cryptwalk

Hey peeps, last night heading down m6 queing traffic and raining some idiot come up behind too fast cracks my rear bumper pushes me into a van in front.[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] Not very happy as you can imagine all pull over and this fellas just saying "sorry it was wet". HELLO.

So we all exchange details, would this have to come off my insurance even though the damage on the van was minimal??

If so can it not come off the idiots insurance who hit me??

The fella in the van was cool, he said have to clear with boss but didnt think he'd claim.

So had to wait for the AA for 2 hours on the services to carry my poorly car home as the headlights stopped working, wing smashed bumper scratched, rear bumper mashed and indicator fcuked.

Luckly I had a camera in the car and took pics of everything.

Gutted, crypt.

cryptwalk

I belive rum's the man to talk to.

Are you out there rum??

Gridlock Mikey

Sorry to hear that mate. Hope it gets sorted.

Mikey

sulli

Should be OK if bloke who hit you is insured and you got all his details.

Happened to my missus a couple of yrs ago - I think both claims - hers and the bloke in fron she was shunted into, came directly from the insurance company of the **** who hit her - or if not, your insurers will claim back off them after paying out.

Would'nt worry too much, and sounds like you did the right thing with photos.

cryptwalk

Got all details, spoke to my insurance this morning. They said they'd send me a claim form out?? Is that right? doesnt seem right to me. I don't wanna lose my no claims, insurance will go through the roof.

Never been in a crash before so i'm clueless about it all.

Graham Beal

Ive had someone crash into me last week, your insurance company will send you a claim form to determine what happened. As long as you have his details you will then have to pass them on to your insurance company who will then contact his insurance company and sort out the claim. From what you have said it sounds like u arent to blame so it should all be sorted fairly easily.

tiggers

cryptwalk,

As you are insured fully comp (I assume you are of course) here is how it should work (note the word should).

You should report the accident to your insurance company (which you have done) and they will send you a claim form (this is perfectly normal). On the claim form you will be able to describe the accident, give names and addresses of all involved and say in your opinion whose fault it was.

You will then send this back to them and they will contact the other insurance companies who should also have claim forms from the other people in the accident. They then try to decide who's fault it was. This of course takes many weeks or months even in a simple case. In the meantime though you can have your car repaired and your insurance company will pay the cost of repair (although you may have to stump up any excess you hved on your policy).

If they find that the accident was not your fault they will claim all monies off the third party's insurance and you can get your excess of them as well. There is, however, a problem and that is the fact that all the insurance companies are quite chummy with each other so if there is the slightest doubt as to who's fault it was they will go 50:50 (i.e. just pay for their insureds repairs) and worst of all start hacking away at your no claims (it's a win-win for them you see). If you have protected no claims then you won't suffer financially, but you have to declare that claim against you when applying for new insurance which could put your insurance up in the future anyway.

In your case I would advise you to get the van driver to write you a statement saying that you had stopped behind him and were shoved into the back of him by the car that hit you then there can be no argument over who's fault it was.

One more thing. Some insurance companies like you to take your car to their approved repairers. These are usually huge bodyshops some of whom do not do the best job in the world. If you have a preference as to where you want your car repaired stand your ground and although you may have to get estimates etc. you should be able to get it sorted at the garage of your choice. Remember they justinsure it, you own it, hence you should be able to dictate how well it gets repaired.

Hope this helps,

tiggers.

P.S. Just going through this again myself for the second time in two years. A nice old dear in a Micra used my car to stop instead of her brakes. She said she was distracted by the silly wing - can you believe it?

EvilBevel

>>She said she was distracted by the silly wing - can you believe it?

Oh dear, that would actually be dead funny if it wasn't so sad ...

cryptwalk

Cheers tiggers, sound advice.

Have the van drivers number, so i'll give him a bell and ask him.

Suprised he didnt give me that excuse with the wing.

cryptwalk

I am fully comp, just don't want to claim cos it's £1500 as it is with 4 years no claims.

Went to a local bodyshop i know this morning and got a quote for myself to repair, this is a mate of mine and he said it would cost me £400 without the parts i need to repair it to me.

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

Crypt, Doesn't matter if you claim or not know they are aware of the accident and you need to prove it was a no blame. You can take the car anywhere you want. Would suggest to a subaru dealer to ensure the history is kept uptodate. Don't just allow your insurance to deal. Talk direct to the 3rd party insurance, explain the situation and they might admit liablity direct to yours. If I remember rightly the van would claim off your insurance and then your insurance would bundle that up with your claim and pass it on.

Just been though some of this if the last week and found talking reasonable to the 3rd party once the driver has admitted liabilty was better than waiting for my insurance to sort out. Within a week I have got a full liabilty statement , excess waived , hire car from the 3rd party and agreement for uninsured loss to go though as part of the claim. But do not allow the insurance to accept 50/50 !

The other party said it was wet, did he admit blame and can you check to see if this is what he is going to put in the claim form he submits ?

Good Luck !

[Edited by DemonDave - 1/19/2002 2:02:57 PM]

cryptwalk

The fellow that hit me basicly said it was his fault, he was very apologetic but i think he could see how pi55ed off i was and wanted to difuse the situation.

I've rung the van driver and he said they're not going to claim as the damage is minimal even said he'd be a witness for me. Cool fellow.

So now even if he doesnt admit lyability, he's gotta pay for mine. With a bit of luck.

DemonDave

iTrader: (13)

Ring him and ask him.....make him feel guilty

Dave.

tiggers

cryptwalk,

While in essence what DemonDave is saying is a good idea, just tread carefully. People's views can change overnight and while he was all sweetness and light at the accident you said yourself that he may just have wanted to defuse the situation and hence in the cold light of day may have a different attitude.

Regards,

tiggers.

KenG

I was the innocent party (front of three) in a shunt on the M1 last year. I had been stopped for about 5/6 seconds when the guy behind me was hit by a another car, pushing him into me. The one at the back accepted full blame.

So, the guy in the middle was not to blame and neither was I. My insurance company say that as far as they are concerned it was a no blame accident on my part. Here's the but - until the other parties cough up they will hit my no-claims and excess. This happened nearly 4 months ago and all my insurance company (Pru) have done is send one letter when this all started and have not bothered to follow it up since. They say once they have acceptance of liability of the other parties and the claim is settled they will refund my losses.

I move to a UK STI in two weeks and this will hit me in a big way until they sort it out. I am in a call-per-day mode, and nag until they do something mood at the moment.

My thanks to Tom for helping out with this one.

Ken

jimbrit

Happened to me too. I was in the middle as well and my insurance company made me get a statement off the guy at the front that he only felt one impact i.e proof that you were pushed into him by the idiot behind you. Hope this helps

howardb

you may want to take a look around www.helphire.co.uk

cryptwalk

Thanks for the info guys seems i just have to sit and wait to see what happens, though going to speak to my insurance again monday. The fella in the van has agreed to be a witness for me so it should be cool.

That websites cool may aquire their services.