So I had my first insurance claim in my time driving my Skoda, sucks but thankfully it was a slow impact damage and no one was injured.

 

I have dashcam recording, I was on the left, stationary and sounding the horn when the TP hit my car in slow moving trafic but they left without exchanging details (only got their registration and the image of the driver and passenger where they got out to look at the damage). This went to my insurance claim, police report and now onto the repair/hire car. The TP does not claim liability.

 

How long will these claims usually take before any decision is done? 3-4 weeks or up to 6 months? I'll need to pay my excess before collecting my car once it's been repaired, which I imagine I can claim back after the TP claims liability.

 

When I go to renew my insurance, I assume I'll take a hit on my premiums even though I have a protected NCD (if non-fault).

 

In the ideal world, I should get a notification quickly of the claim being closed as a non-fault, but I imagine there's a lot more at play here. What are the things I should look out for?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

 

2 hours ago, SomethingSuperbly said:

The TP does not claim liability.

Can you clarify this please, if you didn't exchange details?

Sorry, I can't give you good news, just my experience having had various types of car insurance cover on and off since 1977 and a few claims.

 

Your protected No Claims Discount will be protected but of course this will count as one claim against however many in what space of time your Protected NCD allows, some allow more claims and/or in a shorter time than others.  Protected only if non-fault is new to me, sounds a cut-price half cover to me, with a 220 PS (or any PS level) car I'd want full cover but each to their own.

 

How long things take may depend on lots of things.

 

You have been involved in an incident no matter who's fault and no matter if you claim or not (such as parked up and you're not in the car and someone or something damages your car) so this is proof of risk, you have claimed so yes unfortunately your premium will probably increase at next renewal.

 

If you paid for, or your insurance includes legal cover then you can pass all this over to them to try to sort, different policies have deferent cover and different providers are different quality.  If the accident can be proven or taken as third parties' fault (if insured) then your insurance and legal cover will get you your vehicle repaired and possibly your excess and other from third parties insurance - but only the car repair is guaranteed.

 

I learnt when I was young that low cost insurance is great provided you never make a claim, then you need good quality insurance which can sometimes (not always) cost more in premium but a lot less in time and hassle for the insured, things were a lot easier way back then though.

 

I can't give good news either. I was involved in an accident last year - handbrake on, stationary at a red light, some idiot foreign student ran up the back end of me due to not paying attention.

 

It was caught on my front dashcam, rear dashcam and even the dashcam of another car behind (Uber that somehow ran into the car that hit me), so there were three angles of the accident, brake lights, traffic lights and all.

 

The third party insurance company rang me up and claimed responsibility less than 10 hours later (it was at 1am), and repairs were done through Auxillis, as Admiral wanted my excess (I was still a new driver, so it was £1000!).

 

Fast forward nearly a year, and it's apparently going to the courts as the third party are now refusing to pay for the costs.

 

Even better? My renewal quote for the vRS was £820, until I realised the guy on the phone hadn't added my non-fault, accident notification. The new price? £1300.

 

It's not the end of the world, and the only way to avoid it is to take the bus. Every time you drive you take a risk, and no matter how careful you are, unfortunately some idiot may (and in this case has) made you pay for their mistake.

£1300 let alone £820 sounds very cheap to me for a 245PS VRS for someone in their early 20s given some of the figures other youngsters quote, IIRC 21 and 25 years old are thresholds now for age but of course there are many other variables that affect the premium asked for.

 

As suggested to OP if you are out of pocket and have legal cover on the car policy (previous I think but if you have it on any check) pass it all over to them, or if you have legal cover elsewhere it could include the accident.

 

Are you sure the third party took responsibility and didn't just want the repairs to go through them (through Auxillis), my wife's recent (own fault) claim on her Fabia went through Auxillis including the loan vehicle and everything was done well, all very local too, premium would have went up significantly with Churchill but she changed provider at a less premium and this was just after the accident and before the repairs started.

.

