Car accident advice

[gwebstech]

PLease move this to a different forum if need be - ty

 

I had a car accident today - briefly i was on a min roundabout turning right and the guy coming the opposite way (i was on his right) didnt stop and i went into the side of him.

 

Ive no dash cam, but i did film everything after i got out of the car but he doesnt admit responsibility on that.

 

Anyway- my insurance seem keen on making my old car a write off due to its high mileage and its age - thats ok but i want to make sure that he admits responsibility first, as if he doesnt and ive got no witnesses they told me it MIGHT go 50/50 which would mean another claim on my insurance = more money next time i renew which i dont want, as i had al ittle bang last year and even with protected NCB my insurance shot up in price.

 

But my underwriters told me today, that its now standard to write my car off first, then they have X amount to claim back off his insurance. This doesnt make sense to me, surely they would want to see who is responsible first??

 

My main question is: why are they pushing me to write my car off? they seem in a real hurry to do so, its Budget insurance so not a fly by night company or anything

 

Im just wondering what im missing? i dont want to shoot myself in the foot and have my premium go up next time around if i can help it - does anyone have any recent experience of making claims like this?

 

thanks

[BankFodder]

Maybe because they consider that the write-off value is less than the repair value. Also, they may try to push a write-off value on to you which is less than the replacement cost.

 

I don't really understand your description of the accident. A dashcam is a worthwhile investment and you can get them quite cheaply from Amazon – but you probably realise that now.

[gwebstech]

Basically im saying that it was the other guys fault, i was on his right so he should have waited but he dint even look!

 

My point is they seem really keen to get me to do something at the minute, whats the rush? im just trying to see why they benefit by doing this and if they do, i dont want it to cost me later

 

and yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing

[AndyOrch]

Thread moved to the appropriate forum.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Guest]

A dashcam is a worthwhile investment

theres a basic well known one going on Tesco direct which includes an sd card and case, for less than the same cam on its own.

and if you've got T points...even less

not that it helps OP now, but just for general info.

[unclebulgaria67]

Basically im saying that it was the other guys fault, i was on his right so he should have waited but he dint even look!

 

My point is they seem really keen to get me to do something at the minute, whats the rush? im just trying to see why they benefit by doing this and if they do, i dont want it to cost me later

 

and yes, hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

Budget Insurance underwrite a lot of different policies under different brands. They will possibly deal with hundreds of accidents every day and many drivers will say that they were not at fault. But fault is not always black & white, that one driver was 100% at fault. With a mini roundabout, it might depend on who reached this first of all, the speed of the cars approaching the roundabout. Without any camera footage or witnesses, neither Insurers is going to say which driver was at fault. It will most likely go down as a 50/50.

 

In regard to write offs being quickly decided, the Insurers don't want to mess around. An an older car, they don't want to incur unnecessary costs e.g engineers inspections, storage. The repair costs often exceed the market value or are close to market value, making a repair difficult to justify. The Insurers will restrict the claim to the market value of the car. A repair close to market value would not be considered, as when repairs are started, they often find other damage, therefore increased costs.

 

You just have to accept that you have had an accident with insufficient evidence the other driver was 100% at fault. Unless you can evidence a repair can be achieved considerably less than the market value, the car will be a write off. Therefore your focus should be on gathering evidence to support the correct market value of the car.

[BankFodder]

For "correct market value", maybe read "correct replacement value "

[gregs07]

Plus cortesy car costs if applicable. This could drag on for months with them funding a hire car which they'll be kedn to avoid. Do some googling though and don't let them fob you off with a rubbish price for your car. Happened to me a few years back started to involve the ombudsman an their offer doubled overnight. They just shaft you if you aren't switched on.

[SuperVillain]

Know the difference between a courtesy car and a hire car.

 

I'm not sure if you've had a replacement vehicle, and if so, be sure you know who it's coming from.

 

If you have a car from a credit hire company, you will almost certainly have signed an agreement saying you're ultimately liable for the hire charges, and delaying your claim (thereby inflating the hire charges) could lead to disputes regarding the costs - if liability is accepted by the other side, which is unlikely by the sounds of it.

[gwebstech]

thanks for the advice it is much appreciated

[ericsbrother]

a write off is simply when it costs more to repair than the car's current market value. Having the right of way and turning first is helpful but I once got run over on a footpath and had witnesses to the van driver being on his mobile at the time but his insurers denied he was at fault.

[Guest]

theres a basic well known one going on Tesco direct which includes an sd card and case, for less than the same cam on its own.

and if you've got T points...even less

and, it came in handy today. a plank pulled out right in front. i stopped in time. but, the proof wld've been there if needed. just for 35£. well worth the investment given how ins co's are re 'liability'/knock for knock/write off's etc. if there was impact, and my insurer didn't want to pursue it (due to their 'cartel' policies), then i could quite easily do so myself in favour.

[Mwynci]

Mini roundabouts are not too bad for liability, if he was coming form the opposite I'm assuming it's a 4 lane roundabout. You then hitting him suggests you were established prior to him entering.

 

Regarding settling your repairs/total loss, that is the correct way to do it, your insurer right now are doing things correctly.