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General Comments |
| Date: |
08.08.00 (380 review reads) |
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As someone who has worked in motor insurance claims, there are a few pointers I would like to share with anyone unfortunate enough to need to make a claim, I hope they will help make everyone's life a little easier.
If your vehicle is damaged:
1. Tell your insurance company or broker straight away. They may want to get an engineer to inspect your vehicle BEFORE repairs start. If you proceed without their approval, they may not agree to pay the full amount.
2. Consider using their approved repairer system. Most insurance companies now have a system of approved repairers. They will often supply you with a replacement vehicle during the course of repairs, will be familiar with your insurers requirements and you won’t have to pay for the repairs up front yourself, only the excess (and VAT if you are registered).
3. Get 2 quotes. Most insurers will want to see 2 quotes for repairs if you are not using an approved repairer. Save yourself time and get started on obtaining these straight away.
4. If you need to hire an alternative vehicle, do make sure you are not paying over the odds for it. Even if the accident was not your fault, you are liable for the hire charges until such time as the other party admits fault/agrees to pay. Also see below on credit hire.
If it was your fault:
1. NEVER admit liability, especially not in writing. This will contravene the conditions of your insurance and may cause your insurers problems later on.
2. Exchange details and pass all correspondence IMMEDIATELY to your insurers.
If it was someone else’s fault:
1. Get their name, address, phone number, and licence plate at the scene – and write it down yourself. You would be amazed how many seemingly plausible people give false details and leave you with a lost no claims bonus and/or a big repair bill.
2. Get witnesses – if anyone saw the accident get their name, address, daytime pho
ne number and car licence plate if applicable to assist your insurers in tracing them. Witnesses are often harder than third parties to get in touch with, people don’t like to “get involved”, little realising that often all they will be asked to do is fill out a short questionnaire.
3. If at all concerned, notify the police. They don’t have to take a report when there are no injuries, but if you suspect that someone involved may not be insured or is drunk for example, it is wise to call them out.
If you were injured:
1. If it is evident immediately that someone is hurt you must inform the police. Medical evidence is always required to support an injury claim, so if advised to attend hospital, do so, and remember to consult your GP with any ongoing problems so that there is a record of them later.
2. Contact your legal expenses insurer if you have one, they will usually appoint a legal advisor or solicitor to deal with an injury claim.
If someone else was injured:
1. Tell your insurers IMMEDIATELY. The more detail they receive about it early on, the better equipped they are to deal with the situation. Injury claims can be complex, so let them handle it.
2. Ensure the accident was reported to the police.
When you have a dispute with your own insurer:
If you have a problem with your own insurers, whatever it is, the first step is to take it up with them. Find out the name of the relevant manager (claims or underwriting) and write to them, outlining the problem and asking for their personal response. If you remain unhappy you can refer the matter to the insurance Ombudsman, whose details will be in your policy booklet. If your insurer is at Lloyd’s, you can also use the Lloyd’s Complaints and Advisory service. These 2 bodies are both completely free to policyholders. As someone who has worked in insurance I can also assure you that many decisions are in favou
r of the policyholder!
A note on credit hire/credit repairs
Credit hire and credit repairs are offered quite frequently nowadays, the idea is that if you have had a no-fault accident, you are given credit so that you don’t actually have to shell out for repairs or hire charges. The credit hire company will take legal action in your name to recover the entire cost from the party at fault. These companies often charge much, much higher rates, and at the end of the day it is YOU who is liable for the full amount, if for example the other person cannot be traced or is not insured. If they offer insurance against not being able to recover the full amount from the party to blame, it is worth considering this. Legally, every person is obliged to mitigate their loss, which in simple terms means that if you crashed your 10 year old mini, you are not going to succeed in a claim for hiring a Rolls for a year while they argue about who is to blame. It could also mean that your credit hire company may fail to get the entire cost of the hire back. If they have charged you grossly more for hire than would normally be charged by other major companies, there is a risk that they won’t be allowed to get all of that from the other party. And that could leave you with a large bill to pay. It’s a useful service if you don’t have much disposable income, but be cautious and shop around, there are many companies offering it and you can often get the same sort of help for free from your insurer.
Theft claims:
1. Your insurer will want all the vehicle documentation, particularly the vehicle registration document, current MOT, insurance certificate, service history, keys, plus any other documents which assist in establishing the value of your vehicle. This might include a purchase invoice, photographs showing the condition of the vehicle, invoices for any recent work done.
2. Report to police and give insurers the refer
ence and details of the station.
3. Help your insurers. Insurers will usually use Glasses or Parkers guides as a starting point. If you think your vehicle was worth much more than those guides indicate, tell them why at the outset. Insurers will not just assume that what you put down is correct – that would be like writing a blank cheque. Give them the information to make the right decision.
4. Be realistic. If you’ve had your vehicle for a long time, chances are it’s worth much more to you than it ever would be to anyone else. But the insurers only have to pay the market value, which is what you could expect to sell it for. You will not increase their offer by telling them about all the routine maintenance you have done, you are expected to do all that anyway. Nobody gets extra points for replacing bald tyres or a worn clutch.
5. Tell them about any extras you had, such as a stereo/CD changer, but be aware that policies usually limit how much you can claim for these items.
I hope that information helps – if you feel anything has been left out, leave a comment or e-mail me and I will update this opinion to cover it.
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