Should we settle privately after a rear-end crash involving a young driver?

[Lollipopsicle]

Hope there's some insurance experts on here who might be able to help.

We were rear-ended by a van earlier this week in a queue of traffic. We stopped and a really lovely young guy got out of the van and apologised (it was obviously his fault), gave his name and telephone number, we took photos, all good. Anyway, he then begged us to not take it through insurance, as he was 18 years old - obviously his first job - and the insurance had already cost £7k and he said it would likely double if he claimed and would probably lose his job. I have to stress that we're not here to ruin his life and, having had 2 sons years ago who had accidents at a very young age (one at fault, one not), I'm feeling particularly maternal and want to do the right thing as much as I can. As I said, lovely lad, very smart, first job and kudos to him. We told him to leave it with us for a few days to get quotes and we'd get back to him and he was so grateful.

So, we have had two estimates now. One from a workshop local to my DH'S workplace, where they were able to assess the damage to a degree, and my DH has sent a lot of photos to the workshop attached to the Hyundai dealership. Both have come back with figures in the £3,500-4,000 range. I'm also going to get a third quote from a local body workshop very close to where our main address is when we get there tomorrow. I expect it will be a similar price, but thought it only fair to get 3 quotes so this young lad can see we've tried, but I also think he will still be surprised that it's come in as much as that. I don't know, because we haven't had that conversation. Anyway, it's very clear that he wants to pay rather than have his insurance increase hugely.

My question is, is it likely that his insurance really would double to £14,000, or would they just slap something like a £2,000 increase on next time? I'm just trying to figure out if it would actually be worth both parties going through our insurance companies? It doesn't matter to us who pays because we weren't at fault, but I'm trying to work out whether it's worth him personally settling if his insurance premium isn't going to increase that much?

I really do feel bad for him - we both do. There's been no question of him trying to duck out of his responsibilities. However, if we do have to go through insurance, I also have evidence of him apologising in a recorded telephone call (he knew it was being recorded), plus he's texted me and thanked me for trying to get this sorted between us.

Can anyone offer any professional advice on what the insurance company is likely to do come renewal time?

Where is he going to get 4k to pay you privately if he can’t handle the increase in insurance premiums.

Is he actually going to be able to pay you back for it anyway? I doubt it would double, but it would definitely go up as will yours even though you aren't at fault. Someone crashed into me and wrote off my car a few years ago, mine went up by about £300 the next year even though it was clearly not my fault as it still counts as a claim on your history

Where will he find the 4k to pay for the damage?
Won’t you need a courtesy car whilst your is in the workshop?

I bet he's not insured. Or it's not his van, and therefore not insured.

Go through the insurance, that's what it's for.

Maybe a loan from a parent or relative? I don't know and I don't care as long as it's paid - and in advance of work being carried out.

You need to go through your insurance. There's no way he will be able to pay for the repairs, and there's a high chance things will get messy and complicated when you tell him how much the repairs will actually cost.

you're meant to report a crash to insurance companies within 48 hours or a week or something? are you even still in that window? dont report if you’re not going to claim though as they record it as a claim even if no money claimed and your premium goes up.

id take the car to my local garage and see what they say. you can get a second hand boot for example and have the garage re spray your car and itll prob look fine. mine did. no company will quite you a second hand bumper and boot door or whatever if you don’t ask though!

but i wouldnt want to do that wirh a lovely new car, only an older one, as you want it to be perfect should you wish to trade it in. whereas my older one, meh.

and talking of old, if your car is worth say £2k-£6k and the damage is £4k they may write it off as uneconomical to repair if you go through insurance.

my friends insurance said £4k to fix and car worth £4k. wanted to write it off. she got quotes from her local place and they can do second hand wing and bumper for under £1k. so she cancelled her claim and got them to do it. car looks fine. it’s not renewal yet so dunno how much it will go up.

Just claim via insurance, anything else will be a complete nightmare for you.

Go through insurance otherwise the work won't be guaranteed.

E.g if something goes wrong 3 months down the line, you'll be screwed if you settle privately.

Your insurance is likely to guarantee the repairs for up to 3 years (read your policy 😉).

Really? That's shocking. I have no idea how insurance companies get away it: I understand being charged to be provided with a safety net, but to then be charged again because you actually used it is just ridiculous. It really should be illegal.

Anyway, if that's the case, it might be better for us if we were able to settle privately, as it's a new car and I'm sure the insurance company will be rubbing its hands in glee at the prospect of increasing our premiums next year even though we did absolutely nothing wrong.

I had somebody run into the back of me when I was in a company pool van that I was using for a single site visit, so not a company car that I used every day or had as a perk of the job. It all went through the company insurance but I still had to declare it on my private car insurance for 5 years. I don't think it made much difference to my premiums as I am old and have had car insurance for 30+ years, but even so!

You need to add protected no claims to your insurance it usually doesn't cost that much, it's a no claim not a no blame unfortunately. I think if it all comes off the other drivers insurance you don't lose any no claims.

It is risky not declaring the accident and doing it privately, you need to ask him if he can afford to pay and if not declare it ASAP.

It's a breach of contract not to tell your insurance company - you could find yourself uninsurable as a result. You can tell them it's for notification purposes only.

100%. It’s happened to me every time I e had a no fault accident and the other insurance pays out. My insurance goes up even though I have 18 years of protected no claims bonus. My insurance said it s because statistically once you e been in an accident you’re more likely to be in another 🤷‍♀️

And I assume your insurance will still go up?

It didn't for me the two times someone else caused an accident. But it's part of the terms of my insurance policy that I have to notify them (and I am sure everyone else's policies too), I don't get to choose not to notify them, I would be in breach of contract.

Go through your insurance. You can’t guarantee he’ll pay you a penny.

Brand new van, fully insured and taxed.

@Elieza Thanks, but it's a brand new car on a 4-year business lease, so we would need everything to be replaced with genuine parts.

I'll say it again: I think it's disgusting putting up premiums for a no-fault claim.

Ah, we do have protected no-claims!

A 17 year old driver accidently ran into the back of my small old car....My car was written off and I agreed he could pay me what the car was worth without going through his insurance.... He was very grateful.

Surely his work cover his insurance if it's a works van? How would he know how much the premiums are or that they would double?

Go through insurance. You need to tell your insurance anyway, even if you don't claim. If the other person decides to go through insurance for some reason, despite saying he isn't, you need your insurance to know what's going on. If you fail to inform your insurance you may end up having it cancelled for breach of contract, and once you've had insurance cancelled, you will have a hard time getting insured and you will pay through the nose.

Granted, these are worst case scenarios, but you don't play around with this. Go through the proper channels.

I was wondering that - if it is a work van and he's not self-employed then work pay the insurance and for any claim against it!

If it's a work van then he's covered under their policy. He shouldn't be paying any sort of premium unless it's his own business, in which case that's what insurance is for, and tough that his premium will increase - he crashed the van into you!