 

Oh completely, I really can’t complain! Some people are paying that for a 1.0 Fiesta.

 

There are lots of options for the OP - best thing IMO would be to ring up and see what they can/will do. This is what you pay them for after all.

3 hours ago, BluevRS245 said:

Oh completely, I really can’t complain! Some people are paying that for a 1.0 Fiesta.

 

There are lots of options for the OP - best thing IMO would be to ring up and see what they can/will do. This is what you pay them for after all.

Yes and this is why you don't want a "cheap" insurance where everything goes to call centres where the operators have to get rid of you as quickly as possible to get on to the next call and get little training other than to do that.  Even with the better and bigger insurance providers things are outsourced but there is at least some level or other route to real customer service enquiries,  Often then it's a gamble when you ring as to how much the person on the other end actually knows and is willing or able to help (rather than "computer sez No") or knows how to, or is willing or able, to pass you on to the correct system/business section/person to correctly answer and deal with your needs.  Some companies have communication systems that are difficult to engage with let alone get satisfactory help from, including their real live employees, some of whom may not be able or allowed to really help you even if they want to.

 

As I put before "cheap" insurance is fine until you need to actually to use it or even engage with it.  It's also the same the other way round for the insurers (or any other business) "cheap" customers who don't read their policies before and after taking them out and expect what they imagine rather than what they have agreed to and paid for and those that to any real extent lie and scam.  Such is life. 🙃

 

On 04/08/2024 at 10:30, BluevRS245 said:

Oh completely, I really can’t complain! Some people are paying that for a 1.0 Fiesta.

 

There are lots of options for the OP - best thing IMO would be to ring up and see what they can/will do. This is what you pay them for after all.

I can recommend Saga car insurance. 😋

(Seriously though, they are very good for the over-50's, but not the cheapest.)

On 27/07/2024 at 16:17, EnterName said:

Can you clarify this please, if you didn't exchange details?

 

So the driver simply said "it doesn't matter, you were behind me" when I said that I was stationary and that they had gone into me. We both took photographs of the damages (his kid jumped out a few extra times to take additional photos but when I approached him for his name, number, insurance and so on, he said we couldn't do it there and that I had his registration plate and that was enough. I got his details though much later on askmid.com for a tenner.

 

Fast foward that day I rang my insurance company, then a few days later got an email from them stating that the TP did not claim liability.

 

The latest update is that they've passed my dashcam footage to them and simply said "they have no obligation to respond until we pass on our costs to them". That and I have a hire car at the moment from Enterprise, and having my car repaired by them too. It's funny that they mention that we all have a "moral obligation to keep costs down", but I can't imagine that with the hiring and repairing procedure.

 

I used to have "motoring legal" prior but this was before the the general marketplace took an increase back in 2023, I opted to have it removed to save a bit. Sod's law. Now I'm just going to keep that option in mind when I renew.

 

Thank you all for your posts. I figured this is how insurance and claiming is supposed to go ("if you claim once you're more likely to claim again"), but when premiums are going through the roof it feels very strange.

 

 

Edited 13 August, 20241 yr by SomethingSuperbly

32 minutes ago, SomethingSuperbly said:

I used to have "motoring legal" prior but this was before the the general marketplace took an increase back in 2023, I opted to have it removed to save a bit. Sod's law. Now I'm just going to keep that option in mind when I renew.

Yes cutting costs like legal cover and guaranteed hire is fine until you need to make a claim, as you put Sod's Law often applies.  You obviously accept that if you have a  2.0l, 220 PS car then insurance premiums will reflect this.  No matter what type of cover the better the insurer you buy your policy from the less work you'll need to do and the more they will do for you, and unfortunately visa-versa.

 

I'm afraid you will have to let things work through the systems and processes, doesn't mean you can't keep checking and trying to reduce delays but even getting the car repair started isn't as quick as it used to be but if the work is done by the major repairers the quality should be good, smaller concerns who knows. 

 

Do you have any legal cover from elsewhere such as another insurance or a bank account or a car club you're a member of?

