Bike written off in car accident. Insurance advice please.
SiGreenwood
Posts: 6
Hi all,
New to the forum but a long time mountain biker who 'used' to use his bike to commute to work as well.
Last Friday (2nd) I was knocked off my bike at a 'T' junction. A 77 year old woman in a mini approached the giveway and slowed down but just as I was passing infront of her she pulled out and knocked me flying. She said she looked but didn't see me! The police and an ambulance were called and the police were 100% happy that I was not at fault in any way. Ambulance people checked me over and I was alright, I've had bruises and headaches for a few days which have gone now, my helmet took a real crack when I hit the road so I'm glad I was wearing it.
Anyway when the woman hit me she also manged to drive over my bike before she pulled in and stopped. The frame is bent, brake mounting on the forks broke, the gears, brake levers, shiffters and both wheels are also knackered. Basically my opinion is the bike is a write off.
I contacted the woman the next day (the 3rd) and said I wanted to claim against her for the damage to my bike and that she needed to declare the accident to her insurers. She said that she would contact them and then get back to me but didn't provide me with any other details even though I asked for her insurance details. Yesterday (7th) I still hadn't heard from her so I called her to chase things up and she said that she had told her insurer what had happened on Sunday(the 4th) and that they would get in touch with me. I have no reason to suspect that the woman hasn't informed her insurer and I know she was insured because the police checked at the accident
Can anyone who has had a similar experience tell me what they had to do to make an insurance claim against a driver. If I still haven't heard anything tomorrrow I'm going to call her again and demand her insurance details so that I can contact her insurer and chase it up myself. Also my bike is a Trek 6500 '06 model. Can I expect to get a replacement bike or will the insurer take age depreciation into account?
TIA.
New to the forum but a long time mountain biker who 'used' to use his bike to commute to work as well.
Last Friday (2nd) I was knocked off my bike at a 'T' junction. A 77 year old woman in a mini approached the giveway and slowed down but just as I was passing infront of her she pulled out and knocked me flying. She said she looked but didn't see me! The police and an ambulance were called and the police were 100% happy that I was not at fault in any way. Ambulance people checked me over and I was alright, I've had bruises and headaches for a few days which have gone now, my helmet took a real crack when I hit the road so I'm glad I was wearing it.
Anyway when the woman hit me she also manged to drive over my bike before she pulled in and stopped. The frame is bent, brake mounting on the forks broke, the gears, brake levers, shiffters and both wheels are also knackered. Basically my opinion is the bike is a write off.
I contacted the woman the next day (the 3rd) and said I wanted to claim against her for the damage to my bike and that she needed to declare the accident to her insurers. She said that she would contact them and then get back to me but didn't provide me with any other details even though I asked for her insurance details. Yesterday (7th) I still hadn't heard from her so I called her to chase things up and she said that she had told her insurer what had happened on Sunday(the 4th) and that they would get in touch with me. I have no reason to suspect that the woman hasn't informed her insurer and I know she was insured because the police checked at the accident
Can anyone who has had a similar experience tell me what they had to do to make an insurance claim against a driver. If I still haven't heard anything tomorrrow I'm going to call her again and demand her insurance details so that I can contact her insurer and chase it up myself. Also my bike is a Trek 6500 '06 model. Can I expect to get a replacement bike or will the insurer take age depreciation into account?
TIA.
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Comments
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When i was knocked off the Police gave me the drivers info. I rang her and got her insurance details. I wrote them a letter explaining everything, they wrote back asking for receipts, photos, incident number etc. I supplied all that then soon after they sent me a nice big cheque including money for personal injury (£2k i think i got plus money for the bike and damaged kit) That was in 1995. I had five stitches in my head and spent the evening in A&E then about a weeks worth of concussion.
Nice to get the £2k but i wouldn't do it again - concussion is not nice!!
Edit.
Your right is to be put back into the same situation you were in before the accident. You'll need to get a quote from a bike shop to say your bike is knackered and this is the cost of a replacement.0 -
Dont let her claim, you claim on her insurance.
She's legaly obliged to provide you with her insurance details. Get them and claim.
Also insurance is supposed to leave you in the same poition you were in - but no better.
I'd expect a new bike tho TBH its impossible to find an exact model used to the same condition. Also claim for injuries.0 -
The same thing happened to me, I was hit crossing a roundabout & the driver was in the wrong. He went straight across the roundabout but used the turn left only lane.
The police came & he admitted he was in the wrong, I broke my wrist/elbow/cracked ribs & various scrapes. I just went to a trusted local solicitor & they sorted everything for me, he offered a 100% compensation scheme where his costs are claimed from the drivers insurers.You will find it easy to get that deal as it's a no lose situation for the solicitor as liability has been admitted.
I had to take my bike to an LBS who wrote out the full retail value of the parts on my bike from when they were brand new. This was good as for example my frame was retail £350 but cost me £150 & my forks I bought 2nd hand (Psylo Race) but when they were new the retail was £550 I think.
Although lots of parts were salvageable (bent rear triangle/rear wheel, everything else fine) they still paid for everything as I said I didn't trust the parts.
I ended up getting £1200 for my bike & 8.5k for my injuries
Only thing is it took about 8 months for the bike payout & 2 years for the injury payout.
It's worth going to a solicitor though as they can get everything dealt with on your behalf.0 -
Thanks for the advice.
Still nothing from her insurance company so I called her tonight and she has given me her insurance details and the claim reference so I'll contact them directly tomorrow, she said that she would do the same first thing in the morning. I'm also pre empting the claim process and I've got the bike booked in at two bike shops so that they can assess the damage, which should be a write off, and give me a quote for the replacement bike and bits.
The steer I've had from a collegue of my wife (she works in insurance but not this field) who has worked in motor claims is that I should submit a claim for the bike and all bits stating that I want the claim settling in full quickly as the bike is my sole means of transport to work and to use the bike shop quotes to back up my claim. If they get funny about the claim I should remind them that their client is 100% to blame, as stated by the police, and tell them that I will seek legal representation using a no win no fee lawyer whos costs they will have to pay and that I will additionally be claiming transport costs incurred due to the loss of my bike, a days pay that I lost due to the accident and compensation for cuts, bruises and concussion. Apparently because the claim is under £1k the insurer won't want to get involved in paying a no win no fee lawyer, especially as it's a dead cert I wasn't at fault in any way, so there is a good chance they will pay out immediately.
Fingers crossed the claim goes through quickly!0 -
SiGreenwood
Been there two years back someone used me as a giveway line.
I contacted one of these no win fee thingys and believe it or not
all is still been going on, But the insurance has been excellent.
One thing is i have now confirmed arthritus to the left knee so
get yourself checked out has they assess your injurys
Thety sent me to a private doctor and found the artritus
but the NHS did not tell me and its on my notes???
Dont know if you want the number0 -
Grantway
Thanks for the advice. I only suffered minor cuts and bruises and I'm pretty sure there won't be any further complications. The reason the bike is such a mess is that she drove over it when she parked the car up!
If you could pm me the number I'll keep it just incase.
Ta.0 -
when you get the bike shops to value your bike, get them to include the cost of building the bike?0
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Mentioning the no-win / no-fee solicitor to her insurance and wanting settlement asap aounds like a good idea....
If you have legal cover on your home insurance, I would imagine you could use that!0 -
Re the above post, you should also have uninsured loss cover on your own motor insurance. They may take up the case on your behalf, even though you weren't driving. You can also contact a company called ULR who may take it up for you but you will need to pay a premium, although last time i dealt with them it was only about £100
