Accident (not my fault)

[Beanbaggirl]

Not really AIBU but posting here for traffic.

My car was driven into today, the driver of the other vehicle took full responsibility and I had a phone call from her insurance company about 10 minutes after getting home.

They’ve told me not to contact my insurance company as they will deal with it their end as the driver has taken full responsibility.

The side back door on the driver’s side is damaged and a family member has said it may be a write off due to cost of body work and the repaint plus labour, may be more than value of the car.
What happens if it is? Can I still drive the car? Do I get to buy a new one for the same price from the insurer? This is all new to me.

It’s a 2014 Reg car with around 41,000 miles on the clock.

I’m starting to get pain in my neck and down my leg, the car hit my drivers side and it caused a definite jolt. Do I need to tell their insurance company this? When they called earlier they asked about injury, I said I didn’t think so, he said sometimes these things take a few hours or days to show up.

Anyone know what I can do about my neck/back pains? Shall I tell insurance?

If you require medical attention, seek it. If you're seeing pounds signs however, you're part of the reason premiums are skyrocketing.

What @Tempusfudgeit said

Sorry about your accident OP. I'd definitely tell your insurers too just to feel assured that they know, plus the car seat thing.
You can tell your insurers you have pains but they won't help them. Take some pain killers/anti inflams, rotate between hot and cold on the areas. It will get worse before it gets better in the next couple of days, but if it doesn't definitely get to a doctor.

I hope you recover quickly and get a car sorted ASAP! X

You’ll still need to inform your insurer. Even if you don’t want to proceed with a claim or put a claim through them, you are still required to inform them of any accidents. Even when you’re not too blame.

There are different categories of write off. There’s a write off were it’s been hit in a way that makes it unsafe. There’s also an economic write off. This means that the cost of the repair is worth more than your car, which might be the case with your car. The repairs can be made and your car can be safe again but to an insurance company it doesn’t make economical sense. My first car was an economic write off. The car only cost £800 and the cost of repairs was £1,200. 10 years ago at least when I did this with my car, you didn’t have to take the write off, you could take the money from the insurance company and use that money towards your repairs with a garage of your choosing. But you need to find the additional money for your repairs. I also had to take mine to a VOSA depot while they declared it road worthy again, which had an additional cost. However, if you salvage it, the economic write off will show on the history of the car when you come to sell it. So that could knock the price down considerably and people may not be willing to buy it, assuming it’s a dodgy car.

I was run into by a driver who was insured by LV. LV were brilliant, unlike my own insurer. I was told by an ambulance chaser solicitor that there was no point involving him because LV are very fair. Count yourself lucky that the other driver was with LV he told me.

You need to contact your insurance to protect yourself.

The third party insurer's aim is to keep their costs down and protect their client's interests - remember this.
If you want to claim car seats etc you will need to use your own insurance and probably is the legal expenses insurance. Your insurance is there to protect your interests.

Hi OP, I had a none fault accident in Dec, I went through my own insurance (Admiral at the time), even though the other parties insurance kept contacting me, they were pretty good. I raised the injuries the next day as they didn’t really start until the evening...I believe your own insurance will need to raise the legal stuff for injuries, but I could be completely wrong there, my insurance sent me off for physio which has been helpful (only just finished last week) so these things can take some time. I personally would go through your own insurance but that’s entirely upto you, if you’re happy with LV then stick with them but you definitely need to discuss it with your own insurance.

Also as @Tempusfudgeit said...I saught advice and stronger pain killers from my own GP before I spoke to my insurer that will be your first step if you are in pain

If the car is a write off, they will usually offer you a sum of money. Keep challenging their offer - they usually low ball you. Sounds like your milleage is quite low for the age of the car, you need to make sure you'd be able to buy something like for like or similar with the figure that you accept.

I had an accident, they admitted liability and I dealt with their insurance direct, but I still told my insurance company

If you’re starting to get pain etc I would head to a&e could be a form of whiplash. Plus it will also be on your medical records that you got checked out. I had to do it for my crash and after my insurance got the files they made a claim for physio which I got awarded 6 months for.

Your insurers terms and conditions almost certainly require you to report the accident. It's in your interest to do so. Failure to meet terms and conditions can invalidate your policy.

If there's any difference of opinion about the claim or the extent/quality of repair you will need your insurer on side.

This is the message I got from them:

Hi Sorry to hear you were involved in an accident with our customer, we'd like to help you. We can arrange to pay for your repairs and/or hire car, you won't need to claim on your policy. Your no claim discount will stay the same and you won't pay an excess. thanks, LV=

@Beanbaggirl

Anyone know what I can do about my neck/back pains? Shall I tell insurance?