 

 

40 minutes ago, SomethingSuperbly said:

("if you claim once you're more likely to claim again")

Not if you have a NCD protection that only allows x accidents in y years 

 

Hopefully it won't be too long before you get your car back then the blame and money chase can really begin.  Let us know when there's progress or you need more advice or help.  Good luck.

 

Hi.

When your insurance policy comes up for renewal if you have any issues then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

On 13/08/2024 at 21:54, nta16 said:

 You obviously accept that if you have a  2.0l, 220 PS car then insurance premiums will reflect this. 

 

It's a nice, large car - the hire car they gave as a "like for like" was a BMW 5 Series Sports hybrid, but it had neither the cabin room capacity nor the boot capacity. The fuel economy could have been better if I was able to charge it but without that ability at home I was getting about 20 mpg on a below 50l tank. It had nice handling but I'm glad to be back with the Superb (minus my excess amount). That being said, the large size is primarily for the comfort of my family and ease of driving over long distances.

 

My premiums last year were with NCD (and NCD protection). I'll have to see how much it'll go up given one claim (non-fault) - the only issue is that it's an open claim as to a closed one.

 

On 13/08/2024 at 22:09, Stonekeeper said:

 

 

Thank you for posting that, yes that makes sense given if you have a claim yet still have a no claims discount protection.  Some discount is better than no discount.

 

On 14/08/2024 at 20:48, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

When your insurance policy comes up for renewal if you have any issues then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

 

It's actually due to renew next month, I'll probably send you a message a bit later on as now is a good time to see how it looks.

 

Thanks all I'll keep you posted.

55 minutes ago, SomethingSuperbly said:

It's actually due to renew next month, I'll probably send you a message a bit later on as now is a good time to see how it looks.

About 26 days before is a good time to renew.  The nearer you get to renewal date the higher the premium and less offers from insurers to draw you to them.  Avoiding certain times can also save you on premiums.  Adjusting your excess can not only save you on premiums but also on excess, adjusting excess figures to a certain extent may not alter the premium (i.e less excess for same premium cost).  Things that can help, like having other driver(s) on the policy (subject to age, etc.) and you having access to drive other car(s), trying a different job title, employment type,  .  .  .  obviously you must be honest in all you do.

 

I can assure you from my wife's accident earlier this year (THE afternoon of the night the new insurance was to be placed!!) will being open claim increase your renewal premium, a lot.

 

Have a look at Money Saving Expert for tips.

 

Also, we went trough TopCahback's Compare site and got insurance via one of the big comparison sites and got a quote very slightly less than if we didn't go through TopCashback Compare for exactly the same insurer and policy and last year we got £42 back from TopCashback this year £45.

 

Last year we could have picked a policy that was about 25% less (we have low premiums and protected NCD) but I'm glad we were never tempted (not that we would have been given decades of experience) as we had to claim on that policy in its last month and everything was so easy and dealt with so well, worth even more than the 25% difference.

 

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip/

 

https://www.topcashback.co.uk/topcashback-compare/

 

Hi again.

 

Just wanted to write an update for everything to see and hear. So it appears that once you've had an accident, the insurance app doesn't appear to update unless you tell it to, especially when it comes to renewal quotes.

 

So I was given my automatic renewal quote (without claim) which was about £100 more than my previous year, same excess and NCD protection. Going back on their app, I looked into my renewal and updated my details (with the new claim) and my renewal quote jumped to a nearly 100% increase. Yikes! This felt like being a brand new driver. I should mention that this was done in the day time, on the app and with not over a phone call.

 

Once I was over the shock, I decided to go onto a popular comparison website and started up a new quote, with all the same details during the day. My best quote, even with motoring legal added on, was £40 cheaper than my last year's renewal price. This was done just under 23 days but more than 2 weeks to the renewal, in the day time and on a new incognito browser. This quote also had a lower excess. The insurance company is also one of the larger companies too.

