3 way fender bender

CramCycle

I am sure this has ben covered many times but I can't find the details on what to do. I was waiting behind another car at a traffic light. The yellow box was blocked (as per usual) so we just sat there. The car behind me seen the light go green and gunned it, hit me and shunted me into the car in front (I had just taken off the handbrake as were about to move). All very civil, rang the gardai who said unless one of us was claiming something untoward, they were happy to leave us settle between ourselves. I took photos, got details on all cars etc. grand. So my understanding is, although I realise now, not having been in the situation, I could be wrong.

1. Does the car in front of me claim of my insurance and I claim off the car behind and the insurance company sorts it all out, or do we both go off the car at the back. My understanding is it is the former but I have never actually done it and have only heard second hand.
2. As nice as it would be to sort it out between ourselves, with 3 parties involved, I would be a fool to do so.
3. Do I report it immediately to my own insurance or will they contact me when the car in front reports it?
4. I talked to the driver behind, and while he wants to settle it and pay for everything, I am better off just saying sorry but I'd rather the insurance takes care of it and then go ahead and contact his company directly? I think he has underestimated the cost. Best case scenario its just my bumper, but it is a Jap import and having had work done before, it won't be all that cheap and then presumably he would have to pay for a hire car for the day (although the garage will probably just cover that). Minimally hhe will have my bumper, possibly my front light unit which stopped working after the bump, inspection of the car in front, paintwork touch up, all of which is a best case scenario. Unlikely but if the chassis is damaged it could be a lot more.

Is there anything else I need to do?

sorry for your trouble OP- write down everything that happened that you can remember including what others said to you and then phone your insurance company and let them deal with it

I’m not sure how the whole thing goes in terms of one insurance co claiming off another but no matter what get on the phone to your insurance ASAP

Del2005

Firstly write everything down and draw a sketch of what happen, this is for you for later if there are any questions.

2nd contact your insurance to let them deal with it and then forget about it, that's why you pay them.

Creamy Goodness

1. you've a right to go through the insurance, it'll be done by approved repair people then and not your man's mate jimmy.
2. you definitely should notify your own provider ASAP.
3. you should go through the insurance provider of the person who caused the accident (in this case the rear car).
4. document everything, from the crash, to the calls you have with everyone jot down dates/times/people who you were talking to.

Hope you're feeling ok, even with no injuries these accidents can knock you for six.

MarkR

Write everything down. Which bump came first etc, then call your insurance company.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117857527#Comment_117857527

A bit shook but more mental than physical. I rang my partner afterwards and she knew by the tone of my voice something was up. Physically I feel fine, and mentally I am grand, just shook for a moment. For a driver that was at a standstill, his car packed quiet a wallop in the 50cm he had to accelerate.

Thanks for all the advice, I'll ring his company and mine straight away. Jot it all down as well.

CramCycle

So told him I would prefer the insurance route, just because of the other car, claim has started, gave in the description and the guy from my insurance company said, it might be drivable but if your description is accurate, it will probably be deemed a write off. So long as the other guy doesn't dispute fault, not sure how he could, there won't be much issue. Have to drop it to a garage after talking to them tomorrow but they have said it is likely that if its his fault I can pick the garage, I'll get a hire car for 21 days or until the claim is settled. In theory it sounds great but there was nothing wrong with the car and this sounds like a pain in the hoop. Anyone have any idea how valuations work? I looked up my car online, currently sales people are selling it for between 9 and 13k. Revenue valued it at 10k OMSP about 3 years ago and I had to pay tax on that so was a good chunk more. PITA as I am just suspicious they will give me not enough to buy an equivalent. Do they just have a set value or can I argue the toss if I find the equivalent for sale?

zg3409

My other half was in a 5 car pileup. Lots of companies involved. Stick to your story and say you did nothing wrong. Hopefully your insurance won't be impacted on renewal. Try to get it sorted asap before your policy is due for renewal, otherwise you end up with an outstanding unresolved claim on your policy and you can't realistically switch insurer. It could go either way.

CramCycle

Well it's sort of resolved. Rang insurance they took over. Car is in for repair and I'm driving a loan car. He asked could he pay the repair place direct and tell my insurer that. I rang the insurer, to let them know and they said he'd get that option when he answered his phone (FFS). Anyway damage was way less than I expected, 1200 all in, let him know the insurer seemed fine with that but as they dealt with it he'd just have to pay them and I'd leave it to them. Well holy *#+- if he didn't ring me to give out sh1t later about not being a man, I should have let him pay me direct blah blah blah. I remained calm, told him nothing can be done now and to be honest, it was far less than I expected. It's a Jap import and getting parts for it is a pain in the a**. He started ranting about I should be a man in future and accept the cash. I feel that one day someone will take him for a ride, he was saying there was no way the car in front could get involved as they text him they were ok. I had heard diddly squat from the car in front so this was news to me. Anyway, nearly done. In future, other than getting details, I won't be engaging, being civil isn't worth the hassle. Glad I bit my tongue when he started talking about talking to his solicitor and being allowed pay for the damage and he doesn't have to go through his insurer, I said fine and left it at that. Glad it's not a write off either way.

Flinty997

Not your problem.

seagull

Attitude like that is even more reason to go through insurance. He sounds like a self-entitled twat.