Pay ourselves or involve insurance?

Something Weird

I had a minor accident recently, where I bumped into the car in front. It was at a low speed and totally my fault, which I imeediately admitted. However, the other owner came back looking for a slightly ridiculous compensation (nearly the full worth of her car, when it is only a bent back panelling). She is looking for 1300euro. If I claim it on insurance, will my next premium grow by more than that amount? As luck may have it, my insurance runs out in less than 3 weeks... Will other companies be willing to take me if this claims is not settled? I might be stuck with the current insurer for the next year, mightn't I? Also, if I settle without insurance and pay for the car repairs, is there any guarantee the woman won't come back a month later claiming back pains or anything of that sort and looking for more money?
I'd appreciate any insight.

fasttalkerchat

Make sure you report it and then I would tell the insurance that you suspect a fraudulent claim.

CiniO

I'd leave it with your insurance company.
Let them sort it out and pay.

Then later I think you can refund your inurance company the amount of claim they paid, and that would revert your NCB. But maybe I'm wrong with it.

L-M

What age are you/what car is it? Have you got much NCB or NCB protection?

How much excess do you have on your policy?

Something Weird

hmmm, I've never heard of that option, CiniO. But then again, I have never had to deal with any of this before...

CiniO

Limerick man wrote: »

How much excess do you have on your policy?

I think excess in most cases doesn't apply to third party claims.

Something Weird

Limerick Man, no NCB protection and would have been 3 years NCB at next renewal. It's a 05 Nissan Almera. Cost around 500euro last year for third party, fire and theft. I wonder can it go above 2000 euro if we claim now. And can we still shop around if the whole issue does not get settled before renewal date?..

Something Weird

CiniO wrote: »

I think excess in most cases doesn't apply to third party claims.

That's what I've read on insurance company's website, too.

OREGATO

Leave it with the insurance companies. That's why you pay them.

You always have the option of paying the insurance what they paid out to the third party and keep your NCB (although a claim will be registered which might affect your future renewals)

It's too much of a risk to give them the money without insurance and then have them coming back weeks later putting through a claim for whiplash or personal injury.

Hopefully you get it sorted without much hassle.

Bigcheeze

To be fair, you've no idea if 1,300 is ridiculous. There's probably damage behind the panel that you can't see. It takes very little to rack up thousand in repairs.

If the car is worth less than 1,300 the insurance company will only be able to claim up to the value of the car.

Something Weird

Thanks, OREGATO. That is my inclination at the moment. Just want to research as much as possible before I go ahead and ring the insurer tomorrow morning.
Really hate the idea of paying a cosmic price for the next insurance year...

Something Weird

Bigcheeze wrote: »

To be fair, you've no idea if 1,300 is ridiculous. There's probably damage behind the panel that you can't see. It takes very little to rack up thousand in repairs.

If the car is worth less than 1,300 the insurance company will only be able to claim up to the value of the car.

I am not saying the lady came up with the amount herself. It is pretty believable she was quoted that in some garage. It still does not make it 'non-ridiculous' though. As our front was much worse off, and it did not even cost half the amount. It's just that she is not motivated to shop around, as she is not the one paying. I understand her position, but that doesn't make it any easier on my wallet...

Mr.Fred

Leave it with your insurance company.

I had a bump with a Piece of $hit bmw once at a roundabout 1st gear low speed she pulled off then jammed on.

I considered paying myself till she came back with a quote of €2700!!!

Straight onto the insurance company and her claim doubled back injuries etc. turns out this Gee bag has had a number of bumps similar to this and in any case long story short turns out she had a recent mri on her back as a result of an old injury and it was a welcome piece of evidence for my ins co.

Paid for damage to car then brought them to court for fraud.

I still hope I come accross this pair one day for a friendly chat.. Fcuker$!!

TroutMask

Yes, could be valid - hard to tell. Let it go to insurance - the point made about personal injury is an excellent one. I had an accident this year - slid into a wall sideways and bam: 3K worth of damage. With a rear-end accident, the whiplash thing is a common one.