Yes definitely tell them.

Up until last year I worked for a big insurance company in motor claims. It is very common when the third party admits fault for their insurance company to contact you, the majority of insurance companies have a "third party capture" department and it is essentially their job to contact the other driver. The reason they do this is to keep costs down, it means they can use their garages, their own injury teams/engineers etc. It is also usually quicker for you to get it all sorted using them as the claim is settled once everything is paid out and sorted, whereas going through your own company it's then a case of them paying out and claiming it back off the third party insurer which can take longer. However, you have the option to use your own insurer if you prefer, and even if you decide to use the third party's insurer now you can go back to your own insurance company if you find the TP insurer isn't dealing properly.

You can still report to your company and just let them know that you've decided to use the TP insurer. However, it's important to note that if you do your insurance may go up at renewal as you will then have a claim, even though it was closed straight away. You will also need to declare it to new companies.

For your above questions:

• If the car is a write off, the insurance company will have it valued and will offer you the amount your car is worth at the time of the accident minus any outstanding finance (if you have any, it will go straight to the finance company)
• yes you can, and should, claim for the car seat. This is something insurance companies usually pay out for without any arguments, as even if a car seat looks like it isn't damaged there may be damage you can't see.
• Definitely tell them about any injuries, they are right in saying that it can take a few hours for anything to start, usually once the shock wears off. So don't worry about initially telling them you were fine. I'd also recommend a doctors appointment as they will be able to help with pain killers/physio etc and there will be a record of your injuries

It's a horrible situation to be in, but having dealt with LV a lot in my time in insurance, they really are one of the better companies when it comes to settling claims and they have already accepted fault if contacting you so should hopefully be straightforward for you and get settled quickly!

@Lou98 thanks for that very informative reply. They tried to get me to go to one of their garages but I’ve said I’m using my own local one, which has a good reputation in the area. So I’m hoping that’ll work in my favour? Not sure. But the nearest one they offered me was 18 miles away. This one is about 10 mins away.

@Beanbaggirl Yeah they will quite often ask you to use theirs, all insurance companies will have their own "approved" garages, which essentially just means they work with them and know their standards and keeps costs down for them etc. But you are definitely able to use your own garage, loads of people prefer to do that and that can be settled direct with the insurance company.
Make sure you don't pay for the repairs yourself with the thought of claiming it back off them as that can become a pain if anything is disputed, the invoice should go straight to the insurance and they will settle it with the garage directly

Just let me know if there's anything else I can help with!

Re insurers paying you the value of your car, ours was written off in an accident while it was actually parked. (Other car was doing a hell of a lick) and their insurance company offered me a very reasonable price for it -- bang in line with the 'Parkers Used Car Guide' estimate for its age and mileage.
I was quite surprised, and accepted.

You only have to watch a couple of episodes of "claimed and shamed" to see how potentially dodgy some people are. Contact your insurer. They will give you all the answers to whether you can drive the car etc.

I just got given the market value of the car, but it was only a dint so they did not write the car off.

I’ve just taken it to the local independent garage that specialises in body work, I told him I really don’t want it to be write off and that it’s low mileage etc and a really good car to run.
He said he’s going to try his best and give me a quote later today or tomorrow. He’s going to source a second hand door, so I’m hoping that’ll keep the price lower 🤞 and that the insurance will accept that.

Usually you must contact your insurer. Most policies say you have to inform them about any incident that could have resulted in a claim by you, even if you didn't make a claim.

In your case, if another driver damaged your car and had done a runner, you may have needed to make a claim on your own insurance if you couldn't afford the repairs yourself.

If you don't tell them, you may find your insurance is invalid if you need to make a claim in future.

The reason is that people who are involved in one accident (whether they were to blame or not) are more likely to be involved in one in the future. Just as if your car is stolen, you are more likely to be a victim again.

Insurance companies need you to report these things so that they can put your premium up accordingly.

@Beanbaggirl

I’ve just taken it to the local independent garage that specialises in body work, I told him I really don’t want it to be write off and that it’s low mileage etc and a really good car to run. He said he’s going to try his best and give me a quote later today or tomorrow. He’s going to source a second hand door, so I’m hoping that’ll keep the price lower 🤞 and that the insurance will accept that.

Don't ask them to fix your car, accept the write off value and get it fixed yourself. It'll still be classed as a write off either way.