Insurance question - other driver got work done on own

clint_silver

I posted a few weeks ago on this. Late at night, tyre blowout, the tyre hit other car (so other driver says). Impossible to ascertain any damage, very dark road.
I rang the guy day later, said drop to my mechanic who will assess and if any damage fix it and I'll pay either cash or insurance if its excessive but based on description it wasnt too bad, few hundred at best.
He then went to his own mechanic (which I know hes entitled to) who said damages were just under a grand. I couldnt see how they were so rang other driver back to tell him to get a quote from my guy and then sure if he agrees, get his guy to get it, even if he didnt want to he could go to a main dealer to get a quote.
guy wouldnt answer calls or texts. So I left it.
A month later I get a txt saying he got that work done and he wants to be paid. No pictures. No quotes. I either pay the cash or hes going through my insurance.

Will insurance cover that if he goes through them? I had rang and told the insurance about it at the time.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Did you notify your insurer at the time? The 3rd party has to verify the repair costs as being reasonable

clint_silver

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Did you notify your insurer at the time? The 3rd party has to verify the repair costs as being reasonable

I did notify them that something had happened.

The quote the other guy isnt basically a quote at this stage, its a receipt/invoice for work done. His mechanic will say "well thats what I had to do to fix the car" and if that is what he had to do then that was the cost. But we dont know as he doesnt have any pictures.

Sue Pa Key Pa

clint_silver wrote:

The quote the other guy isnt basically a quote at this stage, its a receipt/invoice for work done. His mechanic will say "well thats what I had to do to fix the car" and if that is what he had to do then that was the cost. But we dont know as he doesnt have any pictures.

Let your insurer resolve it. Tell them your concerns. The TP is entitled to get it repaired wherever he wants but the cost must be verified and reasonable

clint_silver

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Let your insurer resolve it. Tell them your concerns. The TP is entitled to get it repaired wherever he wants but the cost must be verified and reasonable

Main question is how is it verified. If assessor goes to mechanic will he take his word that what he fixed was exactly what he fixed not just what he wrote on the invoice that he fixed.

my broker told me Id end up paying 2-2.5 times that in premiums over next few years.

coylemj

Tell your insurance company what happened, emphasise that you never saw any damage, that the guy ignored your efforts to contact him to have your mechanic assess the damage and that the claim is probably fraudulent.

I know they are a pushover for whiplash claims but if they pay that guy what he's looking for, we might as well throw our hats at it because they will fall for anything if they pay him a penny.

No photos & no assessor = no payout. That's what should apply anyway.