Claiming on driver's insurance without involving solicitor?

keyser__soze

Hi

As some of you may know I got right-hooked last Friday on the New Kings Road by a car turning across traffic and not seeing me in the cycle lane. A full over-the-bonnet roll but I escaped with little more than bruising and a slightly sore knee - nothing seems to have flared up enough requiring medical attention. The guy was very reasonable and apologetic and admitted liability at the scene. The police came, took statements and confirmed it was the guy's fault but I've yet to receive any police report though. My bike, while appearing relatively okay at the scene, has gone into the LBS for a check-up and I found out yesterday there's about £800 of servicing/replacement parts required - sod's law I was on the good bike

What's the next step? Contact the guy directly with the quote from the LBS and get him to contact his insurers? Should I contact his insurers directly? I'm a bit reluctant to get a 'no-win no-fee' style solicitor involved as I don't want to ramp up the costs and line the solicitors' pockets and appear confrontational or money-grabbing.

Thanks

kelsen

You should be able to contact his insurer directly. As he appears to have already admitted liability, it should be pretty straightforward and his insurers will probably offer a settlement based on their damage assessment to you and your bike. They might insist on a medical check-up to avoid another claim from you further down the line.

bigmat

Shouldn't you contact him direct in the first instance? He might not want to involve his insurers depending on the level of his excess etc. I'm guessing the £800 repairs could in relaity be done for a lot less? I guess it makes no difference to you where the money comes from, but if he is taking a reasonable approach them might be an idea to keep him on side?

d.mart

Go to the GP so there is a medical record of the incident too. Then if anything flares up in future you have an official record and you can prove you've not just trying to have their pants down.

keyser__soze

Never had any joy contacting driver's insurers in the past, but didn't really pursue things either time first one was only a wheel true and second a ripped pair of tights. They just stone-walled and said they'd be in touch but never were.

Was hoping the quote from LBS would be less and fall under his excess/make it worth his while paying cash up-front as I don't want to have to go through the long wait for getting the money back or authorization from insurers to get the bike fixed up.

kelsen

True what Mat says. I doubt his premium is going to be ramped up by £800 though so it might be his preference to go through insurance. Don't know unless you ask I suppose.

richk

I simply wrote to the drivers insurance broker, with full details of my claim (receipts, bike assessment etc). Only had to chase it up once before receiving a cheque for the full amount. That case was relatively simple though - written off bike + some clothes (no injury claim).

phy2sll2

I had exactly the same situation two months ago.

Got my local guy to do a valuation of the damage. He came back saying the bike was a write-off (bent frame) and would cost >£1500 to replace.

I copied this and gave it to the driver who (after freaking a bit at how much money bikes cost) contacted their insurer (Admiral). Took a bit of pestering before they actually contacted me, but once I'd managed to talk to someone, we agreed a settlement and they paid straight away.

It helped that the driver was a nice guy. I would have gone to sols if he hadn't returned my calls etc.

I think that would have got very difficult though as I had no witnesses and hadn't reported it to the police, mainly as it seemed as though we would be able to sort it between us.

Good luck.

dhope

I had that situation a couple of years ago when I went over the bonnet of a car turning right across my lane.
We exchanged details, I let the police know of the incident and went to the hospital later in the day to get checked out.

Turned out the frame and my kit were both broken. As with phy2sll2, the driver was a bit lax about returning calls initially but after mentioning (not threatening, just mentioning) that the police had been made aware etc and that there was a reference number if his insurance company needed it, then things sped up. I phoned up his insurance company knowing his name and plate, they were already aware of the incident. Gave them the details and they confirmed they knew that he was at fault. They offered me £1000 for the bike repairs (it was a £1000 bike) and £1500 for potential injuries (impressive looking bruising essentially). I took this as I was pretty sure that it'd not develop into anything more. Got the cheque a few days later, all sorted.

If yours is the nice bike then, seriously, factor in the price of a replacement frame. My frame looked fine initially and then a crack appeared near the BB a few weeks later after I'd picked it up from the bike shop and ridden it home. I'd already settled on the basis that the frame might need replacing so wasn't out of pocket.

All can work out easily as long as everyone's being nice about things. Let him know what you're doing but make sure that you're covered for all eventualities.

bompington

When I was knocked off by a driver who accepted liability immediately, his insurance company coughed up very fast, and without quibbling, for kit - personal injury was a different story as they offered a derisory amount which took 4 years to settle.
So if you're just after kit replacement you'll probably get reasonableness from the insurance company, but I'd echo the advice above to make absolutely sure you claim for everything, and get a GP to check you over. At any sign of resistance, just get a solicitor.