Something Weird

oh my, not encouraging at all... I suppose, going with insurance might be the safest option after all.
Any idea on the time frame as in how long it takes for the insurer to evaluate the damage, compensate and close the deal? Trying to figure out if it will be finished in time for renewal... And what happens if it is not? Are we stuck with the current company having nothing to negotiate with?

L-M

Usually an assesor can come out within an couple of days and the claim sorted and payed within a day or two. Depends how busy they are.

I wouldn't be too worried, its what you have insurance for and you can always shop around afterwards.

Something Weird

Limerick man wrote: »

Usually an assesor can come out within an couple of days and the claim sorted and payed within a day or two. Depends how busy they are.

I wouldn't be too worried, its what you have insurance for and you can always shop around afterwards.

That sounds great. I was afraid it might drag into a lengthy process and not be finished before the renewal is due. If it is sorted by then, at least we can shop around and get the best out of the worst, I suppose.

Idbatterim

what car and what year is the one you hit op? You coud check with insurance company now to see what premium will be with 0 years NCB (assuming yours isnt protected)... you have to account for the multiplier effect, if your ncb goes back to 0 years, you will be paying increased payments for 3 years and not benefiting from a reduced premium...

oldyouth

Something Weird wrote: »

hmmm, I've never heard of that option, CiniO. But then again, I have never had to deal with any of this before...

No problem refunding the insurer to remove the claim. However, you must include the associated costs such as assessor, loss of use etc as well as the damage

Anan1

The woman, and not you, gets to decide whether to run it through insurance. If you pay her out of your own pocket then you have no guarantee that she won't come back later looking for money for personal injuries or whatever. You are obliged to inform your own insurer of any accidents immediately in any case; I'd just let them deal with it.

visual

1300 euro isn't excessive

I had a idiot reverse into my car dented the front wing. It when through insurance because he was a messer and thought 200 euro was too much and his mate would fix it.

1700 euro car off the road for week and loan car supplied. Front wing replaced resprayed etc etc

Car repaired to my satisfaction not the persons who created the damage.

if you dont like the price the other owner has given you then let the insurance company deal with it. You may not have a choice if you drag it out as other driver has the right to insist on it been dealt with by insurance rather than haggle with you.

josip

In my limited experience of rear enders, usually the car doing the rear ending suffers more damage due to crumple zones and that part of the car being designed to fold in order to protect occupants. But that's based on only 4 incidents

I would also keep tabs on what your insurance company does in regards to the claim. I have heard multiple stories of an insurance company that was extremely/too quick to pay out on any (extravagant) claim unbeknown to the claimee. They are no longer in business and perhaps the industry as a whole is a bit more stringent now.

josip

visual wrote: »

he was a messer and thought 200 euro was too much and his mate would fix it.

1700 euro car off the road for week and loan car supplied. Front wing replaced resprayed etc etc

Not sure if I understand this correctly.
You were initially quoted 200 Euro to fix the damage to your car?
By your own mechanic?
When it was done under the insurance, it took an entire week to replace the wing?
What was in the etc etc?

visual

josip wrote: »

Not sure if I understand this correctly.
You were initially quoted 200 Euro to fix the damage to your car?
By your own mechanic?
When it was done under the insurance, it took an entire week to replace the wing?
What was in the etc etc?

The guy offered me 50 euro to repair it not knowing how much I said it would cost aleast couple of hundred to knock the dent out.

Then he gave me a ultimatum either I accept 50 euro or use his friend in a part worn tyre shop.

The car was a honda accord I contacted my insurance company. Brought it to their repairer where they inspected the car.( insurance assessor) As I wasn't at fault they gave me a hire car for week.
New wing ( as they said they dont fill with filler and the crease was on lip of wheel arch.) Under coated and painted. New wheel liner. Alignement checked, car returned and it would be very very difficult to tell any thing had ever happened. 5 working days isnt a long time considering inspection parts ordered fitted and painted and returned. I dropped car of at 8:30 monday morning. Returned loan car friday afternoon and drove home in repaired car.


