Car accident advice

[spongy]

I've just had a call from the missus saying she's just had an accident.

I was about to jump in my car and bomb down there but apparently everyone is fine.

She's run into the back of someone at a roundabout. Both cars are perfectly driveable and what she's described as cosmetic damage. The car in front being worse off by all accounts.

But she's already admitted liability to the other driver

They're exchanging details and phone numbers for us to report when she gets home. Do we have to

I haven't spoken to the bloke involved yet but would it be worth payingg outside of insurance if we can agree on an independent repair bill?

The only reason I ask this is because she hasn't yet built up 5 years NCD to qualify for protection so my initial thoughts are that her premiums are going to jump up exponentially.

How much do premiums jump when you've had a crash? Does it depend on the damage caused or is it just just a lump % increase?

I have my own insurance policy with is fully comp and protected with 15+ years NCD and I'm a named driver on her policy and vice versa. Can I not just say I was driving and use my policy? I know this option isn't strictly legal but if it can help us out financially then I'm game. We're not skint but any extra expenses will seriously **** up our tight finances.

If her premiums go up by a lot then we can't afford to run both cars. Which makes life ****ing difficult to get us both to work and our daughter to the nursery as we both work at least 10 miles from home in opposite directions.

I've told her to take photos of the scene and the damage to each car to stop a false claim on their part but what I can do this end to minimise costs?

Do we just accept it and accept higher premiums ( she's only 5 months from having full 5 years NCD) or see the cost involved to repair without insurers being involved and avoid a whiplash case?

Any and all advice and opinions are welcome!!!!

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

Only read the first three lines - if she went up the back of someone, I'm afraid it's her fault.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Try to avoid comitting insurance fraud. It won't seem worth it if you are caught and prosecuted.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

I should imagine the difficulty is that matey is going to want his damage sorted at an authorised repairers. If you go the 'non-insurance' route then agreeing might be difficult and therefore he might insist doing it by the book.
I should think he might agree but will not want life too complicated getting it sorted out.
We got pranged outside a house whilst parked, he admitted it was his fault but tried to get us to let his mate around the corner sort it out.

 

[Dan The Man]

My advice would be to post it up as a forum on North Stand Chat and see what people have to say about it...

 

[beorhthelm]

my advice is its probably not a clever idea to commit insurance fraud just to avoid a couple hundred £ insurance.

its slightly odd how we react to accidents and insurance, the NCB distorts our behaviour and value judgements quite badly.

 

[spongy]

Only read the first three lines - if she went up the back of someone, I'm afraid it's her fault.

It probably is, until I see her and talk to her then I don't know, it may not be, but she knows the law and takes it as black and white. He could have stopped without reason. I don't know yet.

But what I'm asking is if it really worth going through insurance for what sounds like a relatively minor shunt?

Does the cost of increased premiums outweigh the cost of repairing independently?

 

[dazzer6666]

It probably is, until I see her and talk to her then I don't know, it may not be, but she knows the law and takes it as black and white. He could have stopped without reason. I don't know yet.

But what I'm asking is if it really worth going through insurance for what sounds like a relatively minor shunt?

Does the cost of increased premiums outweigh the cost of repairing independently?

Even if he stopped without reason it won't matter - still her fault if they were both travelling forward in the same direction and she went into the back of him. Wouldn't get stressed aboyut admission of liability - as it sounds like a no-brainer it won't make any difference. Saying you were driving - illegal and probably carries a potential custodial sentence. Probably best avoided.

Probably best leaving it to insurance - you may be able to cut a deal with them depending on the cost to protect NCD - worth talking to them at least. If there is a whiplash claim the cost of repairs will probably seem insignificant so you'll want to be covered for that anyway (bear in mind that claim could be many months away, when he starts getting the ambulance-chaser calls)

You can easily work out the potential/approx cost of loss of NCD to be able to compare with costs of repair - just go online and get a new quote

 

[Stat Brother]

Someone tapped into the back of me, knocking my reverse light out.
We exchanged details.
She said she didn't want to involve the insurers, I was a little skeptical

Anyhoo an hour or so later her insurers did contact me.

As she had admitted responsibility, nobody was hurt, and the damage was cosmetic, they gave me 2 choices.

1 - The usual quotes from authorised body parts companies.
Or
B - £300 transferred directly into my bank account, no further action needed.

I took the cash, all was sorted in less than 30 minutes and I ended up just under £200 up.

I think it was Diamond insurance and it was fantastically good service.
(how many times does that get written about an insurance company?)

 

[Since1982]

Even if he stopped suddenly that's no defence. Let your insurer sort it out. Unlikely to lose all ncb I suspect.

 

[Lower West Stander]

The fact is if it's your wife's fault and damage is done to the other car then your wife is liable - end of.

How you sort it out is between you and the other driver but you will have to pay out either way. The clue may be the fact that she has admitted liability.

Sounds to me like your trying to find ways to get out of it - if that's the case, posting on here is a pretty daft thing to do.

 

[neilbard]

He will also claim for whiplash I'm afraid!

 

[Steve.S]

Someone goes into the back of you and you get yourself to the doctors, get a sick note for whiplash and then wait for the no win no claim brigade to call and get yourself a couple of grand for whiplash injuries. That's the reality of today's society. I hit someone's wall twenty odd years ago, it left the car paint on the wall and no damage, they claimed 5 grand for a new wall and to this day they have not repaired it.

