Hit by another car- can i claim a replacement car from their insurance?

take everything

Hi
I was hit head on by an idiot who was driving on the wrong side of the road yesterday.
They admitted total responsibility.
My car is undriveable.
I need a replacement car while mine gets fixed.
Can i claim a replacement car from their insurance company

(incidentally it was a rental vehicle that hit me and any insurance matter is to be sorted out through the rental company).

Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks.

peteb2

Dealing with a rental company is likely to take ages. Would suggest you engage a solitior that specialises in recovery from third parties. We use a crowd called Hussey Fraser in work.

The reason being is that whilst you are probably able to recover the amount, the rental company insurers are unlikely to provide.

take everything

Dealing with a rental company is likely to take ages. Would suggest you engage a solitior that specialises in recovery from third parties. We use a crowd called Hussey Fraser in work.

Can't imagine what the problem could be. this guy drove into me head on while driving on the wrong side of the road, and admitted full liability to gardai and me. The gardai acknowledged that he was 100% liable.
It's as black and white as i can imagine. How much more copperfastened does it have to be?

The reason being is that whilst you are probably able to recover the amount, the rental company insurers are unlikely to provide.

Do you mean provide a car?
Or are you saying an insurance company may not insure against liability generally. Isn't that what insurance companies do?

Profiler

You are entitled to be reimbursed for any reasonable loss you have incurred as a result of the accident. That does include a limited amount of replacement car hire.

The general rule of thumb is for you can claim replacement car hire expenses for the duration of the repairs plus a day or two grace. However it's important to declare that to the responsible party and their insurers.

You would also be entitled to depreciation (loss of value of your car in the open market - ie. your repaired car would be worth less when it comes to selling on when compare to the exact same make and model that has not been damaged) again a general rule is 10% of the cost of the repairs. Please bear in mind that if you chose to sell your repaired car sometime in the future you have a duty to declare the damage to any prospective buyer.

I would have my own professional experiences of the named firm of Solicitors. All I would say is I would never use them and will leave my thoughts on them it at that.

If I were you I would ring the rental car company, tell them where they can inspect your damaged vehicle and tell them there and then you will be claiming or replacement vehicle costs.

In case you don't already know please bear in mind you may need to pay for any costs initially upfront. This includes repairs and car hire, once all matters are resolved then you will be reimbursed by the Rental Company or their Insurers.

You should contact the Rental company and immediatley clarify that they have a completed accident report form from the driver of their car and that liability is not an issue. There could be a delay if the driver doesn't complete the form regardless of what they admitted in front of the Gardai.

So most important contact the Rental company and establish what they know and what they are prepared to do about it.

take everything

Profiler wrote: »

You are entitled to be reimbursed for any reasonable loss you have incurred as a result of the accident. That does include a limited amount of replacement car hire.

The general rule of thumb is for you can claim replacement car hire expenses for the duration of the repairs plus a day or two grace. However it's important to declare that to the responsible party and their insurers.

You would also be entitled to depreciation (loss of value of your car in the open market - ie. your repaired car would be worth less when it comes to selling on when compare to the exact same make and model that has not been damaged) again a general rule is 10% of the cost of the repairs. Please bear in mind that if you chose to sell your repaired car sometime in the future you have a duty to declare the damage to any prospective buyer.

I would have my own professional experiences of the named firm of Solicitors. All I would say is I would never use them and will leave my thoughts on them it at that.

If I were you I would ring the rental car company, tell them where they can inspect your damaged vehicle and tell them there and then you will be claiming or replacement vehicle costs.

In case you don't already know please bear in mind you may need to pay for any costs initially upfront. This includes repairs and car hire, once all matters are resolved then you will be reimbursed by the Rental Company or their Insurers.

You should contact the Rental company and immediatley clarify that they have a completed accident report form from the driver of their car and that liability is not an issue. There could be a delay if the driver doesn't complete the form regardless of what they admitted in front of the Gardai.

So most important contact the Rental company and establish what they know and what they are prepared to do about it.

Thanks Profiler.
I feel a bit better if that is the case.
I don't like the sound of having to pay upfront initially- i thought the garage would just bill the insurance crowd, not me.
I have talked with the Rental company and they have acknowledged to me that the other driver told them he was driving on the wrong side of the road. I can only imagine they can infer 100% liability on his part from that. The insurance dept proper in the Rental company isn't available until tomorrow so i have to wait for them to get back to me.

Profiler

take everything wrote: »

Thanks Profiler.
I feel a bit better if that is the case.
I don't like the sound of having to pay upfront initially- i thought the garage would just bill the insurance crowd, not me.
I have talked with the Rental company and they have acknowledged to me that the other driver told them he was driving on the wrong side of the road. I can only imagine they can infer 100% liability on his part from that. The insurance dept proper in the Rental company isn't available until tomorrow so i have to wait for them to get back to me.

You may not have to pay upfront. It just depends on how the Rental Company or their Insurers deal with the matter. It's just a contingency you should be aware of.

One thing I would say is you are not obliged to take your car to their preferred repairer (if they even offer that to you)

If you want to take it to your garage of choice for repairs then that it entirely your choice, they have no right to insist where it is repaired.

That being said most approved or preferred repair garages are well know and respected outfits and you should have no worries over their quality of their work.