Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To say a crash HAS to go through insurance

190 replies

Chelyanne · 16/11/2021 10:41

So on the school run and bang... a woman reversed out in to the side of our car.
She asked me if we could not involve insurance and she'd pay for the damage (passenger door, rear wing, rear bumper, side trim and alloy all have visible damage). I said no it has to go through insurance and she left in a huff leaving me with no contact details, I did get a pic of her numberplate on and we have dash cams front and rear too. No injuries to me or 5 kids in the car, she had an adult passenger and they both looked okay too.

Do you think I was being unreasonable saying no to her?

OP posts:
suk44 · 16/11/2021 13:19

Maybe she wasn't even insured..

Staryflight445 · 16/11/2021 13:23

I’d be wondering if she was insured at all

AliceMcK · 16/11/2021 13:27

I use to work in insurance, lots of people will avoid claiming or going through insurance so it dosnt effect their premiums and bonuses, that’s fine.

But personally it would fully depend on the damage. I’ve had a few accidents, 2 completely my fault in those cases both other parties were happy to get the cars fixed and I paid the bills as it wasn’t worth claiming through my insurance. Another case, not my fault I was happy not to go though insurance and for the other driver to pay until I found out she gave me a false name and number. I worked in insurance at the time, it took me a minute to find out her real details. She still wanted to avoid insurance companies but she’d had her chance and I let my insurance company take over.

Fredstheteds · 16/11/2021 13:29

You must inform your insurance- leave it to them

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 16/11/2021 13:31

I think you’re foolish op, even with it not being your fault your premiums go up. As long as it gets fixed I don’t see why so keen to go through insurance and fuck over the other person

HaveringWavering · 16/11/2021 13:39

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I think you’re foolish op, even with it not being your fault your premiums go up. As long as it gets fixed I don’t see why so keen to go through insurance and fuck over the other person
So she can get a courtesy car while the repairs are being done. So she doesn’t have to waste time schlepping round garages to get quotes. So she doesn’t invalidate her cover by not declaring.

Just call your insurers, tell them about the incident and the damage and give them her reg. That’s all you need to do.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 16/11/2021 13:41

HaveringWavering depends how bad the damage is, if it can be fixed in a day and I can live without the car for that time, and it saves a £100 + difference being added to my premium I would do it.

FatBettyintheCoop · 16/11/2021 13:50

[quote daimbarsatemydogsbone]@Otherpeoplesteens

You win today's award for shoehorning hatred of the UK and expressing the superiority of the EU into the least relevant thread, well done.[/quote]
Oh, Brexit support alert! @daimbarsatemydogsbone
It’s not exactly difficult to demonstrate superiority of EU to be fair. Wink

Yes, you have to have your insurance details on your car windscreen as well proof of Tax paid and your MOT date.

So in cases like the OP’s, where the other driver doesn’t want to involve the insurance, the OP could have taken a photo of the (insurance details) windscreen, before the car drove off. Very handy that!

SoupDragon · 16/11/2021 13:52

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I think you’re foolish op, even with it not being your fault your premiums go up. As long as it gets fixed I don’t see why so keen to go through insurance and fuck over the other person
A repair on my car that covered similar areas to the OP's took 3 weeks. It was also (I'm told) very expensive.

Luckily I went through my insurance and had a Courtesy car provided for the whole time.

It made no difference to my insurance premiums at all.

FatBettyintheCoop · 16/11/2021 13:56

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I think you’re foolish op, even with it not being your fault your premiums go up. As long as it gets fixed I don’t see why so keen to go through insurance and fuck over the other person
As you’ll see from reading this thread, it’s usually the ones who insist on not notifying the insurers and initially offer to pay cash who do the ‘fucking over’, when they try every tactic in the book to not to pay out in full.

ALWAYS, let the insurance company deal with it. Then you’re less likely to be stuck with a poor repair job.

Seabea · 16/11/2021 13:57

How much do people think their premiums go up?

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 16/11/2021 13:59

My premiums have gone up - I was hit, had to
Go Through insurance as quite severe and my premiums went up. My husband was hit at a petrol station and the people drove off, he just asked his insurance about it and his premiums went up, the latter we had to get removed as we never claimed.
Someone offering to pay cash doesn’t mean you can’t dictate who fixes it- depends on the damage and time to fix it.

ElftonWednesday · 16/11/2021 14:00

I'd have agreed not to go through insurance at the scene, taken her details then promptly reported it to the insurers. Taking photos is a must though, and dash cams are very useful. Well done, OP.