 

Calling up my current insurance about the renewal, they removed nearly all of the 100% increase but in the end was still £70 more expensive than my new quote.

 

So what can I say about all of this? It doesn't make sense, loyalty is dead in insurance and that it's best to shop around.

 

Overall I'm happy but now just need to wait until the claim is done and cleared in 5 years.

9 hours ago, SomethingSuperbly said:

loyalty is dead in insurance and that it's best to shop around.

Sadly that's been the case for several years, it's been widely reported on the media for several years that the drivers who pay most for their insurance are those who don't shop around.

 

The "loyalty bonus" is a bonus to the insurance company because you pay MORE for loyalty not less.

Your experience was just about the same as with my wife's insurance renewal with perhaps the difference that after the quote from going to a popular comparison site getting back to that site via TopCashback Compare got her £45 back from TopCashback too.  Again quality of the insurer and the policy are more important to me than absolute lowest policy price should a claim ever need to be made and obviously you can never know when that might be.

 

 

Hi all, hope all is well in the new year?

 

Well to give an update regarding my claim, I have been given a "non-fault" claim settlement letter, emails and have had my excess returned to me and all that jazz. It took almost 6 months for this to be settled, which seems about on point with what I was previously told, and the most important part, I feel, was that I had the dash cam recording showing the incident. I feel whereas if I hadn't I think I wouldn't, I would have been in a worse off position.

 

So if you guys ever get a chance, fit in a dash cam - at least you get to see all kinds of weird and wonderful things about there.

On 17/02/2025 at 20:46, SomethingSuperbly said:

So if you guys ever get a chance, fit in a dash cam

Amen to this.

When I briefly had a problem with my dashcam, it felt like driving around without insurance.

In the West Midlands, dashcams are absolutely essential. Even if it's the cheapest, crappiest dashcam you can find, it's still better than nothing.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DashCam-Diamond-170°Wide-Recording-G-sensor-Black/dp/B0BLH9LX4P

A dashcam is better than nothing but it only covers a small area of possible contact, it's like having a single airbag, or any number of airbags, good to have but do not rely on them.  If possible prevention is much better than cure particularly with accidents and insurance policies.

 

My wife told me on the rides at the NEC last year a driver's Lambo got hit whilst out on a ride on a roundabout with a older lady cutting and changing lanes on a roundabout into the Lambo and of course she's claiming the Lambo hit her car, dashcam doesn't show the side impact.

 

Years ago a chap had a series one Lotus Elise that he used to do the tours in (roof off, shorts on, rain up north) and he was telling me that in London a young woman run into it, by jumping traffic lights by the sound of it, his concern was only for her as he was a really nice sort of chap, she admitted it was her fault.  I told him to be very careful as when she found out how much it would effect her insurance she'd change her tune, but he disagreed as she was such a nice young woman.  IIRC the Elise was written-off.  It went on to it was going to court as she denied everything and I said that would be fun when he was in the witness box giving evidence as he was a serving Police officer and didn't they realise that.  Got settled before court case.  If you meet him you'd never believe he was a Met Police officer, entirely different to the others you hear about, how he worked there was beyond me but he was from Ireland so perhaps used to more relaxed, laxed ways.

 

Bear in mind there's a large number of uninsured drivers so if they stop it might not be to exchange details.  As I had to remind my neighbour as she's only 4 foot eleven and yet see got out of her car to argue with someone who given her car a minor rear end tap with the car he was driving and shrugged it off, I couldn't even see a mark on her white car bumper let alone damage, certainly not worth potentially being hit or knifed.  A rear camera might or might not have recorded enough details but that's then after event details it didn't prevent the incidence just record it.

 

I used to work for a CCTV installation company and there are rarely enough cameras to cover enough and those are not kept with clear vision, some real scumbags just look straight at a camera and give the finger or two so they're not even a deterrent.  Last system I saw a number of years ago was extremely detailed and sophisticated but it still relies on the very basics of the camera lens and angle capturing what is needed.