 

[spongy]

The fact is if it's your wife's fault and damage is done to the other car then your wife is liable - end of.

How you sort it out is between you and the other driver but you will have to pay out either way. The clue may be the fact that she has admitted liability.

Sounds to me like your trying to find ways to get out of it - if that's the case, posting on here is a pretty daft thing to do.

I'm not trying to get out of anything. I'm trying to minimise the cost. She's now home, she's phoned him back and he's already reported it to his insurance company so that's the route we'll go.

Apart from a smashed number plate and a loose grill her car is ok and I can repair it myself. ive seen the photo of his car and on the surface of it it must've only been a 5-8 mph shunt at most. He needs a new bumper.

If we don't claim and he wants to do we still have to pay the excess on our policy as we won't technically be claiming?

 

[el punal]

As it was a rear end shunt, unfortunately, your missus will be deemed at fault. It's best to let the respective insurance companies deal with it to save you all the hassle of doing it "off-piste", so to speak.

With regard to you claiming to be the driver, just remember what happened to Chris Huhne and his wife!

 

[StonehamPark]

I'm not trying to get out of anything. I'm trying to minimise the cost. She's now home, she's phoned him back and he's already reported it to his insurance company so that's the route we'll go.

Apart from a smashed number plate and a loose grill her car is ok and I can repair it myself. ive seen the photo of his car and on the surface of it it must've only been a 5-8 mph shunt at most. He needs a new bumper.

If we don't claim and he wants to do we still have to pay the excess on our policy as we won't technically be claiming?

I'd advise you to get in touch with your insurers asap to alert them of the incident and that they should expect notification from the Third Party insurers regarding damage claims.
Make sure you emphasise that there was only one occupant in the Third Party Vehicle (if it was just the other driver involved).
Was the other driver walking around freely without showing signs of injury? If no signs of injury were present, emphasise this to your Insurer.
Send photos to your Insurer if they request them.

As NSC's resident Motor Fraud Investigator, I'd advise that you are upfront and honest with your Insurers and refrain from telling them that you were driving.

Unlucky, but it's just one of those things, your Mrs is to blame and the consequence is a higher premium.

 

[spongy]

I'd advise you to get in touch with your insurers asap to alert them of the incident and that they should expect notification from the Third Party insurers regarding damage claims.
Make sure you emphasise that there was only one occupant in the Third Party Vehicle (if it was just the other driver involved).
Was the other driver walking around freely without showing signs of injury? If no signs of injury were present, emphasise this to your Insurer.
Send photos to your Insurer if they request them.

As NSC's resident Motor Fraud Investigator, I'd advise that you are upfront and honest with your Insurers and refrain from telling them that you were driving.

Unlucky, but it's just one of those things, your Mrs is to blame and the consequence is a higher premium.

It's all done. We're not claiming for hers so it won't cost us anything until renewal time, she hasn't got protected NCD so she'll lose 2 of her 4 years.

We'll just have to count the cost come renewal time.

 

[spongy]

My advice would be to post it up as a forum on North Stand Chat and see what people have to say about it...

I've just a re read of the thread in case I missed something and seen this.

It's comments like this that make this board so frustrating at times.

If we had been talking face to face as a group I'm betting Dan "the man" wouldn't have said that oh so very sarcastic reply. And if we had indeed been face to face is the kind of shitty comment that would get Dan "the Man's" teeth punched straight down his throat.

The anonymity of a keyboard.... CJTC.

 

[drew]

QUOTE=spongy;6950119]I'm not trying to get out of anything. I'm trying to minimise the cost. She's now home, she's phoned him back and he's already reported it to his insurance company so that's the route we'll go.

Apart from a smashed number plate and a loose grill her car is ok and I can repair it myself. ive seen the photo of his car and on the surface of it it must've only been a 5-8 mph shunt at most. He needs a new bumper.

If we don't claim and he wants to do we still have to pay the excess on our policy as we won't technically be claiming?[/QUOTE]

The excess should only apply to damage to your car.

The circumstances sound similar to an accident my wife had last week when someone went into the back of her car. Plastic bumper split along the top but estimate is about £700. Unfortunately my wife claims not to have suffered whiplash so we will have to pay for this years holiday in some other way!!!! Third party initially wanted to deal with privately but she is now notifying her insurers.

I've just a re read of the thread in case I missed something and seen this.

It's comments like this that make this board so frustrating at times.

If we had been talking face to face as a group I'm betting Dan "the man" wouldn't have said that oh so very sarcastic reply. And if we had indeed been face to face is the kind of shitty comment that would get Dan "the Man's" teeth punched straight down his throat.

The anonymity of a keyboard.... CJTC.

Appreciate what you are saying but to be honest, you did post on an internet forum that you were thinking about committing insurance fraud!!!

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I'm not trying to get out of anything. I'm trying to minimise the cost. She's now home, she's phoned him back and he's already reported it to his insurance company so that's the route we'll go.

Apart from a smashed number plate and a loose grill her car is ok and I can repair it myself. ive seen the photo of his car and on the surface of it it must've only been a 5-8 mph shunt at most. He needs a new bumper.

If we don't claim and he wants to do we still have to pay the excess on our policy as we won't technically be claiming?

I was hit at a roundabout, and the only damage appeared to be on the bumper, however, when the garage took it in to look at the damage, the floor of the boot was buckled, so it was a lot more than first appeared.