Uninsured driver hit my parked car. What to do?

spodoinkle

Hi OP, very long thread for a straightforward query, hopefully this answers all:

1. Notify your insurer, of the incident, if you don't make a claim, this wont affect your future insurance.
2. Your Insurer will be able to tell you if the CAR is uninsured or not (a policy in the dads/mums name).
3. Depending on your insurer, they may be able to give you a desktop evaluation of the damage or send someone to you, rather than lifting your vehicle and bringing to a garage or scrapyard - this will give you an idea if it is to be written off or not.
4. If the third party CAR is insured, you can make a claim from your own insurer, they will send a recovery to the TP car insurer and this will have no effect on your future premiums/NCD. Your insurer may choose to wipe the excess in these circumstances, if not, you are still entitled to this back from the at fault insurer.
5. If repairable, let them repair it.
6. If a write off, let them write it off, you keep the salvage (the car) and use the money to repair it. Write off means FA other than future sale value and you clearly want to keep the car.
7. If the TP car is uninsured, follow the MIBI protocol.

Alternatively, get a quote for repairs, give to the offending parties mother and get the cash BEFORE the repairs take place. Do not trust anyone who says they will pay after. I have seen this many times and you end up repairing yourself, sending the bill, them changing their mind and you having to send to your Insurer in the end up.

Hope this helps.

jmreire

Calibos wrote: »

JustAThought,

So you reckon I shouldn't contact insurance at all unless/until the kids parents decide the repair quote is too high and 'fold their arms' otherwise I'd have a black mark on Cartell and on record with my insurance even if I never claimed for this damage via insurance/MIBI. Lucky I haven't contacted them yet so!! ie. I'd have incurred these black marks for no reason assuming the parents do indeed follow through and pay for the damage?

Like I said previously, the car will be worth nothing by the time I come to sell or scrap it as I intend to drive it as long as financially viable to do so and with the low mileage that could be another decade at least! LOL. So the depreciation caused by the accident or the selling price hit when I inform the 'Classic's' buyer in 2030 of the damage it incurred on a cold Winters day in 2020, it'll make feck all financial difference by then.

If it does end up having to go through insurance/MIBI and its obviously going to be a CAT D economic write-off, I would still expect the settlement minus the salvage buyback to cover most of the cost of the repairs. I will of course make up the short-fall myself if I have to because while I am of course a bit sentimental about the car, just purely from an economic standpoint it makes sense to pony up a €1000 shortfall for example, because where else would I ever find another cheap 2007 TT or even 2012+ Golf with a barely run in 40,000km (26,000mile) 200PS 2.0TFSI engine in it. It'll just sting big-time that the vagaries of insurance and write-off's and my ultra low mileage TT meant that an accident that was no fault of my own ended up costing me money.

I'm optimistic now though. No matter what happens I'm going to get back a car that looks like new like it did in one of the 2007 photo's I posted earlier. While its in for the accident damage repairs, I'll get the Body Shop to repair (and invoice me separately obviously) the bonnet dent, front passenger side quarter panel keying, buff and polish out the swirls on the other panels and refurbish the other 3 Wheels' 13 years of kerbings! LOL.

As I have mentioned, best case, the Parents pay, you get the car repaired. Worst case, it will go down the insurance route. So now, just run with it, and see how it goes, then make your final decision.

Henry Ford III

Nasty one O.P.

I hope you get it sorted relatively easily. I also hope the Cops go hard against the uninsured driver and his parents (if they actually allowed this).

Calibos

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Nasty one O.P.

I hope you get it sorted relatively easily. I also hope the Cops go hard against the uninsured driver and his parents (if they actually allowed this).

His Father was/is abroad for work and his mother was at work in her own car that the son is learning to drive in. Neither parent at home and the kid decided to take Daddies Audi A6 to School to show off in. So he didn't get permission from either parent, took it without their consent, didn't have an insured fully qualified driver in the car with him just a schoolfriend, wasn't insured to drive the car regardless and then Hit & Run in a panic. So the kid is in deep doodoo legally speaking.

jmreire

If that was true in every case, then what bodyshop's that are in the Country could close down. What a lot of insurer's will insist on though is that you take your car to an APPROVED BODYSHOP, but that does not mean that you have to use a main dealer for your repairs ( Maybe that's in your policy, but its the 1st time I have heard of it ) Daughters car was hit by a tourist ( came around the bend on the wrong side ), we took it to the local bodyshop ( non-aligned to any dealership) and no problem with the insurance. Now if she was claiming off her own insurance, I'm pretty sure that it would still work the same way.

