Car Insurance Scams - Staged Car Accidents

[Mossycat]

Just after I posted my first reply on here, the wife of the man who crashed into me phoned me(the police told us not to contact each other ), and she said she has got a quote from a local garage and it isn't going to cost much to fix her car, so she asked me if we would just go our separate ways and not go through the insurance because both parties will deny liability. Hmm, if he was so adamant it was my fault then why wouldn't he want to go through the insurance?? Is she just being decent or does she know she'll lose?

 

 

NO SHE IS NOT BEING DECENT.

 

The fact is that they tried to engineer an accident to blame you but their plans have been scuppered by an independent witness. Tell her in no uncertain terms that you hold them responsible and you will be claiming off of them

 

The only reason they want this to go away quietly is because their plan to rip you/your insurers went wrong.

 

Advise your insurers of all the facts and then make sure they pay up, if the witness hadn't been there you can be damn sure they'd be trying to make you pay up.

 

Mossy

Edited December 7, 2009 by Mossycat

[Mossycat]

OK now think about everything it has cost you

 

1) Damage to your car, if you are comprehensive then your insurers will pay for that and then they'll claim it back from the other persons insurance, if you have an excess you have to claim that back direct

 

2) Whilst your car is in for repairs, you may need a hire car OR claim loss of use and general inconvenience

 

3) Out of pocket expenses, ie phone calls, time spent, postage, mileage etc, so keep a note of anything that you do and a log of phone calls

 

By claiming off of them you will notch a claim on their insurance which will be recorded (so if they are staging more accidents in future it will stand out that they are having above average accidents).

 

Also tell your insurers everything you have told this forum about the circumstances and your feelings that it was staged.

 

If you get stuck with anything post back and we'll help you

 

Now go get the con-merchants!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Mossy

[Mossycat]

What benefit would there be when I tell the insurers I have spoken about this on CAG?

 

I didn't mean mention CAG, what I meant was give your insurers all the information you have given us, because it's clear it was an attempted [problem] from your OP.

 

Mossy

[Mossycat]

Because I'm only 24 and wanted to get a good insurance quote, I am fully comprehensive by the way, I have a voluntary excess of £600, and was told that I have young drivers excess aswell, £200, so I would have to pay £800 out of my own pocket to get the bumper fixed and I'm guessing it will take months to get that back! I am entitled to a courtesy car though as part of my policy while it's being fixed.

 

 

OK try this

 

Get some quotes for the repairs, send them to the other party and explain you don't have the money to get the repairs done first and tell them you want a cash in lieu of repair settlement (that way they send you the money and you decide if and when to get the repairs done). State in the letter that you have an independent witness who confirms you were stationary and that they are totally liable for the damage and associated costs.

 

If it's just a bumper then maybe the [problem] artists will pay it rather than go through their insurers, which would be poetic justice.

 

And add on what it's cost you in out of pocket expenses (phone calls etc)

 

Mossy

[Mossycat]

they're saying that this is a 50/50 claim so you're unlikely to recover anything from the third party.

 

 

That's totally wrong

 

If it's settled on a 50/50 basis the OP will recover 50% of whatever he is claiming, hence why it's called 50/50 (ie each side recovers £50 of their total claim from the other)

 

Mossy

[Mossycat]

What would you advise someone in my situation Mossycat?

 

If it were me I would persue a claim for the damage, either for the actual cost of repairs or for cash in lieu of repairs.

 

The damage does not exceed your excess so your insurers will not make a payment towards your damage, but they will still deal with a claim from the other people if they decide to make one.

 

The big advantage to you making a claim is that if you are successful and the other insurers pay out 100% it then stops the other people form claiming off you at some future date (ie if the other insurers pay out in full then they accept that their insured was totally liable, therefore they would have no chance of making any kind of claim against you), you have an independent witness who I assume confirms you were stationary at the moment of impact, if that is the case then there is no argument that the other people are 100% liable and their insurers couldn't hope to defend any claim you make.

 

If you have suffered personal injuries you are free to consult or appoint any solicitor you want, just about all of them will do it without it costing you anything.

 

At the end of the day nobody can tell you what is best for you to do, that's a decision you will have to make, I said at the start of this post 'if it were me I'd do this', I've got a lot of claims experience so writing letters and hassling other insurers isn't something out of the ordinary for me.

 

Hope this helps

 

Mossy