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Original poster

Advice on car insurance claim?

40 replies

Spinkey · 02/01/2024 21:04

I’m a disabled driver. Someone parked badly in the Asda car park during the Xmas rush and I bumped their car while trying to reverse out. Totally my fault, if I couldn’t get out I should have got the driver to move their car instead of trying to squeeze past.

Asked them to announce it on the tannoy in Asda and the driver came out. He was perfectly pleasant, exchanged details, said he would get a quote for repair and let me know the cost. I’ve never had an accident before so this sounded fine.

He’s got in touch with the quote and it’s more than expected. I thought I just broke the front light and I would pay maybe £150 in cash and avoid making a claim. But apparently the bumper is dinted as well, which means the repair will cost four figures. My excess is £200 so obviously I replied and said it’s more than I can afford so it will need to go through insurance.

Anyway it turns out he has already had it done and paid for it. So he is very annoyed that I won’t refund him the cash. DH says we are fucked if I send the quote to my insurance and they won’t accept it or insist on a different garage. I’m chewing myself to bits with worry because I can’t possibly pay for it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 21:40

Now DH is saying I was supposed to ring the insurance company on the day it happened. How am I supposed to know this when I’ve never had an accident before? DH could have told me this at the time but he didn’t.

Now he’s saying it’s my fault for accepting that the other driver would get a quote and let me know how much. He says I should have guessed it would cost more than the excess and called the insurance from the beginning. But how am I supposed to know how much a car repair might cost? I have no clue about cars or how much they cost. So now he’s yelling at me saying “You’re an adult, of course you should have an idea how much car repairs cost!” But I don’t.

OP posts:
whoscoatsthatjacket2012 · 02/01/2024 22:20

Your excess is irrelevant first of all. It applies to your claim not the third party's.
Your insurance company can't tell a third party where to have his car repaired either.
I'd ring your insurers and report it. Tell them what happened. They'll tut and make a face but ultimately it doesn't matter.
They can get their engineers to check out the repair costs and they'll reimburse him directly.

chewsandwhine · 02/01/2024 22:28

He Said he’d get a quote and let you know the cost, which he didn’t. He just went ahead and fixed without talking to you.
So really, he hasn’t given you the chance to go through insurance and maybe you can’t now.
He took things into his own hands with no negotiations.
Maybe you need legal advice but I’d think it’s all done and dusted now. Insurance might refuse the claim as not reported when it happened, no photos etc ?
I may be completely wrong though.

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 22:36

I thought my excess was how much I had to pay then the insurance covers the rest?

OP posts:
MadeForThis · 02/01/2024 22:36

Has he given you the invoice from the garage? Or are you just supposed to believe him?

121gigawatts · 02/01/2024 22:42

When you say the Xmas rush, when was this? It seems very quick to get a repair done if this just before Xmas with most garages being closed. I'd do what @whoscoatsthatjacket2012 suggested and call your insurance and they can check everything.

hellojelly · 02/01/2024 22:42

Spinkey · 02/01/2024 22:36

I thought my excess was how much I had to pay then the insurance covers the rest?

Only if you're claiming to fix your own vehicle, as far as I'm aware. If you aren't claiming for repairs on your car there should be no excess to pay.

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 22:54

MadeForThis · 02/01/2024 22:36

Has he given you the invoice from the garage? Or are you just supposed to believe him?

He’s provided the quote and the receipt he has paid.

OP posts:
mum11970 · 02/01/2024 22:56

Don’t believe a word the other driver says, he's more than likely trying to pull a fast one.
When did this accident happen, as pp has already said if this happened very close to Christmas it is extremely unlikely he has had his car fixed this quick.
Inform your insurance and leave it their hands. Whatever you do, do not give this man any cash.

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:00

121gigawatts · 02/01/2024 22:42

When you say the Xmas rush, when was this? It seems very quick to get a repair done if this just before Xmas with most garages being closed. I'd do what @whoscoatsthatjacket2012 suggested and call your insurance and they can check everything.

Evening of the 20th. He texted and said it would be the new year before he could get a garage to quote, because they were only open for a day and a half then they were closing for Christmas. Then today he texted me an invoice and a receipt along with his bank details.

OP posts:
Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:01

I did not know this about only paying the excess if you claim for your own car.

OP posts:
NYName · 02/01/2024 23:06

Did you take photos of the damage to his car?
Your insurers may need this if they can't see the damage for themselves now as it's been fixed

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:06

He will still need to make a claim on his insurance either way.
If it's your fault then his insurance will get in contact with your insurance and will claim off your insurance.
That's how it works

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:08

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:06

He will still need to make a claim on his insurance either way.
If it's your fault then his insurance will get in contact with your insurance and will claim off your insurance.
That's how it works

I didn’t know this either. I’ve never had an accident before so never made a claim. Nobody tells you this stuff. I thought I just called my insurance and they paid for it. I’ve made a right mess haven’t I 😩

OP posts:
Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:09

NYName · 02/01/2024 23:06

Did you take photos of the damage to his car?
Your insurers may need this if they can't see the damage for themselves now as it's been fixed

Yes I have a photo.

