Posted 2 days ago

Car Insurance claim

Hi
Need some recommendations and advise how to proceed with my claim.

This morning, whilst driving to my gym, I was on dual carriage way stuck behind a bus. I indicated right and waited for cars to pass by. I then decided to move on right lane, but a third car (I assumed was far off) passed, and his both left side doors scrapped with my right-hand side bumper. We both stopped, and no one was hurt or injured as the speed was very low. We exchanged phone numbers but not insurance details, and I gave him the option to get a quote from the bodywork shop on how much will this cost so I can get this fixed? He has messaged me to say this will now take 3-4 days as he is working and can not get a quote on time.

a. should I tell my insurance company or wait for his response?
b. what if he comes back and the quote is too high, can I still approach my car insurance?

Any advice or suggestions is appreciated
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  1. pekoz1's avatar
    Dont use your username on your accident report when you say it was low speed incident...they may not believe you!
    fast_and_curious's avatar
    Author
    slow_and_curious
  2. Darzet_zider's avatar
    Did you take lots of photos of both cars from different angles at the time? If it’s just a scuff, you have proof it was only minor and not try, and scam you, saying it was a lot worse. (edited)
  3. Toon_army's avatar
    Paint and bodywork is really expensive these days. Just hope he doesn't hit you with a huge bill, as it might be cheaper to just pay the excess on your insurance in the long run
    Willy_Wonka's avatar
    Unless it is only minor paint work damage then it is going pricey, like you said.

    Plus no doubt it won't be just the 2 doors, it more than likely has damaged the rear quarter unless the vehicles stopped at the point of impact (I would have thought).
  4. Tom.Wilson's avatar
    You're contractually obligated to inform your insurance company of any incident that may give rise to a claim.

    You can notify them of the incident without making a claim. This would keep you safe and in the clear should the other party mess about.
    Willy_Wonka's avatar
    A friend of mines daughter followed her fathers excellent advice about sorting it direct with the person she crashed in to & not to inform her insurance company.

    The insurance company were going to cancel her insurance when they found out but luckily her mother convinced the insurance company that that sort of behaviour is why she got divorced.

    True story
  5. fast_and_curious's avatar
    Author
    Thanks to everyone who has commented on this, I have now gone ahead and informed my insurance. They have recorded this, and no further action is required since I am not claiming on my car. I don't need to pay any excess, but I will lose 2 years of ncd if the 3rd party makes a claim (which seems fair).

    Have spoken to a couple of garages, and the cost of repair is grand. Will wait and see what the 3rd party comes back with (edited)
    dcx_badass's avatar
    You still need to declare it now either way and will have higher premiums, and if you don't declare it they'll know, cancel your policy and once you have a cancelled policy it's hard to get insurance and will be really expensive.
  6. Ringfinger's avatar
    What a dilemma. If you don't report it to insurance straight away (within a reasonable time frame) they could invalidate your insurance. If you do report it you take the option away from the other guy. I don't understand how, on a dual carriageway , both left hand sides got scraped?
    fast_and_curious's avatar
    Author
    Thanks, I have amended my statement, so this becomes clear
  7. markmc999's avatar
    Pleased you are both safe.

    You can still report it but not then issue a claim on it. If you tell them to do it that way they should be OK, however, this will still impact your premiums unfortunately.

    That said this is probably better than not reporting and possibly invalidating it all later.
  8. madoka_ayukawa's avatar
    Both options costs money, why not do it the proper way? At least the other party won't be able to come back and claim more/ personal injuries etc from you. Let the insurance deal with it, that's why we pay the premium for.
  9. rimalpatel007's avatar
    Depends if your car is going to be write off...
  10. Robildn's avatar
    I would say don't risk it and let your insurance deal with it.
    Either way you are required to notify your insurers of any accidents, regardless of fault or if you make a claim or not (i.e. you pay for the damages yourself).
    These days you cannot trust people, look at the state of corruption in the countries leadership..
    Can you really trust a stranger to not do you over for free money?
  11. Justsuperman's avatar
    You have to inform them mate. I had only been driving a month ( November and 2023 ) and a woman came in from a main road turned right ( I was in my lane left lane waiting to turn out. And she came in way to close and damaged my alloys and rear quarter and drove off ( hit and run ) unfortunately didn’t have a dash cam in at time ordered one from Ali express. my luck… and because I’ve informed them even tho it wasn’t my fault it’s down as I’ve had an accident for next 5 years. already paying £3.3k a year with black box on a 1.4 corsa
  12. Payyyyy's avatar
    Insurance a scam this country getting worse 
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