Been awhile since I have had any input on this thread but, after 80days of the other party's insurance dragging their heels and my insurer failing to gain a copy of the CCTV before he 30day write over loop etc, etc, finally the other party's insurer has accepted liability after two independent witnesses confirmed my version of events.

Have already had my car written off and payment received (still searching for replacement). Having failed to take legal cover with my insurance policy I have already spoken with my solicitor regarding this accident and he, advised me today that I no longer need him as my insurer SHOULD run with this now that liability has been established with third party.

I then spoke with my insurance and they said no!!??

Is this normal? I need to claim back my excess already taken from my settlement and after speaking with a "friend" advised I should be claiming back the premium increase I will get at renewal as a result of this accident!? .... Is this true?

Finally, my own insurance have told me that they have "Personal Injury" on their system for claim!??

So, should I now expect my insurer to now run with the baton as my solicitor suggested? .... Or should I go with my own solicitor? ..... Or dare I say it, do I go with one of those ambulance chasers as advertised on mass media?

On Friday past I called my Insurer and asked that they kick this can up the road as the other party's insurer had ignored all previous correspondence, this morning was called by my claims handler and told that my insurance had threatened legal action if they had not responded in 14 days and three days later the other party's insurance has admitted liability!

So, I asked my insurer what do I do now!?? Can I have my excess payment back please! What about personal injury/inconvenience,costs incurred?

I was told that my insurer would be pursuing their costs, hire car etc and I would need to appoint my only solicitor to pursue my own costs!!?

Is this normal? If so am I better using my local solicitor or one of those ambulance chaser outfits?

Yes, that is correct.

Personal injury and your out of pocket expenses are "uninsured losses" so you need to claim them yourself or appoint your own solicitor.

If you choose the solicitor route, make sure they're a personal injury specialist firm.

Just Google "injury lawyers" or something similar and pick one.

This is normal, the insurance excess is what's called an uninsured loss so it's not the insurance company's responsibility to recover it (sometimes they do it off their own back).

If you have an injury you should really instruct a solicitor. Which solicitor is entirely up to you, there are reviews of various solicitors online, and your insurance company may be able to recommend one. Otherwise see if there's a local solicitor who does PI work and can give you a free 1hr initial appointment.

As an update this thread is now concluded. After months I pushed my insurer to call the other party's hand and give them an ultimatum which they did. Finally the other party's insurer based upon the statements provided by my independent witnesses and the photos provided admitted responsibility!

So, I asked them to refund my Insurance Excess and they stated that they would include it amongst their charges for hire car etc. Yesterday it was six months and a day and I decided that I wanted this episode done & dusted, contacted my Solicitor who advised me to first call the other party's insurance and deal direct with them. I did and in an afternoon the other party's insurer refunded my excess deduction, refunded me my expenses incurred including transportation of replacement car from England to Ireland and a compensation award for the seat belt injury suffered in the accident.

No solicitors, no other party acting on my behalf, just me being polite, firm and fair got the episode concluded. So, if you are involved in a non fault accident and like me have no legal cover, do not fear taking insurers on yourself.

Well done!

Did you fit a dashcam now?

Hi king12345 it was the first thing I bought the day after the accident, wouldn't be without it now.

Hi king12345 it was the first thing I bought the day after the accident, wouldn't be without it now.

Nice one.

Hopefully you'll never need to use any footage out of it.