Car insurance claim

MintyMagnum

So a mate of mine was rear ended by a delivery driver on a roundabout, who was displaying no insurance, a guard was called. Anyhow, van man didn't want to go though insurance but do it privately & gave his work details. Mate drove around to a few places for quotes but didn't get the damage repaired as yer man's HR took ten days to get back with an ok.

In the mean time more damage happened to the car in part due to the original damage in the crash. The company now refuse to pay for the extra cost.

So my mate has a) been crashed into & missed taking the kids to an after school class which had been paid for b) had to go around getting quotes c) has to chase HR for agreement to pay at all stages and now is stuck with the bill for the additional damage.

Is there any such thing as a claim for being inconvenienced & being put out of pocket?

NUTLEY BOY

MintyMagnum wrote: »

So a mate of mine was rear ended by a delivery driver on a roundabout, who was displaying no insurance, a guard was called. Anyhow, van man didn't want to go though insurance but do it privately & gave his work details. Mate drove around to a few places for quotes but didn't get the damage repaired as yer man's HR took ten days to get back with an ok.

In the mean time more damage happened to the car in part due to the original damage in the crash. The company now refuse to pay for the extra cost.

So my mate has a) been crashed into & missed taking the kids to an after school class which had been paid for b) had to go around getting quotes c) has to chase HR for agreement to pay at all stages and now is stuck with the bill for the additional damage.

Is there any such thing as a claim for being inconvenienced & being put out of pocket?

The general principle is that the claimant is entitled to recover those losses that flow reasonably, naturally and directly from the other driver's negligence.

MintyMagnum

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

The general principle is that the claimant is entitled to recover those losses that flow reasonably, naturally and directly from the other driver's negligence.

Thanks. I think it's a David & Goliath situation though.

NUTLEY BOY

MintyMagnum wrote: »

Thanks. I think it's a David & Goliath situation though.

No. Don't be pushed around. The other party's HR do not run the show.

Your friend has the right to have the vehicle repaired by whomsoever he wishes. The HR people have no authority over that.

If I was in your friend's position I would take photographs of my damaged vehicle and put repairs in hand. I would then present the HR people with the final account and a list of the losses that were incurred as a direct consequence of the accident and give them 10 days to pay up. Set a time limit for them and stick to it.

I would tell them that if I do not receive payment I will demand details of their insurance and present a claim directly to the insurers. If their insurance is dodgy or they don't want it going through their policy they should cough up.

I would expect them to offer a compromise that makes some deduction for what their driver did not damage.

In relation to insurance please be aware that the other side must give you details of their insurance. If that is not forthcoming contact the Gardaí and complain that the other party to an accident is refusing to give particulars.

stefanovich

Do you know if the van was insured? What did the guard have to say? I presume he was insured if the guard didn't impound the van.

MintyMagnum

stefanovich wrote: »

Do you know if the van was insured? What did the guard have to say? I presume he was insured if the guard didn't impound the van.

Driver said he was insured just wasn't displaying a disc.

goz83

This stuff happens all the time. Your mate should just go through the insurance and be done with it. Ridiculous carry on really. Your mate is also obliged to report to his insurer any accidents, regardless of blame as soon as possible. Failure to do so could cause bigger problems. What if the other side decide to deny liability?

cruizer101

Get insurance details and go through that simples.

Fair enough if people say they don't want to go through insurance but as soon as they start messing about in anyway, **** em, go to insurance, that's what it is there for.

MintyMagnum

Yeah, mate rang their insurance to let them know & explained that yer man taking responsibility etc but then HR got involved & delayed things & now the new damage has occurred.

the_syco

MintyMagnum wrote: »

now the new damage has occurred.

Company shouldn't pay for any damage not caused by the accident. Does your mate have photos of damage caused before "new damage" happened?

seagull

Option 1 - van man and company play nicely, and your friend deals with them.
Option 2 - van man and company don't play nicely - ignore them and go straight to their insurer.

To Elland Back

I'd never try and settle any accident privately. It rarely goes smoothly

goz83

To Elland Back wrote: »

I'd never try and settle any accident privately. It rarely goes smoothly

If its a straight forward fender bender and there are no injuries possible, then I say get the evidence, take photos, inform insurance company and give the other person a chance to pay for the damage in a short timeframe.

The moment they want their mate to fix it, or cause any kind of fuss, it's thanks, but no thanks.

In the case of any injury, well then its insurance, as you just don't know.

I just had surgery on my spine last week from an accident over a year ago. The other driver offered to cover any medical expenses as they arose. I reckon that would have been short lived, as the thousands had already hit double digits before surgery.

the_syco

goz83 wrote: »

If its a straight forward fender bender and there are no injuries possible, then I say get the evidence, take photos, inform insurance company and give the other person a chance to pay for the damage in a short timeframe.

It seems the issue is that;

MintyMagnum wrote: »

In the mean time more damage happened to the car in part due to the original damage in the crash. The company now refuse to pay for the extra cost.

I'm thinking something else has fallen off, and the company is refusing the extra cost. Which I don't really blame them, as they probably see, rightly or wrongly, the OP's mate trying to charge them to fix something that wasn't broken in the original crash.

goz83

the_syco wrote: »

It seems the issue is that;

I'm thinking something else has fallen off, and the company is refusing the extra cost. Which I don't really blame them, as they probably see, rightly or wrongly, the OP's mate trying to charge them to fix something that wasn't broken in the original crash.

I was replying to the other poster in relation to dealing with a claim privately, but in relarion to the OPs friends issue, it is best going through insurance, as the additional damage is only "in part" due to the original crash.

the_syco

goz83 wrote: »

I was replying to the other poster in relation to dealing with a claim privately, but in relarion to the OPs friends issue, it is best going through insurance, as the additional damage is only "in part" due to the original crash.

I agree they probably should go through insurance, but I doubt neither the insurance nor the company will pay for the car to be fixed fully. I'd say it'll get messy either way.

Say for example the bumper got hit (small/no dent) and has since fallen off, the insurance could say that they are not liable for fixing the bumper back on/supplying new bumper, as damage caused since then may not be the same damage now. Would be interested to see how this one plays out.

goz83

I would think some cause and effect logic will be applied. In your scenario, if the bumper was hit and later fell off, due do the damage originally caused, then the insurance company should pay. If the bumper fell off because there was another minor bump later, that wouldn't have been enough to cause an undamaged bumper to dislodge, then it would be messy.

If the vehicle was not in a fit state to be driven, the ops friend should have rented a car until the other party sorted his car. Rentals tend to speed things up when it comes to paying bills. Hopefully the op will update.