Making a claim or not?

Road-Hog

Just looking for some advice here, situation is as follows, I was driving along a section of new dual carraigeway with a concrete median barrier down the middle the other day. It was a straight section of road not very busy, about 2pm in day, road was dry and was travelling in the slow (inside lane) and doing about 75-80kph. We had our two month old in the baby seat and she was getting a bit agitated as the sun was hitting her on the face, I reached over to adjust the sun shade so that her face was covered taking my eye off the road for a max of 3-5 seconds, next thing I know I'm veering into the fast lane, unfortunately I made too sudden a correction i.e. steered too quickly towards the left in order to get back to the slow lane, which resulted in me loosing control and the car went into a wobble with the rear driver's side hitting the central median barrier with the engine cutting out and car coming to a stop in between both lanes. Thank god the road wasn't busy and we managed to get the car to the hardsholder before any other vehicle came near us. I gave the car a quick examination, the main damage was a broken back bumper, rear hatch back door bent and wouldn't open plus a broken indicator. We contiued on our short jouney home and the next day I took the car to a 'panel beater' that I know, he gave it a good examination and estimated that the repairs would be in the region of 4k......My question is should we proceed with a claim, we have comprehensive insurance including 'no claims protection'. Is there a possibility that the insurance company could decide not to cover maintaining that I was driving without due care and attention?

Barr

You have NCB protection - 100% claim from your policy.

"Without due care and attention" doesn’t come into it - this was an accident

patrickc

have claimed under protection and its been grand..

thats what insurance and ncb protection is for

Barr

What kind of car is it - 4k seems alot in repairs?

claim away, thats what you have comp for. As an aside that was a seriouly bad piece of driving, you steered sharply to the left and ended up slapping the central median with the drivers side rear !! You would really want to cop on, you could easily have killed yourself and the other occupants, sorry to sound a cnut but you shouldn be on the road if you are willing to take your eyes off the road for 3 seconds.

-Chris-

I can't even picture how this accident happened - you drifted right into the overtaking lane, realised this and corrected left so hard that your car managed to spin to the extent that the rear of it impacted the median?

MagicMarker

3-5 seconds is a long time without looking at the road! Count yourself lucky, just let the baby cry in future!

CiniO

1. Yes, you better claim - thay will pay for it.
Unless you have extramally expesive policy without NCB protection. Anyway in most cases it would be worth claiming. They have to accept a claims, as it was an accident - at your fault, but accident.


2. You have a great driving lesson for a future. You wanted to protect your baby from a sun, and you could have killed her/him or someone else. In my opinion it's an example of total inresponsibilty. Remember in the future, that if you are driving, you have to focus on the road at all time and never leave you attention ever for a second not mentioning 4 - 5 seconds.

mathepac

Barr wrote: »

... "Without due care and attention" doesn’t come into it - this was an accident

This was sheer carelessness and irresponsibility.

djimi

mathepac wrote: »

This was sheer carelessness and irresponsibility.

Doenst matter; thats for the guards to decide if they were involved (which they werent), not the insurance company.

djimi

Just be aware, that even with protected NCB, you will still have a claim on your insurance policy and it will effect your ability to switch insurance companies for a few years.

But you should be claiming. Unless you are able to fork out €4k from your own pocket them use the insurance company; it is what you pay them for and with a protected NCB you wont end up paying more next year.

John C

I am neither a solicitor nor an insurance broker. This tip is without liability.

He and him are generic pronouns for men and women.

- Why don't you go to a solicitor . You tell him the pertinent details without diluting anything. Ask him to read your insurance policy including 'the small print'. Ask your solicitor how will the insurance company see this accident. -carelessness, recklessness -gross recklessness?
Is there a clause about "recklessness" and "gross recklessness"? Does recklessness reduce the amount of compensation? Does gross recklessness totally invalidate the insurance contract in this instance?

You could visit or phone your insurance broker. Tip: write out notes in advance and write down (word for word with context) what he says. Enquire about your policy focusing on this incident above. Eventually you could put your cards on the table and ask about making a claim.

I do not know if you will dislike the information you'll get.
I do not know if you will like the information you'll get.
But at least you know better where you stand on this incident.

I hope that helps with the original question "Making a claim or not?"

---

I am glad that you and your child were not injured.

rebel.ranter

-Chris- wrote: »

I can't even picture how this accident happened - you drifted right into the overtaking lane, realised this and corrected left so hard that your car managed to spin to the extent that the rear of it impacted the median?

