Car insurance advice please, my parked car has been pranged.

[Psychomech]

I was wondering if anyone had any tips to make sure I don't do anything silly or costly :)

The car was parked outside the house and a young guy has damaged it while passing. The damage is a badly scuffed alloy, and a creased wheel arch with a scuff continuing onto the door. The lad stopped and I got his details, obviously his fault and admitting liabilty etc.

I've never dealt with insurance like this before and was wondering if anyone had any tips on how to proceed? I think we have 3 options,

1) He covers the cost of repairs without getting the insurance companies involved. But legally, I think, I still have to inform my insurer that I've had a no fault accident. I'd also have no comeback if a fault devoloped later.

2) He contacts his insurance and I deal directly with them, again having to inform my insurers afterwards.

3) I get my insurer to claim from his on my behalf.

All these will probably mean a higher premium for me, despite the fact it's not my fault, but is there a "least worst" option?

Thanks for any advice.

[kungfupanda]

In a previous life, I was a Defendant Road Traffic Accident solicitor dealing with claims on behalf of an insurer.

A lot of people will try and keep things away from their insurer if they're at fault. However, when the estimate comes in at more than the figure their mate down the pub can get it done at, they usually shy away from paying up.

Easiest option would be to approach his own insurers directly. If he's played ball and notified them, they will have a dedicated third party capture team setup to deal with you directly. They'll arrange for the repair of your vehicle as well as a hire car whilst yours is off the road all at no cost to yourself. It's their priority to keep you happy otherwise you might introduce a third party accident management firm who will ramp up costs with credit hire charges etc etc.

You could go to your own insurer but they will make you pay your excess and you will lose some NCB until they make a full recovery from the third party.

[Psychomech]

Appreciate the advice mate, and you have confirmed what I suspected would be the best option :) Thank you.

[kungfupanda]

No worries. Drop me a PM if you need any more info.

[AKM]

Only if you're really confident about the cost of the repair and have a body shop you're on good terms with and who are willing to do it, would I suggest that you go down the cash route where he pays you off.

I used to know a body shop on an industrial estate who did repairs on three different cars for me, but I had to make do with no courtesy car, had to supply any parts and it was a cash in hand job. Their turnaround times were quick though and for light body damage it was a sensible option.

It sounds messy as you've got damaged to two panels and a wheel that needs refurbing.

If he admits liability, going through insurance is probably the safest option and you're likely to get a quality repair done all at once.

However, your insurer will regard it as a risk factor when it comes to renewal as the insurance industry claims that people are more likely to have a fault claim after they have had a non fault claim. This irritates me as it depends upon the situation with a car that is hit while it was parked, being completely different than two idiots who have a moving collision which may have been avoidable, but for technical reasons is attributed to being the fault of one of the parties.



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[Psychomech]

Thanks for the comments, it all seems to be under control now. The guy phoned and we decided we'd both be more comfortable going through his insurance, and within an hour of him hanging up, his insurer was on the phone. So far it all seems very professional, the offer a hire car if necessary, and finding a local body shop that both they and my car dealer can approve, so car warranty remains intact etc. As kungfupanda says, this is probably to stop me going to a accident management company, but if their priority is keeping me happy, I approve :) The car is only a year old, and I suspect my premiums will take a hit, so still bloody annoying, but it's just "things" and at least nobody was hurt.

Cheers for the input lads, it was really helpful to have some sensible input, rather than the guys down the pub :)