Hi
I am looking for some advice or other peoples experience with dealing with insurance companies. I was hit on the way to work this week, see photos. I have started the claim with my company, but the wil not provide me with a hire car untill they have decided to repair or write off and whose liability it is. The other persons insurance contacted me to say that they would arrange repairs and provide be with a replacement car straight away ?. So my concern is will I be in a weaker position if I use the other persons insurance company to do repairs or if it is written off on the value of the vehicale . The benfit will be that I get a replacement car quicker, and no impact on my NCD but this is protected ?. Anybody had similar experiences of this suitation ?,

Thank you ,
Mark

I was hit back in March, and was referred by my own insurer (Admiral) to a Non-fault Accident Management company in Newcastle, who delivered me a BMW X5 the very next day. The other party's insurer picked up the bill directly for both this and the repairs...I didn't have to do a thing.
If they have admitted liability, which it sounds like they already have, insist on a like for like replacement hire vehicle, and cite your job or similar for the need for 4 wheel drive, otherwise you may end up with an Astra or similar. Foraging near Gaydon....
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MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Hi, that was what I was expecting, but my the claims management company that my insurance referred my case to to won't get me a car until they have an admission of liability from the other company that they don't have yet !. Ironically is it had been my fault they would have provided me with a car, small print !!.

In which case I would get on the phone to them and tell the left hand to talk to the right, otherwise you will be taking the third party insurers offer of a replacement vehicle straightaway. The threat that they won't get their "fee" ought to be enough to get them to pull their finger out. Foraging near Gaydon....
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MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Badger1970 wrote:

I was hit back in March, and was referred by my own insurer (Admiral) to a Non-fault Accident Management company in Newcastle, who delivered me a BMW X5 the very next day. The other party's insurer picked up the bill directly for both this and the repairs...I didn't have to do a thing.
If they have admitted liability, which it sounds like they already have, insist on a like for like replacement hire vehicle, and cite your job or similar for the need for 4 wheel drive, otherwise you may end up with an Astra or similar.

I used an Accident Management company when someone ran into my old car.

Repair bill for the car was £3,300

Car hire bill was £3,800


The 3rd parties insurance did not dispute the repair cost, but they did dispute the hire costs, and came after me for the money
Was all eventually sorted, but not after a lot of sleepless nights, and being in the back of my mind for 18 months...

The same happened to my brother-in-law when his freelander was hit the hire bill for the vw fwd was just over£5000,a crazy amount and had many sleepless nights himself ,they even wanted copies of his bank account to prove that he could not afford the hire bill,the fault was not his and the girl that hit him took full blame for the accident,he would never go that way again!

Thanks for the advice have been unable to get any sense out of the claim management company, and having had a letter and a having a useful phone call with the other insurance company I have decided to take the hire car from the other insurance company and get them to sort out the repair or write off the vehicle, so I will just notify my insurance company and not claim. This seems to be better as it avoids all the fees and hassle of claiming back the excess ect.

It seem to me that if I had, my insurance company, claims management company, solicitors all involved in the claim all they would do is charge fees, and making work to justify those fees, which would just increase the claim and in the end we all pay with higher insurance due to this unnecessary


Cheers

Mark

"It seem to me that if I had, my insurance company, claims management company, solicitors all involved in the claim all they would do is charge fees, and making work to justify those fees, which would just increase the claim and in the end we all pay with higher insurance"

Exactly how it works if the insurers are part of a rival insurance group.

My last accident a few years ago cost almost twice the amount I paid for the car, between parts, labour, car hire and VAT. The other drivers insurance claimed responsibility and offered to repair the car, cover the excess, personal injury payment and supply a courtesy car but also threatened that they wouldn't pay for the hire car or fees if I used my own insurer. The letter came in a week after the accident so was already using the brokers accident management.

Lots of sleepless nights after 4 weeks when the "courtesy" car company sent me a bill for more than £3K (car was off the road for a further 3 weeks). Got sorted in the end but couldn't work out why the car was not written off until I had a conversation with an employee when I was collected from work to pick up my car. She explained there was an "insurance war" and there were a lot of tit for tat claims between the two insurance groups.