Snozzlemaid · 16/11/2021 14:04

@OnlyFoolsnMothers

I think you’re foolish op, even with it not being your fault your premiums go up. As long as it gets fixed I don’t see why so keen to go through insurance and fuck over the other person
Because not going through insurance also costs a lot of time. You have to go around and get quotes, arrange to book in for repair and then take it to be repaired. You then don't have a car whilst it's being fixed. Insurance company will do all that for you, come take your car and if on your policy arrange a courtesy/hire car. So much less hassle.
grey12 · 16/11/2021 14:06

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

YES it would have definitely have helped in this case. Because how the accident happened is written down, any injuries or damage is written down, all info from all parties is written down and SIGNED by all parties. So the other person wouldn't "just leave" without filling in and signing the form. Otherwise you call the police

So having a super duper EU form would have stopped the other person just fucking off - OK then - the paper in those must have amazing magical powers.

Read the post, the person didn't F off, they were chatting. Instead of chatting you bring the paper. Don't want to sign the form? Call police immediately because it's a crime not to fill in the form. That's how it works.

Instead OP is left in "no man's land": does she call insurance or the police or wait or wtv?....

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 16/11/2021 14:06

Oh, Brexit support alert! @daimbarsatemydogsbone**
Eh?
It’s not exactly difficult to demonstrate superiority of EU to be fair.
Perhaps but a form that magically forces people to complete it is pushing it a bit

Yes, you have to have your insurance details on your car windscreen as well proof of Tax paid and your MOT date.

So in cases like the OP’s, where the other driver doesn’t want to involve the insurance, the OP could have taken a photo of the (insurance details) windscreen, before the car drove off. Very handy that!

OP has the person's car reg and possibly a pic of the person. That's plenty for Police and her insurers to establish whether the other party holds insurance and who with.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 16/11/2021 14:08

Read the post, the person didn't F off, they were chatting. Instead of chatting you bring the paper. Don't want to sign the form? Call police immediately because it's a crime not to fill in the form. That's how it works.

OK, good luck with getting the Police before the other person leaves.

Instead OP is left in "no man's land": does she call insurance or the police or wait or wtv?....

Not at all - the law and common insurance practice is very clear here - notify Police, notify insurers. That's it.

Chloemol · 16/11/2021 14:11

She would have changed her mind when she knew the cost! A neighbour of my aunts caught my car cost £1000 to repair

DoctorWhoTardis · 16/11/2021 14:13

Yes do!

I hit someone's car while stationary made the tiniest scratch and she didn't want to go through insurance. Tried to give me a quote of £500 for a tiny scratch that t cut would of taken out. Made her go through insurance in the end (and turns out it cost less than £50 to fix 🙃).
I would never not go through insurance now.

FatBettyintheCoop · 16/11/2021 14:26

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Having to display your insurance details on your windscreen magically reduces the number of non-insured drivers on the roads. Amazing!

unluckyinlife · 16/11/2021 14:32

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

YANBU - report her to Police 101 for leaving the scene without exchanging details. They won't be interested or do anything but it will at least be recorded. Then tell your insurers.
I thought this but its actually not the case.

I got a crime reference which my insurance needed and the police turned up at the registered address of the vehicle and took statements preparing to charge for leaving the scene of an accident . However, in my case the car that hit me had actually cloned number plates.

PeeAche · 16/11/2021 14:35

The kind of person that drives away from an accident without leaving any contact details is exactly the kind of person you do not agree to bypass insurance for.

YANBU. She's untrustworthy and you've done the right thing.

SoupDragon · 16/11/2021 14:35

Instead OP is left in "no man's land": does she call insurance or the police or wait or wtv?....

She's not in any kind of "no man's land". She calls her insurance (as she wanted to) and lets them deal with it. She can also call the police to report the other driver. Not sure what "wtv" was meant to be.

Herecomesthesun70 · 16/11/2021 15:49

@araiwa

Why would you think that you can tell her how to pay to get your car fixed. It's up to her if she pays it or gets her insurance to pay for it. She doesn't have to claim off her insurance if she doesn't want to. Insurance companies both need to be informed of incident but how she pays is up to her
It really isn't up to her. What on earth are you talking about
Maray1967 · 16/11/2021 16:01

I told the Taxi driver who bumped me that if my Dh agreed with me that there was no visible damage on mine- knocked the bumper out of line but that appeared to be all - nothing needed to happen. But we did exchange details and I spoke to the taxi firm owner. DH pushed the bumper back into position and the mechanic who serviced it a week later said there was no damage. I contacted the taxi driver and let him know nothing needed to be done.
But if there was visible damage I would not hesitate to involve the insurance company. You are definitely in the right here.