Sorry to eds if wrong section. Please relocate as appropriate.

 

basically Tuesday night I was travelling to take my BIL home. On a large roundabout I was in left lane to continue on the dual carriageway just outside of Royston. Just as I was leaving the roundabout a black BMW 640 has come down the inside of the roundabout (my right hand side) and accelrated to cut infront of me and didn't make it smashing into my O/S/F quarter, wheel and bumper leaving my car immobilised. He pulled over around 5-6 car lengths infront and claimed that he had taken a pic of my car, but his grandfather was dying in the car and wasn't stopping and sped off leaving me and my passenger stranded on the side of the road injured. We got a photo of the rear of his car but unfortunately and to my error (which will be rectified) no dash cam.

 

phoned police and they are perusing hit and run and dangerous driving.

 

contacted my insurance company and they have hired me a fiesta.

 

i got a call this afternoon from my insurance company saying that he is now disputing liability and saying I turned right into him? Why I would turn right when I was turning left at the time I have no idea?  I'm now having to deal with my underwriters directly who state he is also clearly at fault but want me to claim on my own insurance but are going to write my car off and they will continue to "attempt" to persue liability at a later date.

 

i have not given them an answer yet as I don't see why I should be penalised because of his driving. On the other hand, as a full time carer for my disabled partner and with 2 young daughters I need a car on the road for doctors and hospital appointments etc but am nowhere near a position in which I could buy another car without the insurance payout. My car maybe old but it's mine and owned outright and i refuse to take out loans or finance to get another.

 

so question is should I just go through my own fully comp insurance and leave it or argue liability first? As the are the two options the underwriter has offered me.

 

thanks guys

 

 

You had Fully Comp did you not, your car insured.   They are not refusing your insurance cover are they.

Your car written off will be to the market value, that means you need to be able to replace it, why you have insurance.

Just continue with your claim as you have told them after the incident.

Yes I have fully comp and protected NCB. They are not refusing my cover just saying that instead of his insurance company paying for it then if I pay excess they will fix it. But then would that not have an adverse impact on my insurance?

 

anyone know what market value is on mk2 pre/FL elegance with 120,000 miles?  £1000? £1200?

 

20 years of driving I've never had to deal with a car accident so apologises if this is basic stuff for some.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by Mikek3111

15 minutes ago, Mikek3111 said:

Yes I have fully comp and protected NCB. They are not refusing my cover just saying that instead of his insurance company paying for it then if I pay excess they will fix it. But then would that not have an adverse impact on my insurance?

 

anyone know what market value is on mk2 pre/FL elegance with 120,000 miles?  £1000? £1200?

 

20 years of driving I've never had to deal with a car accident so apologises if this is basic stuff for some.

Sorry to hear your news. Unfortunately there are some dishonest drivers out there. 

 

Pre FL diesels are holding values well anything up to 2k. Do check the auto trader classified adverts 

It sound like it will likely go to 50/50 so you each claim on your own insurance, as the insurance companies can't tell who is telling the truth.

 

Go on auto trader is the best guide for market value as you should be able to barter to similar prices for sale on the market for your settlement value.

If he drove off without giving insurance details he effectively has left the scene of an accident and if you were injured and called an ambulance the police will always attend, he should be done for that.

 

Pursue it with the Police and if they do him for hit and run he has no leg to stand on.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by T2000

Hopefully you paid the extra for legal cover. 

 

Just lob it at your insurer and get them to instruct the legal team to recover your costs. It's their job not yours to handle all this. 

 

It's what you pay them for. 

30 minutes ago, gav_is_con said:

Sorry to hear your news. Unfortunately there are some dishonest drivers out there. 

 

Pre FL diesels are holding values well anything up to 2k. Do check the auto trader classified adverts 

Yeah mines a petrol elegance. I've had a look and nationwide there are only 2 of similar year and mileage and range from £1500-1900

 

25 minutes ago, T2000 said:

If he drove off without giving insurance details he effectively has left the scene of an accident and if you were injured and called an ambulance the police will always attend, he should be done for that.

 

Pursue it with the Police and if they do him for hit and run he has no leg to stand on.

Yeah I spent over an hour with them yesterday completing a collision form and they have forwarded that off for investigation

19 minutes ago, gadgetman said:

Hopefully you paid the extra for legal cover. 

 

Just lob it at your insurer and get them to instruct the legal team to recover your costs. It's their job not yours to handle all this. 