Aboutca year ago I saw a very similar accident unfold in front of mr as I was driving along the South Ring Road (Dual Carriageway), in Cork. A woman in a Renault LGuna attempted to overtake another car without checking that the overtaking lane was free. She turned the wheel right to enter the overtaking lane but quickly had to make an evasive left turn to avoid the car that was already in the overtaking lane. The car then went completely out if control until it ploughed into the metal central divider (mark is still visible) then bounced back to the hard shoulder (all thus was happening in front of me!), it spun around but eventually ended up pointing the right direction.
Car looked to be a write-off but the woman looked fine.
Lesson for was to look before overtaking. A simple manouvre executed badly.

-Chris-

Scary :eek:

MidlandsM

John C wrote: »

I am neither a solicitor nor an insurance broker. This tip is without liability.

He and him are generic pronouns for men and women.

- Why don't you go to a solicitor . You tell him the pertinent details without diluting anything. Ask him to read your insurance policy including 'the small print'. Ask your solicitor how will the insurance company see this accident. -carelessness, recklessness -gross recklessness?
Is there a clause about "recklessness" and "gross recklessness"? Does recklessness reduce the amount of compensation? Does gross recklessness totally invalidate the insurance contract in this instance?

You could visit or phone your insurance broker. Tip: write out notes in advance and write down (word for word with context) what he says. Enquire about your policy focusing on this incident above. Eventually you could put your cards on the table and ask about making a claim.

I do not know if you will dislike the information you'll get.
I do not know if you will like the information you'll get.
But at least you know better where you stand on this incident.

I hope that helps with the original question "Making a claim or not?"

---

I am glad that you and your child were not injured.

Ahhhh FFS, leave Solictors out of it. They are leeches - the less involvement they have in matters the better.

Mr. Presentable

Road-Hog wrote: »

Just looking for some advice here, situation is as follows, I was driving along a section of new dual carraigeway with a concrete median barrier down the middle the other day. It was a straight section of road not very busy, about 2pm in day, road was dry and was travelling in the slow (inside lane) and doing about 75-80kph. We had our two month old in the baby seat and she was getting a bit agitated as the sun was hitting her on the face, I reached over to adjust the sun shade so that her face was covered taking my eye off the road for a max of 3-5 seconds, next thing I know I'm veering into the fast lane, unfortunately I made too sudden a correction i.e. steered too quickly towards the left in order to get back to the slow lane, which resulted in me loosing control and the car went into a wobble with the rear driver's side hitting the central median barrier with the engine cutting out and car coming to a stop in between both lanes. Thank god the road wasn't busy and we managed to get the car to the hardsholder before any other vehicle came near us. I gave the car a quick examination, the main damage was a broken back bumper, rear hatch back door bent and wouldn't open plus a broken indicator. We contiued on our short jouney home and the next day I took the car to a 'panel beater' that I know, he gave it a good examination and estimated that the repairs would be in the region of 4k......My question is should we proceed with a claim, we have comprehensive insurance including 'no claims protection'. Is there a possibility that the insurance company could decide not to cover maintaining that I was driving without due care and attention?

Out of curiosity, was the "we" who helped get the car off the road comprised of you and another person old enough to adjust a sunshade?

I'd put it through the insurance, that's what it's for. You were very lucky and it's a good illustration of how quickly things can go wrong when you take your eye off the road even for a moment.

VinnyTGM

Taking your eyes off the road for 3-5 seconds is dangerous driving, thankfully no other cars were on the road beside you. Next time pull in and adjust the visor.

John C

MidlandsM wrote: »

Ahhhh FFS, leave Solictors out of it. They are leeches - the less involvement they have in matters the better.

leave Solictors out of it........
In this statement I think MidlandsM was firstly advising the OP and secondly commenting on my post.

Preamble: I have little experience of solicitors. I am encouraging the OP to clarify the situation. Here in Bavaria it costs 150 Euros for the first consultation. After that consultation he will know where he stands. He can also get a letter from the solicitor telling him of his entitlements. That can be helpful in in the event that an insurance company is hesitant about a payout.

Is there an internet legal forum in Ireland run by professionals where one could ask?

This comment about solicitors has put alarm bells ringing. Have any fellow members had bad experiences?

djimi

I dont think that its necessary to consult a solicitor tbh. Unless the guards were called and there is a conviction for dangerous driving (which there doesnt appear to be) then I cant see the insurance company getting too sticky. I could be wrong of course however...

Our man in Havana

Lads, no claims bonsus protection is not what it claims to be. You claim and they will still increase your premium the following year. Worse still you are handcuffed to the same insurance company for the the next 3 to 5 years.

bazzachazza

Your the driver, you drive. It is your responsibility to get everyone to the destination in one piece safely and without incident.

Next time use the feckin' hard shoulder to pull over if required.

Do not under any circumstance make a claim unless you want to pay twice the amount for the repairs through your premiums. I know we all think that's what insurance is there for, well that's not what the insurance companies think.

Fix the indicator and tail light and wait till you have the money for the rest.