my car. Cctv shows she was going too fast and the other driver had right of way as it's a narrow entrance/exit and road signs show priority is to the one exiting the car park.
Anyway my car is damaged. I was parked in a bay and not in the car. I took car to garage yesterday and they said its going be around £800 to sort the damage. I've got my MOT in February and the car won't Pass based on the damage.
Spoke to colleague,.who I've known for years and we get on really well. I said we can go through her insurance or she can pay for it. She was very evasive and has now said she's not actually insured. She is also adamant she can't pay £800. This is probably true as she's got twin 2 year old and a 15 month old.

What the he'll do I do? I cannot afford this. Car is a 2010 and done over 150k miles. If the mot failed and it was to cost me £800 I'd scrap it and get another car. But it's not me that has caused this damage.

What do I do???

Insurance. You have no choice. You were kind by offering to let her pay. She doesn't want too. She won't cough up if you give her an ultimatum and will string you along.

She made the decision to drive so that’s her issue to deal with. Is she insured on another car? Maybe she has third party through that

Isn't there a precedent whereby all the other insurers club together into a fund that pays out in the event of an accident involving an insured driver?

It may still rebound on her but it should not necessarily impact your premiums as your insurer won't alone be shouldering alone the cost of putting right the damage.

Completely understand why you wouldn't want her to lose her license etc and it's obviously a really difficult and awkward situation. But you don't really have any choice, either she pays the money or you have to use your insurance. And it's totally her fault for driving carelessly and without insurance. She has chosen to take the risk of driving without insurance and, unfortunately for her, there is now a consequence for that. It should not be your consequence, please don't allow it to be.

I’m sorry, but fuck her. She chose not to get insurance, drive dangerously then plead poverty. Go through your insurance, that’s what you pay it for.

Sorry for typo in my last post - I meant an uninsured driver. The scheme I'm thinking of is run by the MIB - motor insurers' bureau. Your insurers will def know about it.

If it happened at work, have you spoke to the company about their insurance.

6 points for driving without insurance

She didn’t give a fuck about anyone when she got behind the wheel of an uninsured car and drive recklessly, so why should you care about her losing her licence, job or being fined?

What a joke!

I didn't mean she had her kids in the car the time she didn't give way and lost control of her car, smashing into yours @WrendaleCountryDogs

I meant that she obviously drives her kids around in a car uninsured. Which is stupid and irresponsible. Or she's lying and hoping you'll take pity on her.

Either way she's not a good person and she needs to pay for your car to be fixed. You aren't responsible for her poor decisions.

Check your insurance, normally they claim it all back and it doesn’t affect you but sometimes if they pay out as other driver is uninsured they take your no claims.

You may be better bluffing her to pay. I doubt she would lose her license if it’s currently clean if she explains her predicament - but it’s her problem not yours.

A word of warning on cash settlements, if the insurance mends it there is effectively a warranty on the repairs from them. She would just give you cash and you’d have to hope it’s done well.

Similar thing happened to my friend. Go to your insurance and the police. You need a copy of the cctv too. I don’t care if she’s got kids or a job to go too she should have thought about that before driving a car. Stupid cow she is.

It's kind of you to consider the impact on her life, but look at the impact she has had on yours! Aside from what would happen if she was to drive again with a worse accident, possibly with her kids in the car! Think how you would feel knowing that you said nothing. Honestly, don't let her guilt you.

Go through your insurance

and you must report to the police that she is driving without insurance, how would you feel if she actually killed someone and was uninsured?

I wouldn’t take her at her word that she’s not insured

Contact your insurance company. It's illegal to be without insurance. She doesnt sound very trustworthy. Not even sure i would believe her tale about having no insurance. But that's not your problem.

Not your problem if she can afford it or not. She has knowingly driven round without insurance, she must have been aware of the consequences. Report to your insurance company asap.

Consider what will happen in the working environment if you report her to your insurance company. Is it likely people will turn against you for reporting it if you do? What is the actual damage to your car? £800 seems alot for a minor car park incident, for comparison I paid £150 for body work repairs on a white BMW which are notoriously difficult to colour match even main BMW dealers hate doing them.

This is her problem not yours. If she'd hit someone and killed then she'd be looking at a jail sentence. You have an obligation to report any accidents to your insurance company regardless of whether you make a claim or not. People like her need a wake up call.

You need to make this her problem, unfortunately. Driving without insurance is completely reckless. You tried to be reasonable and decent with her but driving without insurance is not a decent or reasonable thing to do.

You have to report any accidents to your insurance otherwise it invalidates it.

contact your insurance company, give them her reg number, and as an uninsured driver they would contact the police. Your insurance may just write it off but pay what the car is worth. It will affect your renewal though, but they always do.

You absolutely must go through your insurance company.

I was hit by an uninsured driver and contacted my insurers straight away. They sorted out the damage and got my car back on the road. The other driver was arrested, sent to court and had to pay for the damages to my insurer and to me to cover my excess in weekly installments. Of course, they defaulted, had a warrant put out, rearrested, back to court they went. I can't remember how long their driving ban was but it turns out they didn't even have a driving licence.

You've got to put yourself first here. It's unfortunate that she's a colleague and has many reasons why she couldn't afford insurance, but if she can't afford insurance then she can't afford to drive a car and shouldn't be on the road. That's what public transport, taxis, feet, cycles and other options are for.

Go to your insurance company and let them deal with it.

I agree with this.
She is an absolute idiot to drive with no insurance.