OP posts:
Ratfinkstinkypink · 02/01/2024 23:11

I'd be very suspicious, the repair seems to have happened very quickly. Most garages are booking weeks in advance at the moment.

OneMoreTime23 · 02/01/2024 23:12

Now DH is saying I was supposed to ring the insurance company on the day it happened. How am I supposed to know this when I’ve never had an accident before? DH could have told me this at the time but he didn’t.

Your contract with your insurers will also require you not to admit fault at the scene. It’s all explained in the documents they send you. Worth reading them before you drive again.

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:13

Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:08

I didn’t know this either. I’ve never had an accident before so never made a claim. Nobody tells you this stuff. I thought I just called my insurance and they paid for it. I’ve made a right mess haven’t I 😩

Show quote history

I don't think you've made a right mess no.
If it happened recently I don't think the insurance company are going to be too bothered about the length of time taken telling them.
To be honest it is up to the other person still about the action they decided to do because it's their car that was damaged. I mean he couldn't guarantee you'd pay him back could he? He just took that risk.
So to be honest I think it's more on him.
If he really wanted to make sure someone else paid for it he either needed to tell you the quote first or go through insurance.
His insurance company might still pay out even though he's sorted it but that's their decision to make.

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:14

OneMoreTime23 · 02/01/2024 23:12

Now DH is saying I was supposed to ring the insurance company on the day it happened. How am I supposed to know this when I’ve never had an accident before? DH could have told me this at the time but he didn’t.

Your contract with your insurers will also require you not to admit fault at the scene. It’s all explained in the documents they send you. Worth reading them before you drive again.

I also did not know this. What do I do? Because when I said “let me know how much the quote is” I pretty much admitted fault. Am I not covered then?!

OP posts:
GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 02/01/2024 23:25

I wouldn't worry overly much OP - yes, you shouldn't have admitted fault, but if he was parked and you hit a stationary vehicle that didn't even have a driver in it, it can hardly be his fault. Even an insurance company couldn't do the mental gymnastics required for that, and they're Olympic standard!

Call your insurance company, tell them what happened on the day, tell them he's paid for the repair already. Do you have his reg number? They'll be able to get his insurance details from that if he didn't give them to you.

Don't panic. It's only a few days ago, it's been Xmas, it's not grossly unreasonable that you didn't contact them over the holiday. Yes you should have called them on the day, but that ship's sailed. They might be a bit snippy, but that's it.

Original poster
Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:27

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:13

I don't think you've made a right mess no.
If it happened recently I don't think the insurance company are going to be too bothered about the length of time taken telling them.
To be honest it is up to the other person still about the action they decided to do because it's their car that was damaged. I mean he couldn't guarantee you'd pay him back could he? He just took that risk.
So to be honest I think it's more on him.
If he really wanted to make sure someone else paid for it he either needed to tell you the quote first or go through insurance.
His insurance company might still pay out even though he's sorted it but that's their decision to make.

Show quote history

He was pretty sure I’d pay because we recognised each other when he came out of Asda, he works with my uncle and he obviously knows we are an honest family. Equally I’m fairly sure he’s legit. I feel awful because he’s expecting me to pay for it, and I did do it.

I just didn’t know all of this stuff about how the insurance works. I thought I had to pay for it in cash if it cost less than the excess. And if it cost more I would have to pay the excess and my insurance would cover the rest. And I thought my insurance paid if I was at fault, I didn’t realise his insurance had to be involved at all.

But presumably he does know this stuff, and I don’t think he’s informed his insurance? Which is weird if he knows how it’s supposed to work. When he texted me the receipt for a four figure sum, did he think I was just going to pay it and not claim?

OP posts:
mum11970 · 02/01/2024 23:28

Calm down and don’t let your husband or anyone else scare you just phone your insurance company, give them the other driver’s details and they will get in touch with the other driver’s insurance company.
We have a body shop and I’d be very surprised if the other driver has had any work done in this time frame. How detailed is the quote and the subsequent bill?

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:34

Spinkey · 02/01/2024 23:27

He was pretty sure I’d pay because we recognised each other when he came out of Asda, he works with my uncle and he obviously knows we are an honest family. Equally I’m fairly sure he’s legit. I feel awful because he’s expecting me to pay for it, and I did do it.

I just didn’t know all of this stuff about how the insurance works. I thought I had to pay for it in cash if it cost less than the excess. And if it cost more I would have to pay the excess and my insurance would cover the rest. And I thought my insurance paid if I was at fault, I didn’t realise his insurance had to be involved at all.

But presumably he does know this stuff, and I don’t think he’s informed his insurance? Which is weird if he knows how it’s supposed to work. When he texted me the receipt for a four figure sum, did he think I was just going to pay it and not claim?

Show quote history

Well ultimately he still made that choice to go ahead though himself didn't he.
I wouldn't worry so much.
He should have told you the amount first if he wanted you to pay either way.
Insurance may still pay out as well.
And yes he may well not have told his insurance. People do have accidents and not tell their insurance.

purpleme12 · 02/01/2024 23:34

But again, his insurance may still pay out if he wants to put a claim in but that's up to them to decide

premiur · 02/01/2024 23:38

What's the relevance of you being a disabled driver? Do you drive a car through motability?

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