I was rear ended - should I report to insurance?

enola79

Hi,
Girl ran into the back of me today, nothing too major, just a bit of a dint on the rear corner panel. She was all apologetic about it. I got her insurance details at the spot, she didn't look for mine. I asked her if she wanted to go through insurance or not, she said she'd prefer not to so I said I'd get some quotes in the morning and let her know. Its less hassle and quicker for us - and she seemed to be on for it. I won't let it drag on - I'll have 2 or 3 quotes to her by lunch time and tell her that she'll need to pay up within a day or else well go through insurance. I'm just wondering are we opening ourselves up to any risks by not reporting it? Should we report it to our insurance company? We're actually both insured by the same company, not sure if that has any relevance
thanks in advance

ABajaninCork

If you want to, you can wait for the 3rd party to agree your quotes. But if I were you, I would report it to your insurance, and make it very clear you will be claiming from the 3rd party.

I'm very wary of accepting money from drivers at fault. Nine times out of ten, there's a reluctance to pay if they feel your quotes don't suit for whatever reason....

W0bble5

enola79 wrote: »

Should we report

Yes.

Tell them you want to report it for notification purposes only. Cover yourself. They'll most likely send her a standard note to tell her to report her side anyway. She won't lose her no claims bonus by you reporting it. Only if you pursue a claim and it goes through her insurance. But if she settles it privately she won't lose her ncb and you both walk away ok.

piston

Probably best to go through the insurance. My Pug was rear ended a few years ago and I agreed to not put it through the driver's insurance and had all sorts of fun and games trying to get money out of him and I had to threaten to claim for personal injuries from his insurance before I eventually got it. He kept telling me he had no time to post the cheque (in all fairness, how long does it take to post a letter?). I fixed the car myself using a second hand boot lid and bumper so the bill I presented him with was quite modest compared to what it could have been. If anyone drives into me again, I won't try to be nice and helpful about it.

kelbal

thanks for advice. She wanted to go through insurance, so thats what we're doing.

whomitconcerns

you are on the OP is? enola79 or kelbal??????????

coylemj

There was a thread either here or on the Banking and Insurance forum a couple of weeks ago where the poster had been rear-ended and had notified his insurance company but he was paid for the damage by the other party's insurance so his own insurance company didn't have to pay out anything, even under fully comp which he had.

When he went to renew, his NCB cert. noted the fact of the other incident even though it didn't involve a claim and as a result he couldn't get a quote from any other insurance company.

In this situation, I'd tell the other driver that your neck is feeling a bit stiff but if she pays up by a given date you will sign a waiver accepting the money in full and final settlement, that should get her moving and I would not report it to your insurance company for the moment.

Pottler

Agreed with the above - some [EMAIL="b0ll@x"]b0ll@x[/EMAIL] drove into my parked van - I wasn't even in it at the time, we agreed he would pay, I notified insurance. He then changed story to "I hit him", cue fun and games, a lot of expense and hassle. Report it to your insurance but expect them to make hay, no matter whose fault it was. This ^ made me cynical when it comes to people in vehicles and insurance companies.

gerarda

Always call the guards no matter how slight the damage is.

piston

gerarda wrote: »

Always call the guards no matter how slight the damage is.

When I had my rear end shunt it was in Derry city and I had been stationary the best part of a minute at the traffic lights and bang when some tosser in an Astra hit me. He was a fellow Donegal man. He initially refused to take responsibility for it claiming I shouldn't have been stopped as there wasn't any other traffic (but the light was red) so I called the PSNI and they said it wasn't their problem as an ambulance wasn't required so while I agree that the Guards or Police should investigate traffic incidents, the one time I requested them to do so, they couldn't be bothered. They could surely have booked the Astra driver for driving without due care and attention or whatever the correct charge would be.