If another driver hits your car (insured & admitted fault)..

[AngelSparks]

If another driver hits your car (insured & admitted fault) then how do you get your car repaired?

Do you call your own insurance company and they sort it out? or is the onus on you to call the other persons insurance company to get it done

background

I was hit by another driver in May and they admitted liability both verbally and in emails. I called my own insurance company and they said they could arrange repairs, but i would have to pay the excess and then they would 'try' to get it back from the other company.

My friend was hit by another car, (similar circs) and her company arranged everything, and took her car for repair the next day with no word of excess etc??

My insurance told me I'd had an accident for which I was at fault that I hadn't logged with them. They could tell me the date but not what happened, infuriatingly. I did laugh at the man on the line when I remembered I'd made a claim for a new windscreen when mine got cracked by a stone. It doesn't affect the policy and obviously has no bearing on my ability as a driver. I told him not to be so mysterious in future.

A van reversed into me last year, totally his fault and I beeped my horn repeatedly as I realised he hadn't seen me. He admitted liability at the scene, I took photos and we swapped insurance details. As soon as I got to work I rang my insurers to tell them and ask what I needed to do. They got in touch with his insurers and sorted it out. I didn't have to pay any excess and my renewal quote was cheaper than anyone else so I renewed. I am with quotemehappy.com and they made the claims process easy, just rang me to clarify a couple of things but pretty much just sorted everything and kept me up to date with the progress.

I think a lot of people are confused about the concepts of 'premium' and 'no claims discount'.

If your premium is, say £100, and your No claims discount is 75% then you will pay £25.

If your premium increases to, say £1000 and your NCD remains constant at 75% you will pay £250.

Given that your premium is determined by what is a very sophisticated actuarial process, and in the main, you are unable to protect it, your NCD is just a marketing swizz..

When someone drove into my parked car and admitted that it was their fault the claim went through their insurance and had no effect on my premiums. I'm with Aviva BTW.

I have to laugh at this - are people really so naive and solipsistic that they believe this to be true?

In a single case, it is entirely possible that a no fault claim won't have any effect, but if for example, 3 people rear end you in a 12 month period, then this does raise issues about the safety of your driving. Although none of the incidents are technically your fault, it does suggest that you stop abruptly and are therefore a higher risk. Hence your premium is likely to be higher at next renewal.

Even if you have had your stationery car repeatedly driven into in car parks (the ultimate in 'no fault') it still suggests you are less safe as it can be inferred that you park in a manner that leaves your car vulnerable.

The algorithms used in the actuarial process are incredibly sophisticated and give a fairly good predictor of how likely you are to cost the insurance company money at some point.

i'm with you backtowork2015, theres no flaming way i will go near Hastings next year

I also had someone smash into my parked car - correctly parked, broad daylight. I can't be certain that it affected my premiums as after that I moved around a lot, but it probably did.

still, the amount I got for the declared write off was twice what I paid for the car, which ran for another three years and would still be going if the welding hadn't got so pricey. One dented panel, easily replaced from a scrapper.

now five years on and FINALLY I no longer have to declare it when getting quotes. And the vulture calls have stopped too - top tip, always give your mobile number when dealing with insurance claims because it is much easier to field the scammers.

Insurance companies have a blanket increase on a set criteria - So they look at their statistics.
If over 60`s driving a 5 plus year old car have paid in £1m and claims have cost £1.2 m the premiums go up. If 18-25 paid in £1m in new cars and the claims are £100K the premiums stay the same.
However serious fault claims will be flagged and checked. They higher the premium to get you to move.
Its not personal, its business, its figures.
You should always go via yoir insurer its what you pay them for. You have 7 days to report, the sooner the better. They are on your side to get you a good deal. And claim back excess.

with you backtowork2015, theres no flaming way i will go near Hastings next year

We had a really complicated case with them and tbf they have been very good.

some bastard smashed into my car last night and drove off without leaveing any details. waiting for insurance company to phone me back, i have got ncp but still im going to have to pay the excess just what i need at this time of year.
im gutted

Given that your premium is determined by what is a very sophisticated actuarial process, and in the main, you are unable to protect it, your NCD is just a marketing swizz..

Not really: a premium is (supposed to be) representative of the risk brought to the insurance pool; having no claims in a certain number of years represents a lower risk than either fault claims occurring, or no claims history to refer to.

NCD is part of the rating process, it's not an extra applied to the end premium. The "premium" is not the figure before NCD is applied, the premium is the final amount. Any policy, personal or commercial, can have a discount for no claims, even if it is not marketed as such to the client, nor transferable between policies.

Be careful if you now go onto comparison websites for your renewal quotes - you will have to declare the accident and they will probably sell those details onto ambulance chasers!
My car was hit by another whilst parked about 4 years ago and I have been inundated with phone calls from accident compensation firms. At first I thought my information had been passed on by my own insurers or those of the other party but I later learnt that it was site comparison websites that were the culprits the grabbing bastards
Good luck with trying to get your car sorted by the way - sorry to go off on a tangent.

My car was hit in July while parked (empty) on a garage forecourt. Driver admitted liability, as did his company, plus loads of witnesses. My insurance company said I had to pay the excess to the repairers. I finally got it back in October after hundreds of phone calls and a Complaint.

The Complaints woman rang me to say they were going to send a cheque but very snottily advised me it wasn't procedure because I didn't have Legal Protection. I have had vehicle insurance for over 30 years, have never had Legal Protection and have never had to pay the excess when it wasn't my fault. Quite prepared to pay up if it is my fault BTW.

Nowhere does it explain when you take out insurance that the rules have changed and you end up paying if someone hits you.

I'd like to know how you find a decent insurance company too. I picked a "household name" but what they don't tell you until after you've paid is that they are only the broker and you are actually insured by a company you have never heard of. So you end up being passed between them when trying to sort it out.

My insurance company said I had to pay the excess to the repairers. ... it wasn't procedure because I didn't have Legal Protection.

Again, it depends on the company - some will require you to pay the excess and then recover that from the third party insurer. The legal protection cover would do that on your behalf.

I was hit by a driver who admitted fault
Cheque for car was given minus excess
3 years in still waiting for settlement figure for personal injury

ManorGreyhound I have to laugh at this - are people really so naive and solipsistic that they believe this to be true?

Did you mean to be so rude?

We had legal cover when my dh was hit head on by someone on the wrong side of the road. It paid us compensation! The insurance company paid out for the written off car and the legal cover then sent us a cheque for £3500. Totally unexpected but lovely surprise. Dh was fine btw.

Does anyone know if you also must declare a no-fault, no-claim (virtually no claimable damage - just the number plate light bulb for £15) whilst a learner driver?

Technically you should, but most wouldn't.

We told the insurance company when someone went onto the back of me, even though we did it off insurance (their choice as they gad high excess and good no claims, I know them so all above board) our cover didn't go up.