I'm glad I contacted my insurance company as they looked after me and my car. And I didn't have to waste time getting estimates in garages. Or be without a car while it was being repaired.

The guy who reversed into me was not the least bit easy to deal with. I was luckly he didn't take me up on my original offer of a couple hundred euro as I had grossly underestimate the real cost of repairing a car properly.

visual

josip wrote: »

Not sure if I understand this correctly.
You were initially quoted 200 Euro to fix the damage to your car?
By your own mechanic?
When it was done under the insurance, it took an entire week to replace the wing?
What was in the etc etc?

The guy offered me 50 euro to repair it not knowing how much I said it would cost aleast couple of hundred to knock the dent out.

Then he gave me a ultimatum either I accept 50 euro or use his friend in a part worn tyre shop.

The car was a honda accord I contacted my insurance company. Brought it to their repairer where they inspected the car.( insurance assessor) As I wasn't at fault they gave me a hire car for week.
New wing ( as they said they dont fill with filler and the crease was on lip of wheel arch.) Under coated and painted. New wheel liner. Alignement checked, car returned and it would be very very difficult to tell any thing had ever happened. 5 working days isnt a long time considering inspection parts ordered fitted and painted and returned. I dropped car of at 8:30 monday morning. Returned loan car friday afternoon and drove home in repaired car.


I'm glad I contacted my insurance company as they looked after me and my car. And I didn't have to waste time getting estimates in garages. Or be without a car while it was being repaired.

The guy who reversed into me was not the least bit easy to deal with. I was luckly he didn't take me up on my original offer of a couple hundred euro as I had grossly underestimate the real cost of repairing a car properly.

dorkacle

Just out of curiosity, what is the usual plan of action when something like the happens?

(A small dent or bump etc.)

I never been in this situation (touch wood) and not sure what is the best form of action.

Of course, take the persons details, registration, insurance co. etc. but should you contact the gardai too or what???

Or is it a waste of time calling the gardai for such a small incident?

visual

dorkacle wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, what is the usual plan of action when something like the happens?

(A small dent or bump etc.)

I never been in this situation (touch wood) and not sure what is the best form of action.

Of course, take the persons details, registration, insurance co. etc. but should you contact the gardai too or what???

Or is it a waste of time calling the gardai for such a small incident?

Yes contact the gardai if there is no one injured they will unlikely attend but go to the station and report it. Contact your insurance company and give reg number and insurance details of other car.

Plastic bumbers are designed to take low speed impacts and pop back into place. The real damage can be behind the bumper.

Most will want to believe it will polish out or it will cost very little to repair. When real estimate costs are given later there attitude changes from being sorry to are you trying to rob me.

Your insurance company will always advise you best and realise you need to be kept mobile with minimum distribution.

Voodoomelon

Whilst all of that is true, it must be great for the bodyshops to be in an industry where a huge portion of their business is from people walking in with an insurance company paying for everything.

Some of the quotes out there are off the wall.

visual

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Whilst all of that is true, it must be great for the bodyshops to be in an industry where a huge portion of their business is from people walking in with an insurance company paying for everything.

Some of the quotes out there are off the wall.

Try selling your car after some cheap repair job was done. While it migth look ok from across the road once looked at closely it can be very obvious. Plus most cheap repairs are done with 2nd hand parts.

Are you suggesting that your car repaired to lowest price at expense of quality ?

visual

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Whilst all of that is true, it must be great for the bodyshops to be in an industry where a huge portion of their business is from people walking in with an insurance company paying for everything.

Some of the quotes out there are off the wall.

Try selling your car after some cheap repair job was done. While it migth look ok from across the road once looked at closely it can be very obvious. Plus most cheap repairs are done with 2nd hand parts.

Are you suggesting that your car repaired to lowest price at expense of quality ?

Voodoomelon

visual wrote: »

Try selling your car after some cheap repair job was done. While it migth look ok from across the road once looked at closely it can be very obvious. Plus most cheap repairs are done with 2nd hand parts.

Are you suggesting that your car repaired to lowest price at expense of quality ?

