Notify Hastings Direct without claiming

[beautifulbrothers]

Been driving for 20 years and had my first incident of my car being damaged by another.

19yo neighbour (new driver) reversed into my parked car. They asked to sort it all out without claiming on insurance - no problem, we exchanged names, numbers, registration numbers, and I took photographs of the damage. It was light: dent and paintwork.

I've logged onto the Hastings Direct app, and reported the incident. Followed all the steps where it said notify or claim, but now I'm worried that it's being processed as a claim. I did click the box to notify instead of claim, and it asked me if I was sure, but then after confirmation said something about dealing with the claim.

It won't let me take a screenshot, but it says we'll keep this claim open for a while to deal with all insurance matters on your behalf.

Has anyone done this before? Should I call them in the morning to clarify?

I've not heard of this, but I find it very hard to believe an insurance company won't use this in some way in their calculations. DH hit a badger on his way to work years ago, he wasn't covered because he was commuting but he didn't have commuting cover (he was a teen at the time, lesson well and truly learned and understood now!) and despite the fact he wasn't covered, didn't claim, the incident stayed with him for years and impacted renewals.

Hi @beautifulbrothers , sorry I know this is a while ago now, but did you ever find out if it was being processed just as "notifying" or as a claim? I've got the same situation and worried I've maybe done something wrong! I'm the one at fault in this case but worried if it's a "claim" it'll affect the other party, so hoping it went through as "notifying". Thanks in advance!

Hiya, I ended up calling Hastings the next day. They confirmed that it had gone through as a notification and said that at any point I could revert to a claim because it was already on the system. I haven't had to renew my insurance yet, so I've no idea how much the notification will cost 🫥 Will try to remember to update here when I do!

Thank you so much for the update @beautifulbrothers ! That's so helpful. Really hope it doesn't put your premium up too much - you did the right thing! 🤞❤️

Hi,

any updates on your situations?

i had a minor incident back in April. I rolled into the back of a car. Was very open with them, we sorted it out and I paid for there repairs less then £100 in damage
I told my insurance of the incident and it was shown on my policy as an accident but also shows my NCD being reduced.
Now my policy hasn't been claimed on either side and is just a notification only
After 6 months will my NCD come back up to the correct amount as no one will claim as this has been sorted outside of the insurance
I am with hasting insurance

Just an update: I retained my NCD and my insurance only went up by £30. I'd definitely advise anyone reading this to tell your insurer of damage to a vehicle within the notification window. I had such peace of mind knowing that I could go back to them if there had been any problems dealing with the matter privately.

I notified a catalytic converter theft but did not make a claim. My insurance went up by £200 per year. On my 15 year old banger. It doesn’t matter that you don’t actually claim for some issues.