Car Crash - what happens now

Birdsong

hi

I hope in am in the right area, two weeks ago I ran into the back of someone, taxi actually, with his kid in the car,swopped details & all that. My own car was worst out of it.

Today I got a letter from a solicitor saying they suffered personal injuries, and they are going to the PIAB. I also need to admit liability in an open letter.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, can anyone advise what to do. Is it enough to get in touch with my insurance company & pass it onto them or do I need a solicitor on my side - money I dont have:o

Thanks, just dont know what to do tbh

MugMugs

Birdsong wrote: »

hi

I hope in am in the right area, two weeks ago I ran into the back of someone, taxi actually, with his kid in the car,swopped details & all that. My own car was worst out of it.

Today I got a letter from a solicitor saying they suffered personal injuries, and they are going to the PIAB. I also need to admit liability in an open letter.

Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, can anyone advise what to do. Is it enough to get in touch with my insurance company & pass it onto them or do I need a solicitor on my side - money I dont have:o

Thanks, just dont know what to do tbh

Call your insurance company like you should have when you had the accident.

Do NOT reply to that letter under any circumstances! Forward it to your insurer with the claims form they will send you upon notification of this claim.

Mugs

Birdsong

I did all the insurance details things after the accident, called mine - gave them his details etc. they said they would follow up with him. that is why i am surprised to get the letter

MugMugs

Birdsong wrote: »

I did all the insurance details things after the accident, called mine - gave them his details etc. they said they would follow up with him. that is why i am surprised to get the letter

Simply send it on to your insurer so.

Don't don't don't don't reply to the Solicitor.

Mugs

leeroybrown

Make a copy and send the original on to your insurer. Your policy will give them the right to decide on your liability. The solicitor is just taking a chance that you might sign the letter thus putting his client(s) in a stronger position with their claim.

Crackle

Your insurance company will more than likely already have a copy of it. In my one, and hopefully only, time being involved in a situation like this, my insurance company got copies of all the letters I got at the same time. They took care of everything. It's why you have insurance. I'm sure you'll get the same assurances if you ring to confirm with your insurance company.

Good luck.

Yawns

As said above, do not reply to the letter and don't make contact with the other party or their solicitor. If they get in touch with you make a note of it and pass it on to your insurance company. Make a copy of anything you receive from the other party or their solicitor and pass the original to your insurance company.

It's in your insurance company's hands now and they will deal with it. If you write a letter stating liability it gives the other party a stronger position. Hope you are ok after the shock of it all and just relax and let the insurance guys sort it. That's what it's there for.

You will have a higher premium come renewal and no other insurance company will want to know you until the case has been sorted so you'll basically be stuck with your current crowd until it's closed. That's about the most you'll have to worry about at this stage now.

coylemj

Did the solicitor include a clause to the effect that if you didn't reply by a certain date that they would take that as an admission of liability? That's one of their standards tactics to smoke you out. They're just trying it on.

As advised above, do not reply to it.

meathstevie

OP, what you're talking about is what the "third party" bit of your insurance contract looks after.

It's supposed to cover material damage and injury losses incurred by any other person due to your use of your car in cases where incidents have happened and that you're found liable for having caused damage or injury.

You will almost certainly have signed a clause in your proposal form or it will be included in your policy document that you appoint your insurer as your agent to deal with such matters and that you will not personaly engage with other involved parties with the exception of legal obligations at the time and location of a collission ( exchange details with other drivers/involved parties ).

Leave it up to your insurance company and as for that solicitor, ring them to tell them that they will have to deal with your insurance company and that you will forward any correspondence they send straight to your insurer.

Yawns

Don't even ring them. Make no contact. Simply forward their correspondence to your own insurance company. Let your insurance company do all the work here. Let them instruct the other party's solicitor who is to be contacted in future.

fasttalkerchat

If it was me I would write to them:

My name is X.
My insurance company/solicitor is X.
You can contact them on X.
Please do not contact me again.

If you don't mind them sending you letters and ringing you you could just ignore them and do nothing.

Also, make it clear to your solicitor that their was no personal injury and your believe any claims other than the ones to the taxi to be fraudulent. That way they can't admit liability on your behalf by paying out for personal injury and you will have to declare that on future insurance applications.

MugMugs

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

If it was me I would write to them:



If you don't mind them sending you letters and ringing you you could just ignore them and do nothing.

Ignore this

Quoting Liberty Insurance

Claims
7.
d You, or any insured person must immediately send us any correspondence
relating to any incident without signing or answering it. You, or any other
insured person must give us all the help we need. You must never accept
responsibility or offer or promise payment without our written permission.
We will be entitled to take over and carry out in your name (or in the name
of any other insured person) the defence or settlement of any claim. We
may prosecute, in your name or in the name of any other person (at our
expense and for our benefit), to recover any amount we have paid. We will
be able to decide how any proceedings or settlements are handled.

Mugs

fasttalkerchat

MugMugs wrote: »

Ignore this

Quoting Liberty Insurance



Mugs

That says that you must correspond with your insurance company. Ignoring someone else's solicitor/insurer is fine.

thebiglad

You ran into back of someone so you are liable. You were insured and presumably let them know.

Pass everything to the insurer and don't worry about it.

Insurer will settle on the best terms possible but if the other driver and his child want to pursue an injury claim there is little which can be done to prevent that - insurer will obtain medical reports etc but generally there is no way to disprove an injury.

At the end of the day this is what you have insurance for, other than to pass on the letters to your insurer you can get no advice here.

MugMugs

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

That says that you must correspond with your insurance company. Ignoring someone else's solicitor/insurer is fine.

Ummm, Stick the old specs back on there chum.

It quite clearly says you should not answer any correspondence received.

Mugs

fasttalkerchat

MugMugs wrote: »

Ummm, Stick the old specs back on there chum.

It quite clearly says you should not answer any correspondence received.

Mugs

Sorry, I thought you were saying you should answer correspondence! I get what you're saying now.

Even if your insurance company doesn't say this it is the safest bet anyway. The only problem is that you will have to put up with a lot of hassle and its much harder not to "answer correspondance" if you get phone calls from them.

MugMugs

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Sorry, I thought you were saying you should answer correspondence! I get what you're saying now.

Even if your insurance company doesn't say this it is the safest bet anyway. The only problem is that you will have to put up with a lot of hassle and its much harder not to "answer correspondance" if you get phone calls from them.

No probs.

A third party Solicitor won't call you dude. It's not worth their while. As already said, they are chancing their arms asking for an open admission of liability. Plus a verbal admission of liability is about a worthy as pictures of me topless for Miss Donegal 2028.... Just isn't worth the paper it's written on.... If you get my meaning.

Mugs

Birdsong

Thanks a million to you all for your reply's. I feel much less stressed and reassured now. I will get onto my insurance company first thing in the morning.