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?

Because a additional £7k is way more than £4k

Just to say, insurance increases after an at fault & no fault claim are not a certainty. The risk is built into the premiums. I was the at fault driver at 18, same scenario, and my insurance reduced the following year. Much to my surprise and delight.

If it goes through the insurance, he could lose his job, as he said. Those saying he won't be able to pay 3 to 4 thousand, well his parents probably would. We would if it was our son at that age.

Go through your insurance. It will save a world of pain later.

I don’t require works van insurance in my current role but in a previous role there was an age clause - it would not have covered an 28 year old, so his work may. E allowing him use of the van illegally.

Your premiums didn't go up.

They absolutely can. Your own claims maybe didn't indicate to your own insurer that your risk was any greater, but others certainly have been known to increase premiums.

Some drivers will drive in a way that, for example, makes it less likely they'll be able to stop if somebody pulls out on them from a side road, or lives and drives in an area with a high proportion of reckless young or unsafe old people at the wheel. We think nothing of paying higher insurance for a car more likely to be stolen or in an area where any car is more likely to be stolen or vamdalised. This is no different.

He's probably correct that his insurance will double. 5 years ago a motorbike ran into the side of me. It was completely his fault. He denied it. It took 3 years to get to court. In that time I lost my no claims and my insurance doubled. Eventually it went to court, I won. My no claims was reinstated but my insurance remained double. I moved insurers and managed to get it down some. I've been driving for 30 years, had insurance in my name for over 20 years, never had an accident before. Based on that I can only imagine the eye watering sum his insurance will rocket to.

Yes but we're you 18 at the time?

That's harsh there is no mention of him being on his phone what so ever.

It could have been just a momentarily lapse of concentration.

I would be happy to not go through the insurance provided he pays upfront for the cost of repairing the damage and I would ensure you receive the money before the car goes in for repair. If he's not able to do that then I'd go through the insurance company no question and no matter the excuse or his situation . There's being helpful and then there's being a mug and inconveniencing yourself.

I think you still have to tell your insurers anyway. My policy certainly says I have to.

The fact he knows the cost of his insurance suggests that he's self-employed, and surely no-one loses their job just for having an insurance claim against them - points on licence/licence taken away maybe, but I've never been asked to declare claims against me even when I had a job that involved use of a company car??

Similar thing happened to me a few years ago although I was parked and he went into me. I only noticed when I got to my car but long story short there was a camera where I was and managed to find out the individual. Decided to sort it privately as he was similar situation, young, new car, and would’ve been doing him (and myself!) a favour. I got some quotes, put the garage in contact with the man, and then he paid the garage directly, with the agreement that the garage would be working on my car for this payment. This helped with ensuring the work would get paid for ahead of time, but keeping me out of collecting the money for it.
Courtesy car may be something to consider ie insurance route benefit, but at the time I just had family ferry me about places if needed - if this is something you could take advantage of.
I also don’t agree with others concerns about where he would get the money from, a one off payment is very different to an impending year after year huge car insurance cost. He pay be able to afford 4k now, but not 7k+ year after year. As mentioned, he may also be borrowing from family, so if he says he is good for it, id take him at his word unless he does anything to indicate otherwise. Which it doesn’t sound like he’s done so far!

There’s also every possibility that he uses a personal van for whatever work he does, so therefore isn’t provided by work so he’s fully responsible for it. And if his insurance were to go up that much, he may no longer be able to afford the van. Which could lead to him having to quit his job if he needs a van for it but can’t afford it. Not that a company would fire him over this specifically.
I’m of the opinion though that if a van is required for a job, a company should provide it or at least assist with this, but who knows what kind of company he works for.