I just reversed into a car which has no insurance, tax or MOT. What happens now?

[notthisnowaswell]

driving home, residential streets with lots of parked cars obstructing views...edged out of a t-junction to turn left. there was a car coming down the road, so I reversed back....into the car which had followed me out of the junction.

his car is scuffed over the passenger wheel arch (mostly paint transfer from my car) and I have quite a crunch to the right back corner

he was really cross and wanted me to bank transfer him money to repair his car. which I declined and said I want to go through insurance (as I'm skint), gave him my name, number and registration. I have his registration and phone number.

I have checked online and the vehicle tax expired in march 2024, MOT expired march this year. so he has no insurance. what will happen now?? I am not planning on telling my insurance company unless he makes a claim because I am financially really really struggling and don't want my premium to increase

The first thing and non-negotiable is that you must tell your insurance company you’ve had an accident.

Whether you tell them the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth or just say you’re not sure how the bump happened is up to you. But, if your insurance company ever discover you have been in an accident, even if there is no damage and no claim but you haven’t reported it to them they may dump you and blacklist you so other insurance companies won’t touch you with the proverbial barge pole (unless you pay way over the odds).

Second is you shouldn’t enter into any communications with him other than to give him the name of your insurer. Your insurer will be able to access your details if his insurer contacts them; they only need your registration number or your name and phone number.

If he isn’t insured he won’t have an insurer to claim against you.

What you tell your insurance company about the damage to your car and whether you want to make acclaim is up to you.

Please don’t give him any money.

I think she will because she's at fault.

So do the right thing and report to your insurance.

Tell him that you’ve done it and then block his number.

You need to report to your insurer. What if he has dash cam footage?

You don’t pay an excess on third party claims.

I don't think that the dashcam footage would be in his favour tbh

OP, check the MID website and it will tell you if the car is insured.

If he isn’t insured he won’t have an insurer to claim against you.

What makes you think he needs one? He can just claim direct.

Dear heavens, do you make a habit of having accidents ?

The insurance will be invalid if the policy specifically says so. Most do, but not all, so it is possible that he's insured.

In any case you're at fault, not him. If you fail to declare it your insurer you will be committing fraud and will be uninsurable, and no, you shouldn't lie about what you did

I appreciate you’re having a really hard time op, but before you lie to your insurer, maybe check that the nearby houses don’t have ring doorbells / cameras on their houses. A neighbour managed to contest claim using footage from 3 or 4 other houses.

I’m not convinced his claim would go anywhere based on his lack of mot and car tax. It would be awful if you got yourself in trouble by being caught in a lie.

It’s not a race to the bottom - the OP reversed into someone, she was very much in the wrong as a driver and it can be extremely dangerous to reverse without looking!

You can check the MID website to see if it’s insured.

There’s an app you can download called vehicle
smart which is spot on with the vehicle status
MOT, TAX and shows if it’s insured .
all you need to do is give him your registration if he’s insured his insurance will do the rest. Obviously you need to report the accident to them as well.
if
his vehicle isn’t insured etc..report him to the police.

You only pay the excess if you want to claim for your own car damage

Just block his number and forget about it. If hes really bothered he can contact his insurers and they can follow up with you. Oh yeah he is driving illegally with no insurance - gee tough luck mate.

Why though? It doesn’t matter either way. OP is at fault, she is liable

If his MOT has expired he is not insured to drive in most situations - in almost all situations his insurance is void as soon as the MOT has expired or valid. There is an exemption for driving to a MOT or repair appointment IF IT IS PREBOOKED.

Surely as it’s your fault you tell your insurer and they deal with him. His insurance status is their concern, not yours.

You can find out; as said above.

Wouldn't be in his favour?
Because YOU hit HIM

Regardless of the dickhead he was afterwards, YOU are at fault
So actually, dashcam footage would be in his favour, showing who was actually at fault for the accident

Or he can just pay £10 and get the OP’s policy details and claim direct.

This is what I would do too. It won’t come to anything and he’s trying his luck.

I don’t care if she’s at fault; she clearly is. She was debating about whether or not he was insured so I told her she can check.

THIS is kind of what I was expecting everyone to say, tbh!