Car Hit From Behind

[EnglishRose13]

Yesterday, I was stopped, indicating to turn right into a business. It was on a 50 road and the car coming up behind when straight into the back of my car.

Police and ambulance attended. Details swapped.

What happens now? I've phoned my insurance company who put me through to Auxillis. They will arrange a hire car and recovery/repair of my car. I filled out the online forms and it said Order With Obligation To Pay. I didn't go any further. Does this sound right? Should it be through my insurance company or his? I've never been in a crash before so I've no idea what happens next!

Your insurance should talk you through it and pursue a claim against them. Is the obligation to pay for the hire car? This might be a fail safe in case he disputes. This means (I think) then your insurance will be liable.

Ring your insurers again and they'll talk you through

This exact scenario happened to us and it was dealt with entirely by our insurance company. You shouldn’t need to deal with anyone else really (although we had lots of calls from the other persons insurance company too, trying to find out if we were going to claim for injuries).

I've phone my insurance company and asked them to explain, and I've spoken to Auxillis who explained, but I'm still worried.

I have to pay £15 for fuel and £60 for damage protection cover out of my own pocket. I understand that.

I'm worried about why I'm signing to be liable for something. I thought my insurance would sort this, not me personally.

I'm so confused, and upset, and I really don't know what to do.

£60 for damage protection? That’s outrageous! We paid for nothing (apart from fuel, obviously) and our insurance company fell over themselves to make it as easy and stress-free as possible because it was so clearly the other driver’s fault. I’d call the insurance company again and ask why you will end up out of pocket for something that wasn’t your fault. They should claim all the costs back from the other driver’s insurance.

That's why it's not sitting right with me. I just don't understand why I'm out of pocket for this.

Should I ring his insurance company too? I have all the details. As of 6:30 last night, his company had not been in touch with mine. The accident happened just before 11:30.

When I had someone reverse into my LandRover, I had their insurance company phone me the next day. They admitted liability and basically were inviting me to let them know how they could be of assistance. I wanted to settle privately as the damage wasn't that bad, but due to the impact snapping my exhaust it wasn't technically roadworthy until repaired. The husband turned out to be a complete utter rude twat (and didn't want to settle privately for about £300) so I phoned up their insurance company and went the official route. It took a day for them to find a suitable towing vehicle to take over the land rovers work, but I got a lovely brand new pickup truck delivered which I had for a month whilst inspections were done on my car and the work authorised to be done by my own mechanic. I phoned my insurance company to let them know about the incident but basically as the other side had already admitted liability and been in touch and were completely helpful I didn't need to involve them at all.
I didn't have to pay anything up front but there was a weeny scuff on a wing mirror that they found when it went back and I had to pay £80 to have removed. I thought that was fair. Collision was Sunday teatime and the pickup arrived the following Friday evening. Obviously would have been less time if I hadn't had to get a price for parts and labour doing the work with my own mechanic and the other party playing silly buggers.

Don’t agree to the car hire. You could be liable and they are a complete scam.

Do you need to hire a car? If so, do it at the minimum rate for the shortest time and claim it from the other insurance without any worry that you will be stuffed for extra cost.

It sounds similar to my experience with my insurance company and it's turned into a nightmare, so I would approach with caution and ask your insurance company to be really explicit about what they are asking you to sign and who auxillus are.

Turns out the 'courtesy' car that I thought I was entitled to under my insurance was actually a 'hire' car through a separate company. The costs are astronomical and the repairs to my car took months and the other party refused to pay the costs. 2.5 years later it's still not resolved and I'm due to go to court early summer. All in all a fucking nightmare because I trusted my insurers!!! Proceed with caution....

This all sounds bad. And no you don't need to ring his insurance company. Ring yours. And get them to tell you exactly what is supposed to happen.
And ask if the phone call is being recorded. And can they confirm a/b/c. Don't let them unsettle you. Be calm and clear.

Pretty much the same thing happened to us and the insurers sorted everything... car towed, car hire, law firm everything. I didn't have to pay for anything.

That's what I'm worried about. I've spoken to my insurance and a woman is going to ring Auxillis and call me back to explain more.

But basically, if I go through my insurance company, I could have to pay my £500 excess if he hasn't admitted liability by the time my car is fixed. They could drag their heels and it could take longer.

If I could through Auxillis, they will start the repairs and arrange a hire car and my no claims won't be affected.

His insurance company is closed for the weekend!

Turns out the 'courtesy' car that I thought I was entitled to under my insurance was actually a 'hire' car through a separate company. The costs are astronomical and the repairs to my car took months and the other party refused to pay the costs. 2.5 years later it's still not resolved and I'm due to go to court early summer. All in all a fucking nightmare because I trusted my insurers!!! Proceed with caution....

That is exactly what happened to a friend of mine. She had no idea that she wasn't necessarily covered for the car hire and ended up with a huge bill.

I’d advise just to make notes now if exactly what happened while it is still fresh in your mind. I would include diagrams and speeds etc, road conditions (dark, bright light, rain etc). Just so that you have as much info as possible to prove you were not in the wrong in case the other driver denies being responsible.

Don’t know about the hire car bit, sorry.