 

It's what you pay them for. 

Yes I had legal cover. Had already spoken to the legal team and they are pursuing injury, but have not spoken to them since he disputed liability as that only happened this afternoon

What have the Police said? Are they pursuing the BMW driver for leaving the scene of an accident without exchanging insurance details?

 

Are they writing the car off or repairing it? If they write it off then take the payout (don't accept their first offer, push for more) and buy it back. You can then have it repaired locally and get back the car you know and have cherished.

 

Irrespective of fault unfortunately the very fact you've been involved in an accident means the insurance company will view you as a higher risk which will likely push up future premiums. Sucks I know.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by silver1011

19 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

What have the Police said? Are they pursuing the BMW driver for leaving the scene of an accident without exchanging insurance details?

 

Are they writing the car off or repairing it? If they write it off then take the payout (don't accept their first offer, push for more) and buy it back. You can then have it repaired locally and get back the car you know and have cherished.

 

Irrespective of fault unfortunately the very fact you've been involved in an accident means the insurance company will view you as a higher risk which will likely push up future premiums. Sucks I know.

Yeah police are persuing hit and run and dangerous driving. The car has been classed as a total loss and is awaiating collection 

 

sucks that I get punished cause of some knobend who can't drive.

 

oh the joys of driving

Just itemise all losses and costs during the claim and ensure you give them to your insurer and legal team

Assuming the insurance pays you our market value, for arguments sake £2,000.

 

After scouting around on eBay and Autotrader can you replace your current pre-crash car with one of equal personal value?

 

If not then buy the car off the insurance company and have it repaired locally for a lot less than the insurers pay-out.

 

How badly is the car damaged, it is drivable and therefore cosmetic only? There are loads of MkII Octavia's out there so parts are plentiful, cheap and making a repair cost peanuts.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune after 20 years it must really have hit hard, it's always the ones who stay the right side of the law and do everything by the book who get shafted

 

a lot of good sense in your replies so far, just a thought have you asked the legal team ( from your insurance) for their advice, who has inspected the car to state it's a write off ?

 

if you can get it repaired you will effectively have to buy it back as part of your claim settlement, how long does your insurance cover the cost of a loan car, under your circumstances that may be a deciding factor 

 

best advice I can give is rattle the cage, politely of your legal team put it to them you HAVE to have transport as a career no matter what if you don't lay it on the line they ain't going guess keep on at them every day if necessary 

 

goodluck keep the thread updated 

41 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

Assuming the insurance pays you our market value, for arguments sake £2,000.

 

After scouting around on eBay and Autotrader can you replace your current pre-crash car with one of equal personal value?

 

If not then buy the car off the insurance company and have it repaired locally for a lot less than the insurers pay-out.

 

How badly is the car damaged, it is drivable and therefore cosmetic only? There are loads of MkII Octavia's out there so parts are plentiful, cheap and making a repair cost peanuts.

Have to be careful here, if the insurance company puts categry A or B on the damaged vehicle then by law it can't be put back on the road. The following list is the  insurance cat's and what can be done for write offs

 

Cat A must be destroyed

Cat B vehicle can be broke and spare parts sold off.

Cat C is repairable but subject to engineers report before getting V5c back, used to need a vehicle identity check but this has now been scrapped.

Cat D can just be repaired and put back on the road. 

Cat F is fire damaged, depends on the extent of damage but some can be repaired and returned to the road.

 

Again all are classed as total loss.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by Ju1ian1001

That's why I asked if the car was driveable, given the limited info (a side swipe on a roundabout) I'm assuming Cat C or Cat D, anything else is usually a sign of a significant impact.

 

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by silver1011

31 minutes ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

Have to be careful here, if the insurance company puts categry A or B on the damaged vehicle then by law it can't be put back on the road. The following list is the  insurance cat's and what can be done for write offs

 

Cat A must be destroyed

Cat B vehicle can be broke and spare parts sold off.

Cat C is repairable but subject to engineers report before getting V5c back, used to need a vehicle identity check but this has now been scrapped.

Cat D can just be repaired and put back on the road. 

Cat F is fire damaged, depends on the extent of damage but some can be repaired and returned to the road.

 

Again all are classed as total loss.

Except that's not law. It's only the insurance industry guidelines...

Really, Cat A & Cat B are not UK Legislation.?

