Do I have to submit a claim immediately?

Had a minor accident, other party is happy damage is not worth the fuss. I'm not so lucky and need some superficial damage repaired.

I want to get some quotes to see if it's worth claiming insurance, but I'm not sure do I have time to get quotes and decide, or if claims need to be reported immediately?

If quotes are too expensive, can I submit the claim a few weeks later?

Eggs For Dinner

You are obliged to notify your insurer with the details as soon as practicable after an accident. You can follow up with repair estimates within a reasonable timeframe after that. They will guide you

macvin

Do not contact the insurance company unless you plan to claim.

It will immediately be on your record and will remain as a potential claim for a couple of years.

And that alone will increase your premium substantially

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118841414#Comment_118841414

This is what I was worried about. And I just did a test to see what my premium would be if I lost my no claims and 123 would not even insure me. Guess I'll be paying for this myself. Its a complete and utter racket.

coylemj

OP, you probably will be claiming for the damage to your car. Just as soon as the other party changes his mind about it not being 'worth the fuss' i.e. when he hears how much he will get for a whiplash claim.

Just be aware that if you spend money fixing your car and the other guy lodges a claim, your own insurance will not compensate you for any money you've already spent on your own car. Because they need to inspect the damage before any repairs are carried out.

L1011

" when he hears how much he will get for a whiplash claim"

Not enough to usually bother taking a case these days, finally.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118846739#Comment_118846739

They haven't gone away you know.

Last month, in what is believed to be one of the first cases under the guidelines to go to hearing, a man who claimed for soft tissue and psychological injuries in a motor accident, in which liability was admitted, was awarded €45,000 at Killarney Circuit Court.

If the only injuries that guy claims to have suffered were 'soft tissue and psychological', it means his doctors simply filled out a 'medical report' which quoted what he told them i.e. there was zero clinical evidence of any injuries. But he was still awarded €45,000. Which I'm happy to say is being appealed.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/have-new-guidelines-derailed-the-personal-injury-awards-gravy-train-1.4838570

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118846717#Comment_118846717

He doesn't have any of my details, we only swapped mobile numbers. It was pretty much a coming together, it's hard to say either party was to blame. If he comes at me with whiplash I'll just say sorry wrong number. There's a small risk there for sure. But to be honest I'm more worried about crookedness from the insurance company.

UrbanFox

Suggestion to OP not to notify his motor insurers is a bad idea.

1. OP is contractually obliged to notify the incident.
2. OP is obliged under RTA 1961[S.71 / S.72 ?] to notify insurers.
3. People applying for insurance quotations are obliged to disclose all material facts. That duty does not die after the contract is formed. So, if OP says nothing about the accident and the policy is renewed that actually constitutes non-disclosure.
4. The duty of disclosure revives every year at renewal.
5. Non-disclosure renders a contract of insurance void or voidable at the option of the underwriters.
6. If a contract of insurance is voided for non-disclosure that becomes a new material fact in itself which then has to be disclosed in future dealings with insurers.

This is one of those areas where putting your head down and saying nothing is likely to bite you !

WOW! Just as I said, I was more worried about crooked actions on the part of the insurance company than I was about the other party.

Damage has been repaired, I did not require insurance companies help. Not a chance in hell I will be reporting it so that they can increase my premium.

This country is a **** JOKE.

Eggs For Dinner

You made up potential problems in your head and lambasted your insurer without any experience of engaging with them. Username is apt.

Yeah right, made up problems in my head.

I've had my car repaired and didn't need an insurance claim. It's none of their business, but of course as outlined above the money grabbing crooks like to think everything I do is their business and I must report to them.

You're saying it has nothing to do with increasing my premium? Pull the other one it has bells on.

They'll never know. End of story. Close thread please.

Deub

You are still convinced that the insurance would increase. I had 2 accidents where I was not at fault. The other party’s insurance paid for both.

My insurance didn’t increase afterwards.

cml387

You may think you are being clever, but your insurance company would know if the other party reported the accident to them.

It wouldn't look good for you if the insurance found out about the accident from a third party.

They could then void the policy you are in breach of, and you'd find it difficult to impossible to get insurance elsewhere.

Also bear in mind that your NCB would be affected only if there was a successful claim against your policy.

Eggs For Dinner

It's none of their business???? When you took out your policy, you agreed to advise them as soon as possible of any event which may give rise to a claim. Read your policy. This requirement is designed to help YOU, as the sooner they can get involved the better they can gather the relevant facts to establish liability.

I know you won't listen though. You know better, even with no apparent experience of the claims process

NUTLEY BOY

OP is responsible for his/her decision on this issue. On this thread OP has been given fair warning of the legal dangers in waiting.

I had a material damage only claim a few years back just like OP. I reported it immediately to my motor insurers to protect myself as well as complying with requirements. I recovered my repair costs in full from the other motorist's insurers. My insurers closed their file. The notice accompanying the renewals showed the accident date and a settlement cost of nil. Premium not affected.

The repairs are less than the excess let alone losing my no claims bonus AND having my premium hiked. There is nothing in this story where the insurance company's requirement that I inform them of this is in my best interests.

Mod please close this thread or tell me how do I stop getting notifications. Thank you.

Eggs For Dinner

If your repairs are lower than your excess, you have no claim. If you have no claim, your bonus cannot be affected. Your premium won't be increased. The consequences of this are all in your head.

And these are not the insurance company's requirements, you agreed to them when you took out the policy, as everyone else does, with every type of insurance

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118995327#Comment_118995327

The insurer may say there is an "open claim" in case the other party contacts them. If the policy is up for renewal it may cause issues where they will not issue no claims certificate. This could go on for a long time if the insurer does not ring the potential claimant. For minor damage while it might not be within the insurer rules it may make sense for the guy to not tell them.

Eggs For Dinner

Insurers do not keep claims 'open' unless the circumstances indicate there is a likelihood of a 3rd party making a claim