i am being sued for personal injury as a result of a car accident and my insurance wont pay out

[Anthonygoth]

Hi,

i am a named driver on my step dads car and I had an accident back in january of this year at a junction, the accident happened on a 20mph at about 10mph or less.

there was very little damage to either car just some scratches due to my broken headlight and some paint transfer. the person driving the other car had no apparent injuries, as had either myself, my 3 year old or my ex.

i gave my insurance details and thought that would be the end of it

However several months later my step farther recieved a solicitors letter stating he was being sued for personal injury as a result of the accident.

he expained that it was not him driving the car and had arranged for me to give a statement.

Yesterday he recieved a second letter stating that he was being sued for the Injury and that the insurance company will not pay out, and it is best to settle out of court or face further legal costs.

Not only should this be in my name but also the date listed as being the accident is incorrect.

what should i do?

[sailor sam]

Hi and welcome to CAG.

 

First thing to do is stop panicking. Just pass all correspondence on to the insurance company and let them deal with it. The reason they won't pay out is because they probably don't consider the claim to be a valid one. You are indemnified from a direct claim because you have insurance so they must deal with it. What type of cover does the policy provide... for example, does it provide legal cover? Is it fully comp?

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

[honeybee13]

Hello there. I think it would be worth posting this on the Insurance forum on CAG as well. I've seen queries like yours before and know that often the insurer is expected to deal with it. There may be something in your case that's different, but they should be able to tell you there.

 

My best, HB

[Anthonygoth]

The policy had legal cover and was fully comp

[honeybee13]

Posts crossed with SS there, sorry. Good advice from him.

 

HB

[sailor sam]

The policy had legal cover and was fully comp

 

There's your solution then. Have you contacted them and told them of this solicitors letter? If not, that's your next step. They should then tell you to send it on to them to deal with. Do not correspond with the TP's solicitors directly. I take it that you have not received a stamped court summons yet.

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

[Anthonygoth]

I have not yet recieved any stamped court summons as yet and have not discussed this with the insurance company.

 

I will contact the insurance company tonight to find out from them what is going on and then send them the details.

 

Many Thanks

[sailor sam]

Please keep us posted

 

Please Note

 

The advice I offer will be based on the information given by the person needing it. All my advice is based on my experiences and knowledge gained in working in the motor and passenger transport industries in various capacities. Although my advice will always be sincere, it should be used as guidence only.

 

I would always urge to seek face to face professional advice for clarification prior to taking any action.

 

Please click my reputation 'star' button at the bottom of my profile window on the left if you found my advice useful.

 

[Dragons Dennis]

Unless your Father in laws policy was cancelled - perhaps you are the main user, but for the sake of cheaper insurance had you put on as a named driver which is extremely common and usually ends in tears, then your insurer MUST deal with it. It doesn't mean they must pay out, but they MUST deal with it.

[dalifnei]

Insurer has a duty to deal with it. It does not need to be a comprehensive policy - injury to another person is what TP insurance is - but having legal cover can help for advice and representation if that is included.

 

The insurer has a duty to indemnify you - that means to make sure you don't have the cost of the claim if it is successful. Thats why you have insurance, it is a legal requirement, and they are required, by law, to provide this indemnity - unless you are refusing to play ball with them (eg if you deny the accident took place etc, which is not the case here).

 

I suspect that the letter says the insurance company are not paying out because they don't think the claim is good enough, and not that they are landing you or your dad in it.

[jason_mnm]

Hi thr I also had a minor accident in sept 2010 which was mainly other dirver fault. But she made claim against me which was being dealt by Swiftcover. Because of this Swiftcover reduced my no claim bonus.

 

However today I received a CCJ claim form out of blue from the claimant in my home address. I thought it should be dealt by Swiftcover. I was even told by Swiftcover team so. I do not why this person send me a CCJ claim form. She even did not give me any warning or any notice for this.

 

Can she do that and what should I do now...

[jason_mnm]

Can someone help to open a new thread for my case plz...

[afcwben]

jason, you need to give some background to this.

Edited July 24, 2011 by afcwben
spelling

[T.C.]

There is nothing to stop a third party issuing proceedings against you, but in reality you shopuld have had a letter of claim sent to you beforehand explaining why proceedings had been issued, thereby giving you the opportunity to pass it to your insurance company for them to deal with.

 

I would really recommend at this stage that you contact your insurers as quickly as possible, explain to them what has occured and let them sort it out for you.