To not go through insurance and pay cash?

[Greywalls12]

Long story short, i rear ended someone at traffic lights. Minor damage, small dent to the car I hit and minor paint damage to mine.
Other driver said they would rather not go through insurance, which was fine with me depending on the price as I'd rather not lose my no claims. (I know i have to inform insurance company about the accident)
Quoted £200 to fix damage (said his friend does body repair) which seems reasonable to me. But it's been asked for in cash, rather than bank transfer.
AIBU to think it's a bit dodgy? Although he seems like a reasonable person, I've got no way of knowing he's just going to pocket that and claim from my insurance anyway?
But then I don't think a bank transfer would be protected anyway, but at least I would have a papet trail?
Any help or experience appreciated!

Go through your insurance. That’s what it’s there for and it will protect you. Otherwise they can just claim you didn’t pay and go through the insurance anyway.

Ask them to sign to say they have taken the money in full for the repairs and won't be making a claim. It's not necessarily dodgy, loads of people would rather steer clear of their insurers for small claims nowadays.

@coconuttelegraph that's a good idea thank you!

What @coconuttelegraph said.

Don't do it. They could hit you with a personal injury claim for thousands in a few months time.

The op said she's going to inform her insurers so presumably any future claim for injury would be dealt with if it arises. She's not going to have to pay it herself. I don't know if all insurers are the same but my dsis c!ipped another car recently and her insurers said it would be ok for her to reimburse the cost of any claim if they ended up paying out to protect her no claims, this seems like a similar situation just cutting out the middle man

Check the small print of your insurance. I think you'll find it's a legal requirement to notify them of any accident, regardless of if you intend to claim or not.
You can notify them in writing of your intention, but state that it's for information only.
That way you're also covered if there's any comeback from the other party.

The op said she's going to inform her insurers so presumably any future claim for injury would be dealt with if it arises. She's not going to have to pay it herself.

Yes she is. She either tells them and claims which will protect her in the event of future injury claims or she tells them and doesn't claim. If she doesn't claim they won't pay out for part of it at a later date.

Sometimes it's ok to pay yourself and leave insurance out of it, but OP hit them from behind. It's literally a whiplash claim waiting to happen.

Do not believe a word the other person says about not claiming. By the time the have told their family, friends, colleagues and cats they will be told many times to 'go for it'. Protect yourself.

Sorry op, missed the bit saying you were going to notify them.
Really ought to find my glasses!

Also the fact that the other driver said he would rather leave Indy out of it would leave me wary. He has no reason to do that. You hit him from behind so it's a clear cut case of you at fault. Don't trust him. He may seem reasonable but you pay your insurance for a reason. Use it.

If your going to go down that route you need a quote . Ok his mate does body work but he may not bother like me if my car was scratched or dented because it's quite old I'd probably not bother . So maybe his way of getting a few quid .

Regardless if if you claim or not by notifying your insurers of an accident your premium will go up.
A friend if mine did this.... asked insurers advice and paid for the damage herself (was cheaper than excess)
Premium went through the roof!!

Is that right poolback what if you don't have anything to claim for? Op says she has minor paint damage, is she forced to claim for something that's possibly under her excess in case there is a liability claim later?

That s not necessarily the case wally I've had a third party claim on my policy, I didn't claim for any damage to my car, and my premium went up by £50 the next year which it might well have done without any claims at all. Did your friend shop around?

No don't do it. I had this same incident happen (small prang, my fault) and the other driver said not to go through insurance. I'd already reported it to my insurers. Sure enough, a year later I found out they'd put in a claim months afterwards. Don't make yourself vulnerable!

@coconuttelegraph the other claim will be against OP. And yes, it's right. You can't expect your insurance company to fork out for something g months later if you have told them you are not claiming.

I would strongly advise OP not to leave themselves vulnerable. Insurance is there to protect. Use it.

Another thing OP, did you check he even is insured?

@poolblack he said he's insured but there's no way of knowing for sure unless I call the company myself?

@poolblack but then I'd doubt they would be able to tell me without me making a claim?

ownvehicle.askmid.com/

Stick his registration in here

vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/?_ga=2.61775781.843266690.1566512479-1877461361.1562692116

Here for tax and MOT

It makes zero difference whether or not he’s insured. It makes zero difference whether or not he gets the damage repaired. As long as you’ve notified your insurance company and have a clear written receipt for the money and what it’s for, you’ll be fine, OP.

@poolblack thank you, didn't know you could check that!
It says the car is insured

You can use askmid.com to check if he's insured.

@Alsohuman thanks, i think that's probably what we'll do