Insurance after an accident I caused :(

araic88

Ashamed to say, I caused a minor collision today. My car is actually grand, a few scrapes and a small dent but they're hardly noticeable and I probably won't bother having them fixed. The other car was a bit worse though and the driver, though nice, said she'll "be in touch" regarding insurance.
I think I was a bit in shock though and have never been involved in an accident before or claimed from insurance so I don't know if I did all the things I should have.
It was on entering a shopping centre car park and a security guard came to check we were okay etc. and he helped with swapping details but I'm not sure if I've to do anything else now. I gave my contact details and insurance details but as it was pretty obviously my fault, at the time I didn't think to get the other car's reg/insurance details, I just got the driver's name, phone number and address. The security guard asked were we happy not to get the Gardai involved and we both said we were.
Do I need to contact my insurance and tell them? I've since read you're not supposed to admit fault at the scene, I think I did to the security guard but not the driver, it was my fault though so I don't know what difference it makes! I've also read you're supposed to keep a disposable camera in your car to take photos. I definitely didn't! Her car looked quite new/in good condition otherwise though and she didn't seem the type to try and claim loads of extra things.
Will my premium go way up next year? I didn't have much of a no-claims bonus anyway as I've only had a full license for about 18months

Jemmy

Report it to the guards & your own insurance company. The guards may not want to know because noone was hurt but ask them to take the details to have on record anyway.

If you have her contact number & want to keep it out of insurance ask her to provide you with a qoute and you can pay cash, but having a claim on your insurance will cause it to increase next year.

kildare.17hmr

DO NOT ADMIT LIABILITY OR YOUR INSURANCE MAY NOT COVER YOU!!!!!!

Report it to them and give them the details of the other driver along with an account of what happened and dont worry too much about it, its why you pay them in the first place

seamus

You don't need to contact the Gardai unless there are injuries, however it must be reported the Garda station which is local to the accident scene.

I would always advise everyone to make a report to the Gardai (unless it's literally a minor tip), as it can cause problems later on if you haven't done so and the other party start looking for tens of thousands in compensation.

You must report it to your insurer. They will send you out an accident report form where you fill out the details of the accident. Assuming that you won't be paying for any damages, then refuse to discuss the matter with the other driver if they ring you. Just tell them your insurance company is dealing with it and leave it at that. Don't worry too much about what you did and did not say to anyone re: liability. An admission of liability at the scene does not mean that you actually are liable and does not affect whether you are covered by insurance.

Once reported to your insurance company it's out of your hands.

Your premium will probably go up, but not by a massive amount. Your age is more important than anything else. If you're under some random age less than 30, then it will possibly go up by 25% or more.

YumDeiseMum

araic88 wrote: »

and she didn't seem the type to try and claim loads of extra things.

Unfortunately you cannot rely on your instincts in situations like this. The woman in question could be sitting in an A&E department right now claiming whiplash!! Call your insurance company asap

cjt156

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

DO NOT ADMIT LIABILITY OR YOUR INSURANCE MAY NOT COVER YOU!!!!!!

Citation needed.