Hi
Not a great start to my holiday in Cornwall when I was hit from the rear at a roundabout by a Jag last night. Thankfully the damage to my FL2 HSE.e seems light to my car as the rear bumper has only a couple of areas of paint removed. The impact was slow, the driver behind thought I had gone and drove into me.The jag looked like it needed a wing, bumper and a repair to the bonnet by comparison.

Having notified my insurer last night I was contacted today by the other drivers insurance company saying their driver had admitted full liability and they would arrange for the repair of my car direct.

This seems odd to me, I was expecting my insurer to take this up on my behalf and recover the costs an my excess. Anyone gone direct with the other drivers insurance before?

Thanks, trying to sort this all out 400 miles from home!

I have done, but it was for a specific reason at the time.

I wanted a quality repair done quickly along with a hire car immediately. So I booked the car in with a trusted firm and arranged my own hire car. Contacted the insurer and sent them the bills. They paid up without quibble. In my case it was a company car so went through the company as they hadn't instructed the insurer fast enough for my liking.

They actually ended up saving money...

Yes I can see how that worked for you. Ill speak to my insurer in the morning and see what they advise. I don't want to walk away from them and put myself in the hands of an insurer I know nothing about (except the name).

As far as I am aware you can take the car to any repairer of your choice (assuming of course the repair costs are reasonable).

I had just bought my FL2 on the Sunday back in March when somebody ran into my p/ex to be on the Monday, to simplify it for me and the LR dealer buying I chose to have the car repaired by them so I could still pick up my new FL2 later that week and they could repair my p/ex at their leisure.

Yes I see I am not probably obligated to go via my insurer, but it seems odd the insurer of the car that hit me is trying to get me to go to them direct and cut out my own insurer. Why?

Some insurance companies have their own workshops, I think direct line is one of them .. if you took the car to LR their guys will be on a higher hourly rate than the guys at direct line thus LR will be more expensive. Do it now ! Your a long time dead !!

Purely costs I should imagine, there has been a lot in the press around insurance companies making money by inflating costs of repairs and courtesy cars etc. Your insurer will probably bill the third parties insurance at retail rates for the repairs and courtesy car, whereas their in house/preferred repairers probably cost/bill them a lot less.

Following on from my first reply to highlight this, the third party who crashed into me was a young girl and initially wanted not to go through the insurers, I didn't mind either way.

There was a reasonable amount of damage as she side swiped me which meant pretty much every drivers side panel (including doors) needed attention.

Guy salmon spoke to her and offered to do it at cost which was around £100 per panel and came to £500 which is what the body shop would charge internally. She thought they were trying to con her and that we had colluded to rip her off. The cost to her insurer for Guy Salmon repairing the damage was nearer £1500.

Last edited by yorkshirepudding on 18th Sep 2016 7:49 pm. Edited 1 time in total

yorkshirepudding wrote:

Purely costs I should imagine, there has been a lot in the press around insurance companies making money by inflating costs of repairs and courtesy cars etc. Your insurer will probably bill the third parties insurance at retail rates for the repairs and courtesy car, whereas their in house/preferred repairers probably cost/bill them a lot less.

This is quite common now with the big insurance companies, They know that when their client is clearly at fault all your insurance company will do is inflate the claim with management costs etc. Advantages to you are its generally quicker to get your car repaired,you wont have to cough up excess and claim back and it shouldn't affect your no claims as you havnt had to make a claim via your policy. i know many will say well you can get your no claims back if its not your fault but its not always that easy. i have a no fault claim going through now and because my insurance is up before the claim is settled i have lost my no claims and my premium has gone through roof.i should get it back but its all hassle
After an accident it will be logged on the insurance database under 1 of 3 categories A notification only, A no fault claim or a At fault claim. Using the others insurance means your accident would be logged as a notification only which is the least likely to affect future premiums.

Last edited by ricky64 on 18th Sep 2016 10:49 pm. Edited 1 time in total

My daughter had her car repaired by the third party's insurance company (Sainsbury). She checked first with her own insurer who agreed. The other driver was at fault. The service she received was excellent - car collected from her house, hire car left and, after the repair her own car dropped off. I was there to check the repair and it looked excellent with a full valet thrown in. 1982 RR Classic-converted to 200TDi-gone
1992 RR VogueSE- converted to autogas-gone
2000 FL1 3dr (wife's)
1996 Disco 1 300 Tdi(gone)
2007 FL2 TD4 GS auto (gone)
MY 2011 SD4 HSE Automatic

I think insurance companies do it now to save time and costs. I was rear ended then had a call from the other drivers insurance (churchil) within a couple of hours offering a hire car and to take mine away. I insisted it went to a bodyshop I knew who then made a mess of it so next time they can just take it away.
Be careful if you tell your insurance even a no fault or claim accident can hike your premium. wife was parked when another driver reversed into her. no fault no claim he admitted liability but we told the insurance next renewal it had an accident loading when we queried it we were told as we had logged an accident it increases the risk????

I chose to have mine repaired by the LR dealer approved repairer which gave it a LR approved guarantee certificate.

Agree with Andy on the Insurance loading, my wife reversed into a unoccupied car in our Drs car park almost 3 months ago, left a note, asked in the waiting room etc. and contacted her insurance company LV. same as I have for the Freely. Nobody has contacted her so no claim has been made as hers is only scuffed on the bumper. As she is on my policy as a named driver my premium has gone up a lot. In future I reckon we may wait for a contact before reporting it, ironically it hasn't affected my 56 MG's classic car policy premium which she's also on. MY14 TD4 manual XS Orkney grey.

MY11 TD4 Manual XS Lago Grey, privacy glass, rear spoiler, full ebony leather,rear seat entertainment. Gone
2001/51 plate Disco TD5 GS. Gone
95 N Disco TDi300. Gone

Thanks for the replies. I have decided to go with the offer from the 3rd parties insurer (Privilege). Within an hour the hire company confirmed I had a car reserved and the garage called to arrange for collection when I get home from holiday. My own insurers said it was up to me (after warning me I have no contract with the 3rd parties insurer) and have recorded it as notification only.

Gone (thankfully) of the days when you had to fill in countless forms, draw diagrams, get three quotes and send it all snail mail!

My wife is on my policy ("just in case" as she refuses to drive it!) and recently had a no-fault claim on her own insurance, This has upped my insurance by £21.06. One reason why I decided not to make a claim recently when a Sainsbury's car park bollard leapt out at me and destroyed a door. Although I have a guaranteed no claims bonus, it would have upped my premiums in future as well as upping the premiums on the other cars I drive. Taking into account also my policy excess I reckon I have at least broken even by spending £450.00 instead of the £1800.00 bodyshop quote, and don't have a mark against me when it comes to renewal.
And if anyone is surprised by that quote - a new front door, unpainted, is close to £800.00 plus VAT. Trim is extra. Ex AA Series III LWB Safari - Gone
300TDi Disco (bought new - terrible car) sent back after 18 months
Freelander 1 Estate - leased, given back at end of lease
200TDi Disco (bought from a mate with 100,000 on the clock) - Gone
Disco 2 TD5 - sold and exported to France
FR2 TD4 GS - Gone
FR2 SD4 HSE - Now changed for a DS
New model ex-demo Evoque S 180 in white
Unable to order a new DS, so gave up. Now have a Volvo S90 Recharge.