2 non-fault accidents in a month

[newton]

car parked outside house neighbours dozy wife bumps her big 4x4 into the front of my immaculate pride and joy (which I polish every weekend cos i only just got it) scraping bumper and bonnet

Audi state £800 to repair (new bumper and bonnet respray)

Challenge neighbour she says sorry and claim off my insurance

I go to hospital due to illness

Brother drives my vehicle +4 passengers going round roundabout in unfamiliar town -

he is in veh 1 in the outside lane going round, (about 20mph) veh 2 comes hurtling off carriageway into roundabout (at speed possibly 40-50 mph)following path of inner carriage way and then cuts across his path to exit onto the dual carriage way inbetween veh 1 (brother) and veh 3 (directly in front) collision occurs

Point of impact is his real wheel arch and my vehs front wing/headlight corner

Front seat passenger in considerable shock and pain rear seat passengers also complaining

At first veh 1 driver states sorry sorry i should not have done
then upon police attendance changes his story stating brother cut acrross his path causing collision

Police state no witnesses so no further action

What can i do??

1. In respect of police should i place advert in the local paper for witnesses because there were many other vehicles and cyclists on the road and they could then seek prosecution for motoring/driving offences and also help prove my case for claim against his insurance company
2. In respect of injury what should my passengwers do- go through a solicitor or through an accident management company- i did not go for leagal assistance addition to policy
3. I am fully comprehensive (norich union) only two claims in the past twenty years and the last one was not my fault this is the second- I dont want claim off my own insurance - because i dont think they will pursue the other company (admiral) vigourously enough- in the end my premiums will increase next year they dont pay out as much in terms of legal fees etc and each insurance company meets its own claim and each insurance company increases the poicy holders premium the following year
4. I need to decide because its hardwork being without a vehicle and my insurance does provide a hire vehicle for a short period of time
5. THE CLAIMS DEPT ON PHONE STATED ENGINEER WOULD COME AND VISIT VEHICLE AND IT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE WRITE OFF

Any help would be appreciated

[GoldyR]

Oh dear, sounds like a nightmare. I'll see if I can offer some advice...

1) Yes, it sounds like a good idea to place an add for witnesses, although if none come forward it is unfortunately your brothers word against the other driver and if neither of them are admitting liability then the insurers will have to agree some kind of liability split. What I mean by this is taking statements from both drivers, viewing the road & making an assessment of diagrams of the accident to enable the 2 insurers involved to come to an agreement as to what % their driver was at fault. If they cannot agree they will usually settle 50/50 meaning each insurer will pay their own costs, you will lose your NCB (unless it is protected) & there will be no recovery of costs from the other insurer.
2) Re injury, discuss this with your insurer, I am not an expert however it is my understanding that injury can only be claimed on non-fault accidents as the injury payment would come from the other insurer.
3) You have no choice but to claim from your insurers unless the third party is admitting liability, which they clearly are not. This is not a cut & dried case & will undoubtedly become very complicated as far fault is concerned. I would advise you to claim from your insurers, it is in their interest to pursue the third party as they will want to claim their costs back. Keep on at them & ask them for regular updates as to the progress of the recovery from Admiral. But remember, they can only do as much as they can do, if the third party is not willing to accept liability in full or indeed in part, there is nothing NU can do. These things often take months & years, & it is often easier to settle for a liability split rather than proceed to court, which is of course very costly, especially if you haven't got legal expenses cover.
4) The easiest thing to do is to let your insurers do everything, & accept that it may not turn out in your favour - this is just one of the risks we run of driving on Britains roads! I had an accident earlier this year, caused nearly £10k worth of dmg to my car, wrote off 2 other cars (one woman had to be cut out) & the woman in the other car had whiplash. I phoned my insurers (Elephant - Admiral) at the scene & they were superb, from the day I picked my car up I have not heard a peep although I know they will have had to pay for 2 written off cars & pay 2 injury claims. It makes a nasty experience easier to put behind you. And remember, there are always insurers out there competing for your business, so this claim will not make too much of a difference to your premiums.

IRO your neighbour hitting your car, you should be able to claim through her insurers for this aspect as it is clearly her fault - this will not affect your NCB in any way nor should you have to pay an excess.
5) If your car is a write off, you probably won't get a courtesy car, as this is only offered usually whilst a car is being repaired.

I hope this is of some help!