If I had went with the other drivers insurance I'm sure it would have been a lot less hassle and the car wouldn't have been off road nearly as long and would have cost a fraction of the final total.

Hope it all goes well.

Ignore the scaremongering, if the insurer has admitted liability, as you state, the AMC will indemnify you with a credit agreement....your only obligation being that if necessary, you attend court to give evidence.

In my case, they wanted to provide me with a base model Insignia to "mitigate my losses".

On the basis that the 3rd Party had already accepted liability, I insisted on a like for like (HSE Lux) or better. I needed 4WD, Bluetooth and Sat Nav as a minimum. They then tried to offer a Vauxhall Antara manual, so I lied and said that my driving licence only covered me for an Auto. Lo and behold, 10 minutes later, they confirmed a 3.0 X5 with Nav/Bluettoth would be delivered the following morning (which it was). I think that a lot of the time, these Scheißeters rely on your lack of knowledge of your rights and chance their arm. Be firm, and you will get what you deserve.

Your best bet is to PM the good Doctor on here and ask his professional opinion. I'm sure that he will be able to reassure you. Foraging near Gaydon....
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MY13 HSE Lux SD4, Baltic Blue - current, 30,000> miles without fault
MY12 HSE 2.2 SD4, Sumatra Black - gone after 10 months/43,000 fault-free miles

Thank you for your comments, it has reassured me that I have done the right thing to use his insurance company to sort it out, as it will be quicker and easier. Just got wait and see if it is repairable or not. The position of the back wheel is what concerns me, and that something had broken and punctured the fuel tank !

Thanks

Mark

Each to their own. I been thro' both a claim company and the other person insurance, in both accidents the people accepted liability.

I agree an idemnity will save you worrying about any claw back, then in my experience, with an accident management company, once all the bills are in, the other persons insurance are entitled to ask you why you went to an accident management company, why you hired a vehicle of the type you did and for the time you did etc. etc. they can even ask why questions about why you didn't pay upfront for say a normal hire rather than accept the management company's hire car, that obviously costs a lot more.

Some unscrupulous "victims" see other people bumping into them as an opportunity to squeeze every last ounce of blood out of an unfortunate situation. Marry that up to an accident management company and off you go.That's what puts the cost of insurance up.

I was a bit naive about accident management companies. I'd not come across one before. With accident no.1 I got the Freelander recovered to the LR main dealer and they told me to phone this company. Obviously, they get a kick back from the company that how lucrative these things are. I assumed it was a normal process and one endorsed by LR, it wasn't.

A couple of years later, someone rear ended me, accident no.2 Their insurance company LV as I recall, phoned me within the hour and got me a hire car, a RAV4, not my ideal car, but got me about fine, repaired the damage to the Freelander, no problems, nothing to pay, no questions and I never went near an accident management company.

For me the moral of the tale is that the management companies are in it for £, nothing else. They are selling a service for which the other parties insurance are going to end up picking up the tab for. Morally, I'd go nowhere near them. You made the right choice.

Owweee!
Poor freely!
Hope you get sorted quickly!

Looks a write off too me, lots of side panel damage, possible chassis and the airbags going off

Once they settle on a write off, loan cars returned and your hoping to find something similar whilst been without a car Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

My experience when a previous car was written off was that the cash offer was low. I was told that if I rejected it twice it would go to arbitration, which it did. The arbitrator was far more reasonable and I got much closer to the amount I felt was justified to replace with a like for like car.

What I found ironic was that I also went with an accident management company which first put me in a brand new BMW 530D and then a 525D. I forget the bill but it was considerable, yet they quibbled over a £1000 for the write off value. I guess it was the other party's insurer that was doing the quibbling, but I would have settled for a cheaper hire car if it meant I would have got fair value cash offer.

Thanks again, I now have a car from the other company a Mini Cooper, which I am happy with and all I need, and I have had Mini Cooper before I bought the freelander so it is good to remember what they are like !. So now just have to Wait and see what will happen.

mods could you move this discussion to the insurance forum an It has some useful info about people's experiences, which I think other people may find useful if there are in a similar suitation.

Thanks

Mark