Car crash

[notagooddayallround]

Namechanged.

Yesterday I was involved in a minor car crash. Was at a junction, thought the lights were still green, turns out they had gone red and bumped into the car in front at very low speed. No damage to my car (bar the little plastic bumper just popping out) but his car was a bit smashed in, light box smashed, scratches and dents in one corner. Ok.
Drove round corner to exchange phone, name and Reg.

Both drove away from accident happy that he would go and get quotes tomorrow and let me know, as we didn't want to take it through insurance.

I checked his reg this eve on DVLA website and it is mot'd but only has a SORN. Can anyone advise if I should just take this through my insurance?? I haven't been driving long (2-3 years) so obviously don't want my premiums going up massively.

I am reading the legislation that you cited as saying that you are only required to "report" the accident if you don't exchange info with the other driver, and that you only have to report it to "a police station or a constable" if there was a personal injury to the parties. It says nothing about being required to report to insurance.

But I am not used to reading UK law, so perhaps am misunderstanding it.

Yes, you’re right: my mistake.

My car is a big 4x4 whereas his was a ancient people carrier , so that's why I think I came away quite unharmed. I have asked him to confirm his registration to me then I will call insurers. Got to get off to work now though, thanks all

Did you take any photos at the time,?eg of the dent/reg plate?

You are legally obliged to tell your insurance company.

If you don't and they find out about it, it could void your insurance.

OP try this; ask. MID.com it's free and will tell you if the car is insured or not.

www.askmid.com/ sorry it cost £4 to check someone else's insurance.

I don't think you are legally required to tell your insurance company. Although you may be contractually required (by the terms of your insurance policy) to tell the insurance company. Even if you do tell your insurance company, you are not required to make a claim (and it will make a difference whether or not you make a claim or just tell them for information purposes).

ownvehicle.askmid.com/

What would happen if you just used this one? How would they find out it’s not your car?
The OP wouldn’t have to tell the insurance company she has pre checked the insurance as they can do their own check

Regardless, you should be going through the insurance for this. If his car is written off, depending on the damage sustained you should have the option of using the money from the insurance payout to buy the car back (my mum has done it previously, the damage was cosmetic only so nothing ‘wrong’ with the mechanics of the car)

AIBU has been a hive of strong opinion and bad advice recently.

Is there a "legal" board that you could post on? Get some advice there?

@Steadtler

This is the thread that keeps on giving. The bad advice is amazing.

Utterly agree.

I am going to have to stop reading this thread as so many posting factually wrong advice it is winding me up. Not sure how the OP will sift through and work out what is correct though.

To the people writing saying that parts of the advice given is not true, it would be very helpful to say which bits!

I would be worried about this and would prefer to go through the insurance officially unless the repairs were less than £500

If it was a small amount - few hundred I would pay
Any more go through insurance
Your fault accept it - sort and move on
It wouldn’t occur to me to check DVLA of someone else and agree with others - are you trying to find an excuse not to pay?

Why don't you know his reg? Surely you took photos at least?

When you've just had an accident you are a bit dazed (not necessarily physically, just a bit 'what has just happened?').

I'm usually a very organised person, taking notes, photos etc. But both times that I have been in a minor accident I totally forgot to take photos because I was shocked at what had happened.

She must have his reg if she's looked it up and she knows it's SORN?

The only 'advice' you need is to check your policy and I imagine it will say you need to notify them of any incident even if it doesn't give rise to a claim. You need to notify your insurers in that case and they will handle it from there. His car being sorn/uninsured/no mot is not your concern and will be dealt with by the insurance company.

are you trying to find an excuse not to pay?

Agree,
just pay or go through insurance. dont try and get out of it!

If I thought there was something suspicious about the car or circumstances I would look it up online. The OP knows the reg as she has already said it is showing as SORN on DVLA website.

using public highway in vehicle declared SORN akkakk

www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/legal/driving-without-tax-guide/

HTH

Please do notify your insurance company. Also let this fellow know that’s what you plan to do. No need to make excuses either. If there is an issue with SORN, your insurance company will know what to do.

A good piece of advice given to me in the past was to take photos of both cars, all around the cars as well as area where accident happened (skids marks or lack of skid marks too), including the licence plates. Additionally photos of the driver, registration and driving licence so you could turn all of thst over to the insurance company.

Helped me twice in instances of car accident (not my fault) and this helped insurance company to prove not my fault. Also helpful though in your case to ensure you’re not held responsible for damage not caused by your accident (as it’s an old banger).

Just rung my insurers and informed them so that is all done. Feel a bit better for doing that.
They will deal with him now, just lost one years NCB but that's fine, barely any time is it.

Never been in a crash before so didn't know the procedures, but will be better equipped for next time.

As you have had one collision, you'll likely have another in the near future.

What's that fact based on, @steadtler?

It's just how risk-based insurance works. As they don't have a crystal ball, they can only go on the statistically-provable expectation that you're likely (by no means guaranteed) to repeat previous behaviour and experiences.

Not even just your own individual past behaviour, but that of everybody else who shares certain life criteria and circumstances with you - age, postcode, vehicle type, occupation, driving experience etc.

Obviously, it's very rough if your 'previous' was entirely somebody else's fault, although, from the insurer's point of view, it could be a sign of your inability to drive defensively in allowing for other drivers' poor driving or, in the case of theft or break-ins, a habit of leaving valuables visible in the car (neither of which are your 'fault' per se, as victim-blaming is an odious thing, but the insurers only ultimately care about their bottom line).

@notagooddayallround

Did the insurance company say anything about them car being SORN? Does that affect the claim?

Did the insurance company say anything about them car being SORN? Does that affect the claim?

How would it affect the claim? At most, it reduces the write-off value of the vehicle the OP hit, so that the final claim is reduced in size.

But it's none of the OP's business: the insurer can dispose of the case however they like, and doesn't have to tell the OP.