Car Crash Insurance Repair

[gadgetgirl79]

Last week someone smashed into the back of my car. I was stationary waiting in a queue of traffic, and they were a long way behind my car, so not sure how they managed to hit my car at such a speed (about 40mph at a guess). Perhaps on phone or fallen asleep at wheel... Police informed but were too busy.

 

They have admitted full liability, and the garage has decided to repair my car, with repairs costing nearly £2500 (paid by his insurance - car is worth £4k). With this quantity of damage, my car is obviously going to have a lot of new bits and pieces (bumper, boot, back panel, exhaust, spare tyre, brackets etc...).

 

I was planning on selling it in about 12 - 18 months when it's 3.5 or 4 years old, so do I have to declare that it was in an accident, and will the damage and repairs be listed on the car history? Basically, is the fact that my car was in an accident going to devalue it when I come to sell it?

 

I'm having enough grief with all the back/neck/shoulder pain from whiplash, so I really don't want to end up out of pocket over this too!!

 

SO fed up!

 

Any help/advice would be most appreciated.

[gyzmo]

As far as I am aware, there is no positive duty (if it is not declared a write off) for you to declare, in selling the car, that it has had an accident and work has been done. However, if you attach a description of any type to it which inidcates or from which it can be inferred that it has NOT been in an accident then the buyer may well have recourse.

[Chesterexpress]

However if you are asked if the vehicle has ever been involved in an accident, then you must answer truthfully.

[gadgetgirl79]

Thanks.

 

I'm just a bit annoyed that I'll probably end up out of pocket when selling it, as if someone asks if it's been in an accident, then I'll have to tell them. (I detest lying, and am really bad at it, so would obviously tell them!), so will get less money for it than if it hadn't been in an accident.

 

If I'd shunted the car infront of me in the impact, then my car would have been too expensive to fix and they would have written it off, but being sensible and not wanting to ever damage my car, I was stopped too far back from the car infront!

 

Some company has just contacted me saying I'm entitled to compensation for my whiplash injury, so I guess that would pay for the day off work and prescription painkillers, and maybe even the big phone bill having to spend ages on phone to insurance company on an 0870 number!!

[JonCris]

If the damage was so extensive in ratio to the cars value you can have it valued now & claim the difference pre - post accident as part of your uninsured losses

 

However a word of caution this is normally only applicable to new or fairly new cars. In addition the extent & quality of the repair may be such that your vehicle has actually improved it's resale value

 

& yes although there is no obligation I would inform the potential buyer for no other reason than that they might by knowledgeable enough to spot any extensive repairs & take my silence as a sign that I was trying to sell them a crock

[gadgetgirl79]

It's a 55 registration car, but a very low spec one, hence only worth about £4k.

 

At least I'll be getting it back with new bumper, rear panel, boot, spare wheel, exhaust etc...

 

And I presume the garage will sort out a number plate for it too??

 

I think I am just angry with the person who crashed into my car for being so careless. It would be nice if the police had bothered to turn up and tell him off for paying so little attention when driving, but I guess they don't turn up to accidents any more if no one is seriously hurt.

[JonCris]

Yes the garage will sort the no. plate & yes the cops won't turn up if there's no one injured at the time..........At times it's hard enough to get them to turn up when there has been an injury so if there isn't one you have no chance

[Reclaimant]

Hi Gadget Girl,

 

I would be VERY careful who you use with regards to injuries. If a company are ringing you, they may not be getting business walking in freely. if the company's initials are A E, M L, A A, then stay well clear, I work for an insurer, but when I was injured, I went straight to the other partie's isnurer, who sent me to physio etc gave me all the help, and settled the claim for compensation- saving thousands on legal fee's and thus did my bit to keep premiums down! Accident Management companies are horrendous for exaggerating claim costs, and this has a massive impact on premiums. Maybe I am byast, but i can't stand cowboy's, no-matter what indusry they're in!!!

[JonCris]

gaditgirl Under NO circumstances go direct to the other parties insurer....... to do so will be a disaster. They will not have your interests as heart no matter what some might claim.

 

Any compensation will be based on what they think they can get away with after all it's their money so they ain't going to give it away

 

I strongly advise you to deal with everything & particularly your injuries through you own insurer who will engage a solicitor for you. I say again under NO circumstances go direct to the other parties insurer

 

Also the claim that it increases premuims is utter rubbish & even the ABI have now stopped expressing that myth.

[Reclaimant]

but you accept what you feel you deserve from the third party insurer..

 

Clearly, the cost of claims does increase premiums- hence why premiums go up- to cover the cost of the ever increasing cost of claims.

 

Your insurer will pass you to an accident management company, not a solicitor, it is unlikely that you will ever speak to a solicitor, if you didnt want to deal directly with the insurer, then I recommend using a local firm of sols.