marcos_94

JustAThought wrote: »

OP when I rang to do a notification of a hit and run I had been involved in few years back (I was hot not the runner) my then insurance company call centre guy told me NOT to officially notify them as it would be marked against me and my insurance - even if I didn’t claim against my no claims - would go up the following year. Also, in my insurance policy they have the right to negotiate on your behalf and you have already by signing the insurance documents given them this right to make write off or repair (or settle & accept liability) on your behalf - it can be tKen out of your hands depending on the detail of your insurance policy - live and learn

I second this. Recently parked my car in a hotel car park for an event. When i came back to the car, someone had driven into the back of it and driven off. Luckily there was clear CCTV footage and I reported it to the guards.

My broker is a family friend and from chatting with him he vised against going through insurance because it will go on my record whether I claim through insurance or the guy pays for the repair. It took a few days, and the Guards threatening charges but eventually the driver paid for the repairs.

JustAThought

JustAThought wrote: »

When I was halfway through thread & spotted this - my insurance is INVALID if I have work done on the car by anyone other than the official brand garage ( eg Audi Workshop using Audi Parts & trained audi mechanics). My last insurance had the same little print on page 20 - different broker - they never tell you when you get an insurance quote & I can’t believe the competition authority isn’t onto

There is absolutely no way this is the case, most main dealer get body work done by 3rd parties to begin with. The vast majority of repairs are not done by a main dealer and most people are not driving around uninsured

You are mistaking things in your policy.

Calibos

Provisional Estimate from Ace Autobody based on the same photo's I posted in this thread is €2500. He said its possibly subject to some change when they get to look at the car in person but reckoned it'd be fairly close. Arranged with ACE for them to organise pick up of car and delivery to them which will be added to Estimate/Invoice for the other parties paying for this. Will ring the Mother of the Kid tomorrow with the estimate assuming ACE organise pickup tomorrow, confirm and forward the estimate to me. Pretty sure someone earlier in the thread estimated about €2500 based on the same photo's. I wish I had a prize to give for the winning number! LOL. At any rate, €2500 sounds great to me and makes me think its much more likely that the parents will come up with that without too much if any quibbling.

To those wondering how this thread ended up being 11 pages. It was likely because of the interesting circumstances of the accident and the tangential discussions/debates on the vagaries of motor insurance in Ireland, economic write-offs, implications of claiming even when not at fault etc etc.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their valuable and interesting contributions!

jmreire

Calibos wrote: »

Provisional Estimate from Ace Autobody based on the same photo's I posted in this thread is €2500. He said its possibly subject to some change when they get to look at the car in person but reckoned it'd be fairly close. Arranged with ACE for them to organise pick up of car and delivery to them which will be added to Estimate/Invoice for the other parties paying for this. Will ring the Mother of the Kid tomorrow with the estimate assuming ACE organise pickup tomorrow, confirm and forward the estimate to me. Pretty sure someone earlier in the thread estimated about €2500 based on the same photo's. I wish I had a prize to give for the winning number! LOL. At any rate, €2500 sounds great to me and makes me think its much more likely that the parents will come up with that without too much if any quibbling.

To those wondering how this thread ended up being 11 pages. It was likely because of the interesting circumstances of the accident and the tangential discussions/debates on the vagaries of motor insurance in Ireland, economic write-offs, implications of claiming even when not at fault etc etc.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their valuable and interesting contributions!

As I have mentioned ( several times) way to, go !!! All going well now, and no last minute hiccups, you will have your back good as new ( well not quite, but you know what I mean !!! ) Just goes to show how complicated what a should be a straight forward issue can become. :(:(

kindalen

Best of luck OP, hopefully mother of the kid is reasonable to deal with.

punisher5112

Wouldn't mind buying that when you're done with it op....

galwaytt

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Insurance will only cover a car to its max value minus the scrap value of the car. If you disagree with the.insurance accessor you may appoint your own at your own cost there is seldom a significant difference in value. There is an onus on accessors to value you car to a similar car. However in Op case this is impossible.
If the car is deemed beyond economic repair what the insurance company will offer is the value minus the what a dismantler or repairer will pay for it.