That guy that had the 'rebuilt' Ferrari crushed just recently will be pleased to hear that.

1 hour ago, silver1011 said:

Assuming the insurance pays you our market value, for arguments sake £2,000.

 

After scouting around on eBay and Autotrader can you replace your current pre-crash car with one of equal personal value?

 

If not then buy the car off the insurance company and have it repaired locally for a lot less than the insurers pay-out.

 

How badly is the car damaged, it is drivable and therefore cosmetic only? There are loads of MkII Octavia's out there so parts are plentiful, cheap and making a repair cost peanuts.

Most of the damage is localised to the o/s/f so alloy, wing, headlight and the black tray the headlight clips into, and bumper, however, something isn't right with the steering. Turning wheel 30 degrees to right to stay I a straight line. Nothing obvious from looking underneath so maybe a buckled alloy or suspension leg?

1 hour ago, davidwhite said:

Sorry to hear of your misfortune after 20 years it must really have hit hard, it's always the ones who stay the right side of the law and do everything by the book who get shafted

 

a lot of good sense in your replies so far, just a thought have you asked the legal team ( from your insurance) for their advice, who has inspected the car to state it's a write off ?

 

if you can get it repaired you will effectively have to buy it back as part of your claim settlement, how long does your insurance cover the cost of a loan car, under your circumstances that may be a deciding factor 

 

best advice I can give is rattle the cage, politely of your legal team put it to them you HAVE to have transport as a career no matter what if you don't lay it on the line they ain't going guess keep on at them every day if necessary 

 

goodluck keep the thread updated 

Yeah I've already imformed them of my situation at home. At first it was enterprise, the car rental company that my insurer has handling a no fault claim. They were arranging to collect the car and stated it was a right off. Then when he disputed the claim they called me back and said they can no longer deal with the claim as it is in dispute so I would have to deal with the underwriters for my insurance company. 

 

Ive spoken to them and they have also calculated my car as a write off and were the ones now saying to go through my insurance instead of waiting for liability to be argued?

 

as far as hire car I was told I have it till 3 days after day of payout.

Edited 2 June, 20179 yr by Mikek3111

Thing is your insurance should be working for, not them telling you what's what etc etc, do not accept the first, second offer they say your car is value at, scour the classifieds auto trader eBay sales etc for equivilant cars to have ammo to through straight at them as you will have to pay the going rate to replace the car and within three days ( on the grounds that there is no way you will get your car repaired in those 3 days ) ok it may sound that you are playing hardball but trust me they will walk all over you if you don't

6 minutes ago, davidwhite said:

Thing is your insurance should be working for, not them telling you what's what etc etc, do not accept the first, second offer they say your car is value at, scour the classifieds auto trader eBay sales etc for equivilant cars to have ammo to through straight at them as you will have to pay the going rate to replace the car and within three days ( on the grounds that there is no way you will get your car repaired in those 3 days ) ok it may sound that you are playing hardball but trust me they will walk all over you if you don't

Funnily enough yesterday I was at my local skoda dealer and the receptionist I was talking to about the accident advised me to do the exact same thing so I was doing that earlier today.  Downside is nationwide on autotrader their are only 2 cars of same engine, trim level, mileage and similar age.

4 minutes ago, Mikek3111 said:

Funnily enough yesterday I was at my local skoda dealer and the receptionist I was talking to about the accident advised me to do the exact same thing so I was doing that earlier today.  Downside is nationwide on autotrader their are only 2 cars of same engine, trim level, mileage and similar age.

I don't think your insurer is going to expect you to be able to replace your car like for like, a ballpark figure of similar cars ( when I sorted my daughters claim settlement, I sourced cars a year or so either side of the age of hers mileage as average for the year and top or equivalent spec, out of interest the final settlement was in her case £350 more because she wouldn't back down, 1250£ instead of £900 I think her telling them to buy her a replacement for £900 and deliver it for her to consider made them realise she wasn't a push over ) should suffice you just need to prove their initial offer is not reasonable

2 hours ago, Rustynuts said:

Except that's not law. It's only the insurance industry guidelines...

Really! Its actually law not guide lines, if a car get's cat A or cat B, it must not be put back on the road and the V5c sent to DVLA or your insurance company, cat C again can be repaired and returned to the road but since the VIC check was scrapped the DVLA now require an engineers report before re issue of the V5, this must be carried by a qualified MOT tester or by a DVLA vehicle inspector.