Insurance claim

[fuckedandbombed]

Hi
Last year a neighbours relative parked in the pitch black right behind my drive and as I reversed in the steamed up car I clipped his car . It was a banger . Beat up . I of course told him and he got a quote for a dent and a scratch of £192 .
I couldn't pay it so notified my insurance.
I've just found he claimed for damage costing almost £3000. This has obviously affected my renewal and my insurer told me they were happy I'd notified them and didn't t tell me of the claim . It meant on renewal it looked dodgy as I said I'd had an incident but no claim (as I had no idea )
I have the original quote for the £192 . Do I have any recourse? I feel like this man has probably got every dent and scratch repaired at my expense.

I'm livid . Yes it was my fault . But from £192 to £3000??? Any advice much appreciated

Thanks

Plot thickens
They paid to write the car off and then he kept it and sold it . They didn't even contact me ! I had pictures and the original quote !

My insurance failed to even tell me about the claim . Let alone that they settled it !

He's allowed to keep it if it's written off, he's done nothing wrong. If it's that much of an old banger then yes it would have been written off. Seriously, you drive off with Windows you can't see out of, i think you should probably drop it now.

He made about 5k from a dent in a bumper. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Because sadly, insurance companies now sell details to companies that sort everything out in their behalf and these just con insurances.

No they don't. That's illegal.

So? You drove off without being able to see a great big car because your windows were steamed up. If he's got £5k out of it clearly it wasnt an old banger was it?

Jesus has no one ever clipped a car ?
It's the first accident I've had in over 20 years of driving. I was rushing yes - it was my fault yes . I did the decent thing and knocked on their door to tell them .
I drive emergency vehicles on blue lights and sirens - I'm not an idiot . I've had someone pull into the side of me while I was on a blue light run - wrote the car off . Accidents do happen . This was so minor I just can't believe they paid out without even contacting me ! I had a letter from insurance saying it was a non claim incident!

They don't have to tell you. Why do you think they have to consult you before they pay out?

Yes . It was a58 plate . With a flat tyre . Covered in scratches and dents . He was paid £2600 the. Sold the car on .
Legally he did nothing wrong . But he hasn't been buying the neighbours shopping since March either , while I have . I'm just annoyed that my insurance could have been cancelled because I didn't disclose a claim on renewal that I didn't even know about .
There is nothing I can do about it . I'm having a vent .

I work in this area. 95% of our customers always dispute the damage claimed by the other party.

I'm not disputing it . And my insurer admitted they SHOULD have told me - how else can I disclose a claim when I'm looking for renewal?

This is normal, it wouldn't matter what you said if they did contact you, if they say it's a write off, it's being written off.
Someone damaged my partner's car recently, it was written off at twice what we paid for it 2 years ago. They didn't consult him either, literally called to say it was a write off, how much he would get, and that he could do as he wished with the car (sold for parts).

If they didn't tell you, that was wrong. They should have sent a letter when the claim had been settled, don't think you could be blamed for not disclosing if they never told you.

Insurance co admitted not informing me. They said that was their error . Fine . Still means I didn't disclose a claim and my new insurance could have been invalid. As it is they haven't cancelled it just put premium up.

You sound slightly bitter about the situation.
The guy has done nothing wrong..... you admit this, but you seem to think he shouldn't have done what he did because you have been helping him with shopping etc.
He wouldn't have had any say over how much the insurance company would have given him for a write off..... they would have assessed the cars value at their garage. He too pays his insurance for this reason..... so if his car was written off.... they would request for a valuation for the vehicle.

I don't see the problem 🤷🏼‍♀️

What's your neighbours shopping got to do with anything?

Ok. Aibu.

Thanks all.

I've had my parked car (s) hit several times over the decades I've been driving. My local independent garage tell me how much they could repair it for (what they would charge me, if I were paying) - it is a fraction of what the insurance pays out because of the way they work.

First, they have their own set of repairers. These repairers always charge 3 or 4 x as much as my local independent garage. Then, the provide me with a hire car for the duration. There is never any rush - they aren't paying, I'm not paying, so nobody ever seems in any hurry to crack on with the job. At my local garage, I deliver the car on an agreed date, walk home, and pick it up the next day. For a fairly minor knock, I've had insurance companies hire me a car for a week.

It really isn't the chap whose car you hit's fault.
Nor would I expect the insurance company to be consulting you along the way. That's part of what your insurance premium pays for - them to deal with it all.
Plus, it doesn't really make a difference how much the repair was - that is a very minor factor in the calculation of your next insurance premium.

Did he sell the car on or did they buy it from him? Sometimes either the insurer or a third party keep the vehicle.

Sounds like they were a little in the wrong so good on you for contacting them.

It sounds like it was written off as beyond economical repair, he's been offered retention which comes out of the total loss offer, he pays for the repairs out of his money and MIAFTR is updated to show it's been written off which shows on a decent HPI check. Decreases the value by about 20%.

Nothing illegal, pretty standard with cat S write offs, but as your insurance company have admitted they should have told you, pursue a complaint but I don't imagine much will come of it I'm afraid

His car was a 58 plate .

My 55 plate car is worth at least 2/3rds of what I bought it for new and is far from a banger.

I'm fairly sure he's claimed for more
Damage than I did!

Maybe he did. When you asked your insurers to deal with it you gave them control to deal with it.

I live in a cul de sac . No pedestrians .

Do none of your neighbours have legs? Or dogs? My neighbours walk across my drive several times a day. 🤷🏻‍♀️

You were lazy in not defogging your car. This is the cost. (Your insurance would have risen for any value of claim too.)