Car Crash - No Garda Called - Insurance?

Hoplite Special

Hi,
Im posting on behalf of a panicked friend.

So my friend was at a T Junction down a back road, pulled out and clipped the rear end of a Jeep causing a small ding to Jeep bumper. He admitted liability to the driver of Jeep and they swapped details.
The Garda were not called or informed of incident. The Jeep driver has since been back on saying he has had a quote for €2500 odd to fix this bumper. This sounds like a lot?
The NCT was also up on my friends car at the time.

So where does this leave him? If no Garda report was made on the incident is it my friends word v Jeep drivers word? How can he query this figure?

Also, re: NCT, does having no NCT invalidate insurance cover? bearing in mind that this was not a mechanical error but driver error?

Many thanks

Pat Mustard

Hoplite Special wrote: »

So where does this leave him? If no Garda report was made on the incident is it my friends word v Jeep drivers word? How can he query this figure?

Your friend needs to contact his insurance company to advise them of of the accident.

Hoplite Special wrote: »

Also, re: NCT, does having no NCT invalidate insurance cover?

I have never heard of this, but by all means he should check the terms of his policy.

Hoplite Special

The Mustard wrote: »

Your friend needs to contact his insurance company to advise them of of the accident.



I have never heard of this, but by all means he should check the terms of his policy.

Thanks Mustard, he did contact the insurance bod's and they are sending an assessor out afaik. .
I'm just wondering what is the position if no Garda report has been filed, its his fault and he is willing to pay X euro but I think he is getting burnt by Mr.Jeep driver and his 'family' garage.

If he were to offer a few hundred cash and tell the Jeep driver to take it or leave it, the Jeep driver would have no comeback as no facts , as per an incident report from Garda.

Stheno

Hoplite Special wrote: »

If he were to offer a few hundred cash and tell the Jeep driver to take it or leave it, the Jeep driver would have no comeback as no facts , as per an incident report from Garda.

Eh the driver would, he has your friends insurance details, your friend (stupidly) admitted liability.

Generally the gardai do not bother attending accidents if there are no injuries.

The jeep driver has a right to choose where to get his car repaired, and the insurance assessor will determine if the payout is appropriate

Hoplite Special

Stheno wrote: »

Eh the driver would, he has your friends insurance details, your friend (stupidly) admitted liability.

Generally the gardai do not bother attending accidents if there are no injuries.

The jeep driver has a right to choose where to get his car repaired, and the insurance assessor will determine if the payout is appropriate

Fek, Thanks Stheno. Yeah, I was clutching at straws for a way out but at least a third party will assess the damage here, that is some relief.

coylemj

Doesn't make a jot of a difference whether the Gardai attended the scene or not, it's still one person's word against the other. Admitting liability at the scene is not a good idea but you can always claim that you were in shock and on 'mature reflection' afterwards had second thoughts on the matter.

As has been pointed out, the assessor will decide if the estimate is off the wall. The jeep driver will be told that the professional estimate (by the assessor) says that the damage can be fixed for xxx and that's all the insurance company will offer him to settle.

Not having a valid NCT does not invalidate your insurance policy.

Hoplite Special

coylemj wrote: »

Doesn't make a jot of a difference whether the Gardai attended the scene or not, it's still one person's word against the other. Admitting liability at the scene is not a good idea but you can always claim that you were in shock and on 'mature reflection' afterwards had second thoughts on the matter.

As has been pointed out, the assessor will decide if the estimate is off the wall. The jeep driver will be told that the professional estimate (by the assessor) says that the damage can be fixed for xxx and that's all the insurance company will offer him to settle.

Not having a valid NCT does not invalidate your insurance policy.

Many thanks coylemj, I will pass this info on. Apparently the Jeep driver and garage fella are good buddies, so alarm bells are ringing!

allotmoto

Your friend was clearly in the wrong. He accepted this. Trying to say its your word against mine isn't going to work because he/she doesn't like the cost of repair.

I had a fella crash into me about a year ago. He probably reversed into the car at no more than 5-10 mph. He offered to give me €50 on the spot to cover the damage which on the exterior looked very small, a crack and dent in the bumper. Unfortunately for him there was damage to the undercarriage/chassis as opposed to just the bumper and it cost about €700 to get fixed.

I wouldn't be too surprised if that €2,500 valuation turned out to be correct. Obviously getting the insurance company involved is the right process for fairness/peace of mind but don't hold your breath that he was trying to pull a fast one.

allotmoto

Your friend was clearly in the wrong. S/He accepted this. Trying to say its your word against mine isn't going to work because he/she doesn't like the cost of repair.

I had a fella crash into me about a year ago. He probably reversed into the car at no more than 5-10 mph. He offered to give me €50 on the spot to cover the damage which on the exterior looked very small, a crack and dent in the bumper. Unfortunately for him there was damage to the undercarriage/chassis as opposed to just the bumper and it cost about €700 to get fixed.

I wouldn't be too surprised if that €2,500 valuation turned out to be correct. Obviously getting the insurance company involved is the right process for fairness/peace of mind but don't hold your breath that he was trying to pull a fast one.

notharrypotter

Many years ago I rear ended a car at a junction.
Thinking it would be cheaper than loosing my NCB I offered to pay to fix the other car.
The following day I got a call from the father.
They brought the car to "their" body shop and told me how much it would cost.
In the meantime I had been pricing fixing my own and had been enquiring roughly how much the other car would cost.

Once he hung up the phone I rang my insurance company and let them sort it out.

Final bill for both cars came to less than "their" body shop quote.
Tell your friend to hand it over to the insurance company and take the hit with an increased premium for the next few years.

JimsAlterEgo

notharrypotter wrote: »

Many years ago I rear ended a car at a junction.
Thinking it would be cheaper than loosing my NCB I offered to pay to fix the other car.
The following day I got a call from the father.
They brought the car to "their" body shop and told me how much it would cost.
In the meantime I had been pricing fixing my own and had been enquiring roughly how much the other car would cost.

Once he hung up the phone I rang my insurance company and let them sort it out.

Final bill for both cars came to less than "their" body shop quote.
Tell your friend to hand it over to the insurance company and take the hit with an increased premium for the next few years.

doesnt necessarily have to, some insuranne companies will let you settle the claim thru them

djimi

Hoplite Special wrote: »

Many thanks coylemj, I will pass this info on. Apparently the Jeep driver and garage fella are good buddies, so alarm bells are ringing!

If your friend suspects that something funny is going on then let their insurance deal with it. They should have the option of paying the insurance back and wiping the slate clean afterwards.

That said, if they pulled out if a junction and clipped a (presumably) moving car then I'd be surprised if it's only a couple of hundred quids worth of damage. Insurance will probably pay out for things like a car rental while the damage is being repaired, so the claim might not be as little as your friend expects it will be.

As for the NCT, your friend needs to read their policy. Some will stipulate that NCT must be current, others will be more vague. Third party claims will he paid out regardless, however first party claims may not be, and in extreme cases the I insurer may pursue the policy holder for third party money paid out.