car crash

quikquest

Hi,

Hoping someone can help me.

My mother was in a crash this morning. She was coming out of Dunnes and there was a car in front of her who hit the brakes. My mother thought she was going and hit into the back of her.

They were both ok, and there wasnt much damage done to my mothers car but she ruined the bumper of the car in front. It was an opel astra.

The guards were called a my mother accepted full responsibility and she gave her insurance details. My mother said that she will pay without going through the insurance.

Im just wondering what happens now. My mother is waiting for this woman to ring her.

Can my mother get her own quote?
Can the woman ignore my mothers request and just go through the insurance anyway?

Any advice?

Thanks

Random

your mother can get her own quote, if the other person agrees.
the other woman is entitled to go through your insurance if she likes.

i would advise reporting it to your own insurance company and letting them know you wish to settle privately. they will probably ring the other person to confirm. you can then decide when the other person gets their estimate.

you also (with most insurance companys) have the option to let the insurance company handle it and then you can pay them back before your renewal to limit the effect on your policy.

i'd advise your mother to get a receipt or pay the garage directly if she is settling this privately.

be prepared for the estimate to cost more than you thought it would - not neccessarily because the other person is trying to rip you off but because car repairs are very often more expensive than they appear.

hope this helps.

delos

Random wrote: »

you also (with most insurance companys) have the option to let the insurance company handle it and then you can pay them back before your renewal to limit the effect on your policy.

Your mother should look into this option. The amount of hassle that can sometimes arise when you try and settle outside of insurance companies is considerable and if she's of an older generation she could probably do without being messed about this way. I'm not say that it will happen but it does..

coylemj

Before she pays a penny she needs to make sure that she's aware of all of her liability.

I crashed into a guy a long time ago, I paid him off based on a garage estimate and he was happy (no whiplash claim so I was happy too) but I then discovered that the damage to my car was worse than I thought. At that stage the damage to my car viewed in isolation wasn't worth claiming from the insurance but when I added the money I had already paid to the other guy and what it was going to cost to fix my car, it would definitely have been worth claiming off my comprehensive insurance. I ended up being down over a grand and that was 20 years ago.

So don't pay any money to anybody until you're sure of the limits of your liability. If your mother pays the other person for the damage to their car and then they come back claiming for whiplash, your mother's insurance company will pay them off, your mother's no claims bonus will be shot and the money she handed over to repair the other car will be down the toilet.

If she decides to pay off the other person she needs to get them to sign a declaration stating that the money is being accepted in full and final settlement for all damages, both material and personal.

quikquest

Thanks a million for those replies. Really opened my eyes. I will speak to the person she crashed into and deal with it.

The guards were called and there wasnt too much damage to her car, but im thinking now she should have took photos. My mother isnt too tech savvy so wasnt to know.

Thanks a million.

Tefral

Also its worth noting that She can pay for the other car and have it fixed but at any stage after the crash for a period of 5 years, they "injured" party can claim for personal injury, happened my cousin, he paid for the fixing of the car, car hire for the other person etc, about a year later they still claimed for a personal injury.

amiable

Just to let you know if nobody was hurt which i'm sure we all agree is the most
important thing, then the Gardai won't get involved. Its a civil matter then.
Best of luck OP and follow the advice of informing your insurance company ASAP