Recently had the pleasure of getting rear ended by a private hire taxi while I was stopped at a set of traffic lights, my first ever accident. I thought the damage would be a lot worse, in the photo it's quite difficult to see but the left side of the load lip for the boot has popped upwards, also cracked middle part of rear reflector. Insurers are aware and they've declared taxi at fault, but due to my age i'm not going to claim for the damage to my car as my insurance increases by eye watering amounts. So I was just wondering whether it would be a whole new rear bumper job or a repair and also what the rough cost of this would be?

Hopefully won't be too bad!

Erm, how can your insurance rise when the other driver is at fault?

Because insurers will look for any excuse to raise premiums....

Even if it is not your fault, it is still a claim on file that they will hold against you lol!

I fear it may be too late, now that you have already informed your insurer that you were in an accident... Even if it was not your fault as soon as you inform insurance it will go on your record...

Because insurers will look for any excuse to raise premiums....

Even if it is not your fault, it is still a claim on file that they will hold against you lol!

 

Exactly, gone are the days where claiming on someone elses insurance meant no change for you.

Now many insurers take the view that you were involved in an accident (even though the accident wasn't your fault) & therefore the risk of you being involved in another accident is higher.

Generally you either inform the insurance if you need to claim or in a case like this where there the damage doesn't look too bad get the taxi driver to pay you directly for the damage so you can get it fixed off the books. (make sure you get them to confirm that they will not pursue anymore damages)

Surely the rise in premium won't equate to the cost involved in getting it repaired. Insurance repairs will be done to high quality as well. I got t boned by a lady and it

Took my insurance up £18 a year. (22 with 1ncb and 6 points)

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That may also be a reason not to buy the famous extra - "Protected No Claims". You may get the same percentage after a claim, but your premium may go up anyway.

It's the sad world that we live in.

 

I actually hate insurance companies and their policies. But you could look at it from their perspective....We have too many fraudulent claims these days, and they are a business at the end of the day.

 

Either way, I pay it through gritted teeth.

That may also be a reason not to buy the famous extra - "Protected No Claims". You may get the same percentage after a claim, but your premium may go up anyway.

But might go up more without the no claims protection...

That may also be a reason not to buy the famous extra - "Protected No Claims". You may get the same percentage after a claim, but your premium may go up anyway.

 

If you dont have NCB protection you will loose some or all of that as well as your premium going up

Y

 

If you dont have NCB protection you will loose some or all of that as well as your premium going up

Yeah, you probably right, but as Ally_bassman says "It's the sad world that we live in" and I just have this cynical view about insurance policies.

Now you have told them it will be recorded anyway so you might as well go through it. Your insurance shouldn't rise as much as if it was a fault claim. Also you need to check behind the bumper for damage that may be hidden.

The rear bumper is over £300 alone, supply only plus sorting sensors etc......make a claim bud!

It isn't just is it.  I can see some logic though.  If you are in involved in an accident but don't claim because you pay for damage yourself, a second similar occurrence may force you to claim as you haven't the funds to pay for another repair.  So they view you as more likely to make a claim.

 

Now you have informed the insurer I would claim, particularly as it has been determined as the other party's fault.

 

Feel for you though, hard luck indeed.

Thanks for the quick responses guys. Yeah it's a bit of a conundrum at the moment. I ran an insurance quote with 1 claim and it increased my premium by about £500, presumably because of my age. My insurer specifically said that when it comes to my renewal quote time that my premium will not be affected due to neither myself, or the taxi making a claim. It's just a bit of a pain all in all. At my age no claims is worth more than gold! The car is on a 2 year lease, so one alternative that i'm considering is waiting till a few months before I have to hand my car back and taking it to get repaired then, my theory for this is the parts may be cheaper due to it being an older model car? Baring in mind all my parking sensors still work perfectly fine, the damage seems just cosmetic.

Sorry if i'm confusing anyone here! 

alex94, don't over think it also, don't believe all your told by people on the telephone, this woman the other day told me her name was "Julie" when by her voice she was clearly from the Idian sub-continent.  Make the claim, get it fixed properly and check with Citzens Advice as to whether you can claim any increases in future insurance premimums from the cabby, if you can't, you'll just have to suck it up, life's not fair.

 

Reasoning.

 

1. Its gonna cost what it costs to fix properly, now or in a year's time

2. The lease company will hammer you for both the fix and their time'n'effort if you don't

3. To get it fixed properly is over a grand.

 

Sorry mate but, in the words of the great poets from Run DMC "it like that 'n' that the way it is"

Yes your insurance will go up anyway because you will have to answer yes on the question of "have you had an accident in the last 5 years regardless of fault"

I have been in your position where the horror stories of insurance increases made me think that fixing a car myself out with insurance would. Be the better and cheaper way to go. It's not and really it's just not worth the hassle.

Mr aimess up there sums it up.   Cars are costly, accidents are a PITA and make cars even more costly even when it's not your fault, insurance isn't there to help/reduce the hassle and they often are a major part, but it's the law.   None of that is fair, but it's the way it is.

I think some people tend to forget it is a 'No claims bonus' and NOT a 'No BLAME bonus!  Above all else be honest with your Insurance Company or it may well return to bite you at a later date.

You made the mistake of telling your insurance, so you have to follow it through now. It will be on the database before you ended your phone conversation.

 

As others have said, a repair will be in the region of £1k, and you don't know what damage has been done behind the bumper until it is removed.

 

The last time I was involved in a rear end shunt it cost over £1500 to fix, and that was 12 years ago as the panels behind the bumper had been pushed in.

 

Also, once a bumper has absorbed an impact it is now structurally compromised, so if you have another impact it will not do it's job and the results could be far far worse.

Is this for real?

You guys actually get a higher premium even if the guilty party admits guilt?

Yes. In most cases.

Yep, insurance companies hide behind the "having made a claim you're more likely (statically) to make another claim. 

 

To some extent this is true, people find that whilst its in the bodyshop, a coupla hundred cash is all it costs to sort out all the little knocks'n'dent they've put in it over the last few years and generally, you get a newer car for a while to drive.  They come out of the insurance claim feeling pretty happy and for what they've now got it wasn't so much of a PITA hence, not everyone but a fair few are more likely to claim again and soon.

 

I still hate insurance companies though but, its law therefore, its legalised robbery.

It must be a British thing.nSounds really silly.

Here it wouldn't be regarded as a claim on your insurance but on the counterpart's insurance, and the last don't effect your own insurance.