Not quite so: you're entitled to be put back to the pre-crash condition with no loss - including depreciation. The whole point of insurance is to protect you from loss.

I've been through this personally and refused to let my insurer handle it as they just wanted to settle and write off our car. I stepped in and dealt with the other party's insurer directly. They eventually settled for €6k to repair - not replace - an 05 Saab, and I put it back on the road.

I then advised our insurer the case was closed and had been settled in full.

spodoinkle

spodoinkle wrote: »

Hi OP, very long thread for a straightforward query, hopefully this answers all:

1. Notify your insurer, of the incident, if you don't make a claim, this wont affect your future insurance.
2. Your Insurer will be able to tell you if the CAR is uninsured or not (a policy in the dads/mums name).
3. Depending on your insurer, they may be able to give you a desktop evaluation of the damage or send someone to you, rather than lifting your vehicle and bringing to a garage or scrapyard - this will give you an idea if it is to be written off or not.
4. If the third party CAR is insured, you can make a claim from your own insurer, they will send a recovery to the TP car insurer and this will have no effect on your future premiums/NCD. Your insurer may choose to wipe the excess in these circumstances, if not, you are still entitled to this back from the at fault insurer.
5. If repairable, let them repair it.
6. If a write off, let them write it off, you keep the salvage (the car) and use the money to repair it. Write off means FA other than future sale value and you clearly want to keep the car.
7. If the TP car is uninsured, follow the MIBI protocol.

Alternatively, get a quote for repairs, give to the offending parties mother and get the cash BEFORE the repairs take place. Do not trust anyone who says they will pay after. I have seen this many times and you end up repairing yourself, sending the bill, them changing their mind and you having to send to your Insurer in the end up.

Hope this helps.

Number 1 is the worst advice of all any only speaking in hypotheticals. It will affect future insurance. It shouldn’t, and it’s not supposed to, but it will. That’s how they operate.

Eggs For Dinner

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Number 1 is the worst advice of all any only speaking in hypotheticals. It will affect future insurance. It shouldn’t, and it’s not supposed to, but it will. That’s how they operate.

You are obliged to notify your insurer. Not to do so is a breach of your policy conditions

Generally speaking, unless a counter claim is made or your insurer pays out money, it will have no affect on your premium

Eggs For Dinner

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

You are obliged to notify your insurer. Not to do so is a breach of your policy conditions

Generally speaking, unless a counter claim is made or your insurer pays out money, it will have no affect on your premium

It will though, in reality.

You are right about notifying them though. You are supposed to.

Henry Ford III

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

It will though, in reality.

You are right about notifying them though. You are supposed to.

How exactly?

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

How exactly?

What? By increasing them premium for x amount of years, I thought it was obvious what I was saying.

Unless you mean how exactly do you inform them, which is even more puzzling.

cpoh1

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

What? By increasing them premium for x amount of years, I thought it was obvious what I was saying.

Unless you mean how exactly do you inform them, which is even more puzzling.

Except that doesnt actually happen. Recently renewed and I had notified my insurer of an accident i was not at fault in. The other insurers paid for the damages and my premium is roughly the same as last year if not cheaper...

cpoh1

cpoh1 wrote: »

Except that doesnt actually happen. Recently renewed and I had notified my insurer of an accident i was not at fault in. The other insurers paid for the damages and my premium is roughly the same as last year if not cheaper...

Mine is 30% more because I was rear ended.

Bass Reeves

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

What? By increasing them premium for x amount of years, I thought it was obvious what I was saying.

Unless you mean how exactly do you inform them, which is even more puzzling.

It a no claims bonus not an accident free bonus. As long as the clsim is settled before renewal they not only cannot penalize you but you can move insurance providers.

HeidiHeidi

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Mine is 30% more because I was rear ended.

Do you know it was because you were rear ended, though? Or did it just coincide with an accident during the year before renewal?


I've had plenty hikes of 30% and more in renewal quotes, with no accident reported in my entire life!


