Crash advice - Claiming on drivers insurance?

rnath

I got spanked into over the weekend - the car turned into me so don't think there's any question of liability. Emergency services attended the scene and I have details of two helpful witnesses and also have the driver's details and insurance details. I'm insured with M&S Home Insurance and they're happy to take on the claim and I've been provided with two "bike beyond repair" quotations.

However, do people think it best to wait for the police report, then just approach the driver's insurance company directly - or should I let my insurance company take care of everything? I don't want to jack up my premium for an accident that wasn't my fault :?

I don't want to claim for personal injury etc (I was lucky enough to escape without anything broken, so just want to leave it that) - however I do want my knackered bike replaced ASAP.

Thanks for any advice...

penugent

It will probably be faster to claim for the bike on your own policy and let M&S reclaim their outlay. Provided your own policy isn't up for renewal in the next couple of months it should be sorted with a nil outlay against your policy before your next renewal.

The only thing to be wary of is any policy excess. If there is a policy excess on your M&S policy they may well deduct that and leave it to you to pursue the motorist - which you are entitled to do. If there is a legal expenses cover under the M&S policy they may claim the excess for you if you ask.

ex-pat scot

legal expenses cover on your home insurance.
It's a no-brainer. THey'll quickly assess whether likely to be able to establish fault of the driver and shouldn't ever count as a "claim" on your policy.

Worked for me.

martinwitnam

You do not need to pursue the driver. That is the job of your own insurance company. Why do you think that you pay your premium? For them to work for you. And any excess will be paid by his insurance company.
And also claim for personal injury. You might just get enough money for another new bike!

beverick

martinwitnam wrote:

You do not need to pursue the driver. That is the job of your own insurance company. Why do you think that you pay your premium? For them to work for you. And any excess will be paid by his insurance company.
And also claim for personal injury. You might just get enough money for another new bike!

What your insurer will do depends on the policy.

You pay your premium to insure against specific loss and, in the understanding that the terms of the policy have been met, that your imsurer will pay out a defined amout in the case of specific events.

At the most basic level you claim your insured costs from your insurer and they pay out based on the policy. How this works in practice depends on your insurer, the policy you hold with them and, bluntly, the professionalism of the people you deal with.

Any "uninsured losses" (including the excess on the policy) will be claimed from the third party providing liability is proven. Look at your policy, it may be up to you to do this (although most claims handlers will do it for you as a matter of course).

Keep in contact and confirm that liability has been proven and that there's nothing extra you need to do. Motor insurers used to have a bad habit of settling the losses for which they were liable and then sitting on the uninsured element of the claim and not dong anything until the customer complained that their excess hadn't been refunded, uninsured costs paid or when the expected NCD wasn't applied at the next renewal date.

Bob

rake

martinwitnam wrote:

You do not need to pursue the driver. That is the job of your own insurance company. Why do you think that you pay your premium? For them to work for you. And any excess will be paid by his insurance company.
And also claim for personal injury. You might just get enough money for another new bike!

you sound like one of the whiplash brigade who add 30% to everyones insurance with false claims. id rather have cheap insurance than send lying ********* on a holiday.

Red Rock

rake wrote:

martinwitnam wrote:

You do not need to pursue the driver. That is the job of your own insurance company. Why do you think that you pay your premium? For them to work for you. And any excess will be paid by his insurance company.
And also claim for personal injury. You might just get enough money for another new bike!

you sound like one of the whiplash brigade who add 30% to everyones insurance with false claims. id rather have cheap insurance than send lying ********* on a holiday.

+1

martinwitnam

Funny how people just to conclusions about things isn't it.
I recently had a car accident where due to neither mine nor the other driver's insurers wanting to pay up both of us had to pay out of our own pockets for the damage which happened to both cars.
Due to the fact that I reported the to my insurance company I am seen to have made a claim and have therefore lost two years NCB.
By the way if we are going to be adults at least have the courage of your convictions and explain to me what a ********* is?

rake

you can use your own expletive that gets automatically blocked . its true that 'enthusiastic' claims such as whiplash stack your insurance cost up if everyone starts doing it, some seem to have trouble grasping this fact by the amount who have tried it. the op said he wasnt really injured and you said to claim so i leapt to the same conclusion. i know your type .
i would change your insurance company by the sound of it, i took the hit for a very old car sent to jesus, and it didnt affect my no claims. it is direct line. maybe it was calculated on risk rather than cost.

rnath

Thanks for the advice everyone.

cougie

If someone drives their car into me - I would be claiming for all my legitimate losses and injuries. Did your kit not get knackered sliding along the ground ? And I'd want to make sure that theres no longer lasting damage thats not apparent at the time.

The whole insurance thing is a massive scam anyway - our car was written off by a driver on a blind bend on our side of the road - head on. The insurance provided a hire car until we could replace the car - but the daily rate was astronomical - and if ever your car just needs repairing - its a hideous cost on that too.