CiB

Keyser__Soze wrote:

there's about £800 of servicing/replacement parts required

Not being pernickety or anything but are you also getting him to pay for the things that needed servicing anyway? Your choice, but in the end if you just want compensation for what's damaged, itemise them and it's more likely he'll cough up the readies on the spot to avoid an insurance claim.

waddlie

If you're only claiming for damage to bike and kit and driver and insurance company are being co-operative, you don't need legal help.

If you decide to make a claim for personal injury, you'll need legal assistance.

If you do need a solicitor, you may already have free access to one which you're not aware of - eg. through an Employee Assistance Program provided by your employer; or if you have "legal protection" cover on your home insurance.

Hope this helps.

[Edited to add - an excess on a car insurance policy usually only applies to damage to the car etc, not to a liability claim against the policy, which would normally be paid in full without an excess as a thid party is making a claim against the policy rather than the policyholder. So you don't need to factor in whether or not the claim falls under the driver's excess.]

keyser__soze

CiB wrote:

Keyser__Soze wrote:

there's about £800 of servicing/replacement parts required

Not being pernickety or anything but are you also getting him to pay for the things that needed servicing anyway? Your choice, but in the end if you just want compensation for what's damaged, itemise them and it's more likely he'll cough up the readies on the spot to avoid an insurance claim.

No, this is servicing relating solely to the accident and is itemized on the quote from the LBS. Retruing the wheels that were knocked out of true and realigning rear derailleur hanger that were knocked out of alignment, plus LBS standard costs of fitting the new components and the cost of the bike check. The bike was serviced shortly before the accident and as it's my race bike I keep it in good nick.

Waddlie, thanks, I have free access to a solicitor through membership of the London Cycling Campaign so can always follow that route easily enough.

dhope, that's worrying about the frame. May get a second opinion from another bike shop, which may also help with justifying the amounts claimed, but I don't know if the insurers will cover the cost of a second check/repair quote.

dhope

Keyser__Soze wrote:

dhope, that's worrying about the frame. May get a second opinion from another bike shop, which may also help with justifying the amounts claimed, but I don't know if the insurers will cover the cost of a second check/repair quote.

The bike shop said it looked fine. I said to the insurance that the only surefire way to be sure a carbon frame isn't broken is to ultrasound it, and that that would cost more than the frame (probably).
I just had the bike shop make a written note on their assessment to the effect of
"Frame appears to be okay - however we can not be 100% sure that there is no damage without further testing (which would be prohibitively expensive)."
Possibly head back to the people that first did it and simply ask if someone can add that caveat. They're not saying anything untrue after all...

Not simply trying to scaremonger here and it's probably fine, but there the argument that it's your race bike and you want to be confident in its integrity - you don't want the thing failing on you when you're descending at 70kph in a group of other cyclists. I would hope the insurance company might appreciate the concern

bigmat

Keyser__Soze wrote:

CiB wrote:

Keyser__Soze wrote:

there's about £800 of servicing/replacement parts required

Not being pernickety or anything but are you also getting him to pay for the things that needed servicing anyway? Your choice, but in the end if you just want compensation for what's damaged, itemise them and it's more likely he'll cough up the readies on the spot to avoid an insurance claim.

No, this is servicing relating solely to the accident and is itemized on the quote from the LBS. Retruing the wheels that were knocked out of true and realigning rear derailleur hanger that were knocked out of alignment, plus LBS standard costs of fitting the new components and the cost of the bike check. The bike was serviced shortly before the accident and as it's my race bike I keep it in good nick.

Waddlie, thanks, I have free access to a solicitor through membership of the London Cycling Campaign so can always follow that route easily enough.

dhope, that's worrying about the frame. May get a second opinion from another bike shop, which may also help with justifying the amounts claimed, but I don't know if the insurers will cover the cost of a second check/repair quote.

How on earth do they get that up to £800? :shock:

Sounds like a proper "insurance job"...

EDIT: I guess that doesn't cover the components damaged?

keyser__soze

BigMat wrote:

How on earth do they get that up to £800? :shock:

Sounds like a proper "insurance job"...

EDIT: I guess that doesn't cover the components damaged?

Yes, the £800 covers mainly replacement cost of components that were damaged or written off (shifters, derailleurs, tyres, helmet, pedals, bar tape etc), the labour/servicing/fitting is a small fraction.

bigmat

Keyser__Soze wrote:

BigMat wrote:

How on earth do they get that up to £800? :shock:

Sounds like a proper "insurance job"...

EDIT: I guess that doesn't cover the components damaged?

Yes, the £800 covers mainly replacement cost of components that were damaged or written off (shifters, derailleurs, tyres, helmet, pedals, bar tape etc), the labour/servicing/fitting is a small fraction.

scary how quickly it all adds up, especially if you have nobody to claim from - hope you get it all sorted one way or another