I'm absolutely cynical enough about insurers to believe that they would hike a premium on the back of an accident report, but I'm not sure about proving it.....

cruizer101

I had a car crash into mine once when it was parked outside my house. I notified insurance as was meant to do and I had half considered claiming but in the end I decided to not claim.
When it came to renewal time they didn't add anything to my premium but they did have a claim marked against my account so when I got my no claim certificate which I needed to forward to new insurers they said I had a claim and so lost my no claims discount.
Original insurers would not remove the claim from my account, they said it is noted as not being a paid out claim but is marked as an incident on my account (I'm not sure exact words they used as was 8 years ago but something like that).
I did manage eventually to get new insurer to accept there was no claims but it took a lot of effort and hassle and I'm not sure you would definitely be able to do it with all insurers.
Insurers will look for anyway they can to get a bit more money from you.

JustAThought

jmreire wrote: »

If that was true in every case, then what bodyshop's that are in the Country could close down. What a lot of insurer's will insist on though is that you take your car to an APPROVED BODYSHOP, but that does not mean that you have to use a main dealer for your repairs ( Maybe that's in your policy, but its the 1st time I have heard of it ) Daughters car was hit by a tourist ( came around the bend on the wrong side ), we took it to the local bodyshop ( non-aligned to any dealership) and no problem with the insurance. Now if she was claiming off her own insurance, I'm pretty sure that it would still work the same way.

Believe me - I’ve had it twice on my policy now - and I queried it and challenged it in depth with the broker the second time. I absolutely cannot believe it is legal and not being challenged by the competition authority or industry bodies but I can assure you it is there.And worryingly, the broker could not answer as to whether if I had parts or work done prior to taking the policy if this would subsequently be used as an excuse to invalidate the policy or not pay out in the event of a claim. It is a completely sinister clause and deeply worrying but I needed the insurance & drive an old car. Of course you only get the paperwork and hidden clauses after you sign up -another thing SF should legislate against .

Another worrying trend -I was involved in s hit & run when the car was empty and parked which the utterly useless gaurds seem incapable of reviewing the footage for the reg from 8 cameras including the multiple high vis ones in from of the door of a bank where I was parked. When I told my insurance broker ( stupid me) because I was concerned I might have to claim the extensive damage off my own no claims they wrote wanting access to my medical files for the last 3 or 5 years ( I disremember the timeframe). I was horrified and rang to clarify that I was not in the car and not injured and not looking to make any claim for an injury. O -they said -we know that -but we still want your medical files from your doctor and any treatments in hospitals or clinics to ensure you advised us and kept us ip-to -date with anything that could have affected your insurance and ability to drive. I kid you not. Any excise to gather data and not to pay. Who is supposed to be regulating these ****ers? Its certainly not being done.

Henry Ford III

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

Mine is 30% more because I was rear ended.

I don't buy that.

In a no blame accident your premium and ncb aren't increased.

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I don't buy that.

In a no blame accident your premium and ncb aren't increased.

They’re not supposed to be but they are. Everyone taking the rules of an unregulated industry as gospel

Henry Ford III

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

They’re not supposed to be but they are. Everyone taking the rules of an unregulated industry as gospel

Nah. I don't believe that at all.

p.s. The base premium may have gone up but assuming your ncb wasn't reduced you were free to shop around at renewal.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

do not inform your insurance of any incident where you can sort it your self , such as someone scraping you
and they fixed it via their insurance - if you plan on moving insurers next time .

they log incidents on the NCB list ,
and the next insurer will add on cost , it does not matter if you were not at fault , or if the case cost nothing to you .

this is how these c*nts operate , utter scum

Henry Ford III

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Nah. I don't believe that at all.

p.s. The base premium may have gone up but assuming your ncb wasn't reduced you were free to shop around at renewal.

My premium went up 25% after I reported a no fault claim. The broker told me it was because of the claim.

My premium went up EXACTLY 25.00%, not 24.99%, or 25.01% - 25.00%.

Now they may not stipulate as such (BTW, I've 100% NCB protection myself).

Take the following example, where your full NCB still gives you 60% discount.

Assume your premium last year was €1,000, and €400 after NCB discount. Now this year your premium is (because, actuary calculations and other weird and wonderful stuff) is €1,250 - after 60% NCB your premium this year is €500 (25% increase) - and you're happy because you still get your 60% NCB. :rolleyes:

earlytobed

ReginaldSmythV wrote: »

They’re not supposed to be but they are. Everyone taking the rules of an unregulated industry as gospel

Conspiracy Theory alert!!

Eggs For Dinner

Insurers don't increase premiums where no claim has been made against your policy, end of...Anyone who experienced an increase was for some other reason, such as starnard rate increase across the board