[JonCris]

The only increase in costs attributable to claims are those increases now incurred by the insurers by way of legal costs as they go to ridiculous lengths to fight almost every claim

 

Whilst there has been a substantial increase in premiums there has been no comparable increase in the overall cost of claims. It's why insurers are posting larger profits than ever before

 

Research commissioned by insurers & the government has revealed that there are now fewer claims than 10 years ago. The compensation culture is merely hype perpetrated by the insurance industry. It is a myth which has no basis in fact

 

Reclaim I'm sorry but your talking rubbish.

 

The victim may be passed to an AMC but in the case of personal injury they will pass the claimant onto a qualified lawyer as only a qualified lawyer can deal with a claim involving personal injury or in the case of special damages once it is issued

 

"You accept what you feel from the third party insurer" What sort of advice is that?

 

How on earth does a lay person determine what their damages should be.

 

I'm sorry reclaimant I don't wish to be unkind or confrontational but if you do work in the insurance then you knowledge about it's workings is distinctly lacking

 

Message to the OP........ Deal with your own legal expense insurer......or a solicitor of your choosing & no one else

 

Please note that it's important that you be examined asap possibly by your GP as whiplash can be a devastating injury which can persist for months or some cases even years

 

If your pain is to be elevated & the risk of long term injury reduced it's important to have an early diagnoses followed by physio treatment ASAP

 

After diagnosis & although it may be painful at times whatever you do try to keep some movement in & around your neck & shoulders otherwise you will stiffen making it much harder to move about your daily life

[LemonTwist]

Research commissioned by insurers & the government has revealed that there are now fewer claims than 10 years ago. The compensation culture is merely hype perpetrated by the insurance industry. It is a myth which has no basis in fact

 

Can you please provide a link to this evidence? I subscribe to the insurance magazines the Insurance Times and the Insurance Post, and they often have articles in them saying that although the number of motor accidents has gone down, the amount of compensation has gone up, and a lot of that is due to solicitors and accident management companies. This has caused claims costs to increase, in spite of the actual number of accidents decreasing. This causes premiums to be higher than they need to be.

[gyzmo]

I remember reading something similar a couple of years back. It was basically saying that whilst the number of claims made has risen, the percentage that are successful are about the same. It stated this in reltion to rising insurance costs put down to an increase in the rise of the number of claims and the financial effect of dealing with them.

 

Unfortunately I cannot remember where I read it.

[LemonTwist]

JonCris, here's a link you might find interesting. Insurance Times - Motor claims inflation fear

 

This part is particularly relevant:

 

In addition, for every £1 paid out by insurers, a further 43p goes on legal fees – up from 30p in 2005.

The report also found that the number of claims has increased by 3% per annum, between 1996 and 2006, despite the total number of road traffic accidents falling by 20% in the same period.

[JonCris]

The number of claims has increased because the days when you could make your own small repair are long gone

 

Now you can only have your vehicle repaired at an 'approved' garage which costs more so they can cover the fleet of courtesy cars the insurance companies insist they must have to become approved

 

Also the number of accidents didn't fall....the number of reported accidents fell & as everyone knows as with crime what is reported isn't necessarily was happened

 

As for the rest of the 'compensation culture' nonsense I leave to the following who frankly I think the public would be more inclined to believe than the 'Insurance Times'.........the industries trade paper

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2004/c04023.htm

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index.htm

[LemonTwist]

I read those HSE links, and their Better Routes to Redress report, and I do actually agree with most of their findings. It is true that some newspapers (especially the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, it seems) do tend to exaggerate stories about people claiming compensation.

 

However, I do still believe that for relatively small claims, it is worthwhile for the 3rd party to deal direct with the insurer without appointing a solicitor.

 

Here's another story I found (it was actually on a solicitor's website): Third-party capture - Catch me if you can from Russell Jones & Walker Solicitors

In addition to pointing to this research, the insurers argue that it is not in their interest to under-settle these direct cases. “When we deal direct, we tend to be more generous as we don’t want to be seen to be acting unfairly,” says Graham Gibson, director of claims at Groupama. “Insurers are careful – almost paranoid – about preventing themselves being regarded as acting unfairly.”

 

From a financial perspective, it could be argued that without legal costs, insurers can afford to pay slightly more to these claimants. Dominic Clayden, director of technical and liability claims at Norwich Union, stands by the industry’s long-held assertion that costs are disproportionate in injury claims. “Out of every £100, £40 goes in costs. This doesn’t seem fair and ultimately it has to be added on to premiums,” he says.

[JonCris]

I totally disagree

 

The insurer will not have the best interest of the 3rd at heart & to suggest otherwise flies in the face of all the evidence some of which I have personal knowledge

 

Client before seeking legal advice offered & accepted in full & final £700 after seeking advice & the 3rd part insurer being threatened with litigation damages based on medical evidence etc agreed at £15.000!

