Confused over non fault car accident and hassle from insurers!

[curlywurls]

Hi there

I'm new to this, would really appreciate advice. I was in a minor accident yesterday, never been in one before. I rang my insurance company and reported it, they said due to circumstances it was likely the other party would accept liability and tried to refer me to a non fault accident specialist to arrange to pick up my car and supply me with an equivalent hire car. I wasn't sure what to do so said no at that point. An hour later I had a call from the other insurance company saying their party admitted liability and they then got really pushy asking me details about the accident and also trying to get me to book my car in with their repairers. I felt I was being bullied into something so asked them to phone the next day. I rang my insurers and told them I had had contact from the other party's insurers. They said they did not know the other party had admitted liability and said it was just up to me to choose what I did next.

 

I'm really not sure if I should get this sorted through my own insurance and that means going through this non fault accident specialist (who I've heard terrible things about) or through the at fault party's insurer. I'm worried the at fault party insurer will just do a really bad job. I'm also worried if I go with my insurer I'll get stung for extra fees related to car hire and the process will get dragged out which seems to have happened to lots of people who have had to deal through this particular non fault accident specialist.

 

Please help. I'm an intelligent person but seem to get brain freeze when confronted with car related issues! Thanks

[Harrassed-driver]

Do nothing till your insurance tells you its ok to do so, otherwise you may get landed with a bill.

[letsmakeamark]

The other party will let you and your insurance company know they have admitted liability. Who are you with and are you 3rd party or fully comp ?

[Ganymede]

If your car is still roadworthy wait until your insurers confirm liability is admitted and then let them sort it out. It's what you pay them for after all!

[raydetinu]

You need to write to TP insurers confirming their liability to repair your car.

You are under no obligation to use TP insurance repairers.

Get your own quotes and submit them to them, or submit pro-forma invoices for the cost of the repair and they will give you a cheque and you can get it repaired where you want by paying cash.

The downside is it wont include vat and if they discover extras during the repair you wont get any extra money.

Depends on how bad it is. Also wont get hire car while being repaired.

If you go through your insurers you will lose NCB and have a fight to get that back.

[Amy_AskWinns]

As the fault drivers insurers have accepted liability and offered to repair your vehicle, this option is worth considering - they should use reputable repairers but for added security/peace of mind, I'd ask if their repairer has any accreditations (i.e. are they PAS 125 approved, which is a recognised standard approval).

 

You also have the option of using your own insurance company and not be referred to ‘their’ non fault specialist. However this will usually result in you needing to pay your policy excess for the repair, before being able to recover this from the fault drivers insurer.

 

I hope this helps!

[crem]

Having had several non-fault accidents recently (occupational hazard of driving instruction!) I always let my insurance co handle it for me; they get paid enough to do it; and have never had to even lay the excess out if liability has already been admitted.

[letsmakeamark]

Once liability has been accepted. Your excess is not applicable to any repairs.

[Insurance Guru]

Best thing to do is to find your own garage who you would be happy for the repairs to take place at. Then give them the contact details for the third party insurer and allow them to inspect and authorise the repairs. They should also offer to supply you with a replacement vehicle whilst yours is off the road.

 

If your own insurers try to charge you an additional premium at renewal, ask them to separate the additional off and forward it to the third party insurer as an additional loss.