Don't get me wrong, if someone hit me, I'd be off to the best bodyshop I know, no expense spared. I was just hinting at the fact that not all bodyshop quotes are accurate, if you know what I mean. And by no means an indication of quality.

visual

I do know what you mean.

I was talking to a taxi man and he brought up the question of devaluation. Never thought about this myself but what he was advising is if your getting a car crash repaired also claim for devaluation. Don't know if thats possible but the taxi driver was convinced it was.

As he pointes out no matter how well repaired when your trading in or selling on there is always tell tail signs that will devalue your car come resale time. If it wasn't your fault why shoukd you take a hit.

R0bb01987

I had a similar issue a few years ago, tiny bum on the back of a womans car who lives on my road, no dent just a bit of paint front my bumper went onto hers. I tried to settle with her but she was asking for crazy money.

I rang the insurance company (no longer in business) and they sent someone out to look at her car but didnt check mine (her car was a peice of s*it), she was trying to claim for damage all over the car for various reasons which clearly wernt caused by this. The insurance company did admit this fact.

They quickly settled for a stupid amount of 2k to "fix the damage" and put my premium up the following year. The woman instead bought a new car with the proceeds. In my mind this was insurance fraud but I never followed through with it.

Its better to have the paper trail that the insurance company will provide to stop them coming back in future however it may still cost.

peteb2

R0bb01987 wrote: »

I had a similar issue a few years ago, tiny bum on the back of a womans car who lives on my road, no dent just a bit of paint front my bumper went onto hers. I tried to settle with her but she was asking for crazy money.


They quickly settled for a stupid amount of 2k to "fix the damage" and put my premium up the following year. The woman instead bought a new car with the proceeds. In my mind this was insurance fraud but I never followed through with it.

How do you figures its fraud? You damaged her vehicle, insurance company agreed the repairs costs. what she does with the money is her own business.

R0bb01987

peteb2 wrote: »

How do you figures its fraud? You damaged her vehicle, insurance company agreed the repairs costs. what she does with the money is her own business.

Well in my mind if the car was brought to the garage and they carried out work and the insurance covered the cost then thats fair enough. If no work was carried out and a random amount of money was paid to her for repairs and the repairs wernt carried out then its fraud. Thats just my opinion.

oldyouth

R0bb01987 wrote: »

Well in my mind if the car was brought to the garage and they carried out work and the insurance covered the cost then thats fair enough. If no work was carried out and a random amount of money was paid to her for repairs and the repairs wernt carried out then its fraud. Thats just my opinion.

But her asset (the car) is deemed to be worth less by not effecting repairs. That's the financial loss she suffered

visual

R0bb01987 wrote: »

I had a similar issue a few years ago, tiny bum on the back of a womans car who lives on my road, no dent just a bit of paint front my bumper went onto hers. I tried to settle with her but she was asking for crazy money.

I rang the insurance company (no longer in business) and they sent someone out to look at her car but didnt check mine (her car was a peice of s*it), she was trying to claim for damage all over the car for various reasons which clearly wernt caused by this. The insurance company did admit this fact.

They quickly settled for a stupid amount of 2k to "fix the damage" and put my premium up the following year. The woman instead bought a new car with the proceeds. In my mind this was insurance fraud but I never followed through with it.

Its better to have the paper trail that the insurance company will provide to stop them coming back in future however it may still cost.

Once there is any claim no matter how small your NCB is at risk unless you have some sort of NCB protection.

So it wouldn't have mattered if it was 500 euro claim or 50, 000 euro claim.

The insurance company sent their own assessor who settled the claim to their satisfaction. They would take into account the cost of repair, loan car while being repaired and cost of time and effort to dispute additional costs claimed in court. The assessor job is reduce the insurance company liability and settle the claim.

Plus plastic bumpers hide the real damade that isn't visible at first glance.

Again its not the right of the person who was at fault to decide what if any of the claim is valid.
It appears the woman you crashed into was right to go through insurance rather than try deal with someone who would begrudge and dispute every cent.