 

I could mention many more such circumstances that I know about. eg A large law practice purchased by a prominent insurer so that claims could be sent their by other insurers without the victim knowing of their conflict of interest

 

As for the papers who do you think plants those stories.......the insurance industry does.......everytime

[JonCris]

who determines what's a small claim or what's a large claim when there's personal injury involved. The victim complains of a neck pain is the insurer going to send the victim to a consultant costing £1,000-£1.200 for a consultation when they think it's a small claim...........of course not & if they are judge & jury who's going to argue with them......hardly the victim that's for sure.........they'll just accept what's happening as what happens all the time...........it's usually only after speaking to friends or relatives that they begin to realize they have been well & truly stitched up by the insurer which is when their hackles well & truly rise & they seek retribution as well as justice

 

I have seen some very angry victims who have fallen for that ruse by insurers

[Reclaimant]

Joncris... do you work for an accident management company?

[TAY]

I would agree if you do wish to claim compensation DO NOT go to the third parties insurance, i feel i have made that mistake. I sufered whiplash and although the insurers have sent me for physio (recommended) they are messing about renewing sesions i was able to have three this was two months after the accident then i waited nearly two months for my next set of three i feel worse then when i had the accident.

You may only just be feeling the effects of the accident now as it took me some time.

There are some exercises for your neck if you are in some pain which if you ask me i will try and describe or email a sheet if you send me your address. I was told the best thing to take is ibuprofen, try and get you GP to send you for physio even if it is just an assesment any costs can be claimed back.

Hope you feel better soon.

[JonCris]

Joncris... do you work for an accident management company?

 

NO I do not....but for many years like you I worked for an insurer.........in my case their claims department.............after stomaching the 'tricks' of the trade for more years than I care to admit I decided I wanted to sleep nights so thought it best to help victims rather than stitch them up......so changed sides........& for the past 2 decades + I have slept just fine

 

Lets put it this way I'm retired now so have no reason to try to lead the OP astray what would be the point.

 

My problem is that this victim has sort advice, advice which if taken may have a profound effect on their life & to suggest they throw caution to the wind by placing themselves in the hands of the perpetrators own insurers is IMHO unconscionable

 

The OP should seek independent legal advice....period

[LemonTwist]

I don't think anything is going to convince you, but I just wanted to finish up by saying that even if a third party does go direct with the other party's insurers, they always have the option of seeking legal advice if they don't like the way things are going at any point during the negotiations.

Ultimately it is up to each individual third party to decide what they are most comfortable with doing.

[JonCris]

No I will not.......I've seen far too many victims being stitched up this way.

 

& Oh dear "if they don't like the way things are going they can seek advice".......Tell me how the hell are they going to know that.........they won't until it's too late.............so your suggestion just doesn't make any sense.........unless you believe, which I think you must, that all insurance companies are paragons of virtue & wouldn't for one moment take advantage of a 3rd victim..........oh & pigs have wings

 

The time to seek independent legal advice is at the outset not after the stable door has well & truly shut

[LemonTwist]

unless you believe, which I think you must, that all insurance companies are paragons of virtue & wouldn't for one moment take advantage of a 3rd victim..........oh & pigs have wings

 

I certainly don't believe that all insurance companies are perfect. If I did, then I wouldn't be helping policyholders on this forum. However, I do believe the vast majority of people who work in the industry are honest, and it is important that we're not all tarred with the same brush.

 

Oh dear "if they don't like the way things are going they can seek advice".......Tell me how the hell are they going to know that.........they won't until it's too late.............so your suggestion just doesn't make any sense

 

My thinking was that if it was a relatively common injury, they would be able to ask around (possibly on forums like this one) to see what a realistic settlement amount for that injury is. If they found that the amount they are being offered is too low, then they would be able to seek professional advice.

[JonCris]

Oh dear Even a low impact whiplash injury can be anything from £750 to £750,000! or more

 

Many people in the same sort of accident suffer in completely differing ways.........For some the injury will settle fairly quickly for others the injury, even though still low impact can result in years of dilapidating pain to the extent they may not be able to ever work again

 

As for advising someone on this forum as to what they might expect by way of damages for personal injury.....I'm sorry but are you for real....are you sure you work for an insurer...........although you might like to think so there is absolutely no way anyone can assess such a thing at arms length.......no matter what info the victim might provide to this site

 

Apart from all that there is the loss of amenity....how has their daily life been affected........does their employment involve standing for long periods of time if so are they able to do it........the list is endless & you would only get any sort of idea as to their condition & needs if you read the medical report & enquired into their daily life in detail

 

I'm sorry mate........but next you'll be saying they should check with the guy down the pub

 

I don't care who's on this site but if I see anyone telling someone their injury is worth ex amount without qualifying that statement considerably I will interject & warn the recipient to not accept it