A Small Accident - Claim or Not?

Benihana

Benihana

Benihana

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Joined
16 May 2006
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Copenhagen
Hey, just on my way back from work this evening, less than 30 minutes ago, I was driving through a residential area and Clio turing out of a junction to my right (drivers side) failed to spot me and pulled out. I hit the brakes and turned to avoid the car (whilst leaning on the horn) but got hit on the rear wheel arch/bumper.

I stop and got the blokes details, car reg etc, but looking at the damage its mostly plastic thats transferred to my car with a small dent and some scratches. I doesnt look too bad, but was wondering if I claim on his insurance I would have to notify my insurers and then admit on my next renewal that I had claimed (regardless of liability) and am sure this will adversly affect my premium (23yr old, 3 yrs NCB) I know I wont loose my NCB but is it worth claiming for something this minor?

I'm with churchill, and renewed less than 2 weeks ago. The car is a 1.8 306 W reg, with 102k on the clock. I'm thinking the damaged caused wont affect the value too much?

Lastly, by waiting will it effect my ability to claim? If I try and sort it out directly with the bloke, asuming he has valid insurance, and address isnt fake, would I still be able to go to churchill in a week or so?

Cheers!
 
So long as it goes down as a non-fault accident on your part (ie, your insurer recover 100% of the recoverable claim costs from the other insurer) then there shouldn't be any impact on your future premiums.

Yes, you'd have to declare the incident for the next 3-5 years but you'd be able to say it was non-fault.

It might be worth getting the car looked at just to make sure there is no damage and yes, you could certainly go back to your insurer in a week or so.

I used to work in motor claims for your insurer (now work for another insurer) and we used to get plenty of people wanting to claim a few weeks (or even months) after an incident after unsucessfully trying to get the other driver to pay for the damage themselves.
 
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Even if you claim against him your premium will go up 10-20% as statisticall you're more likely to be involved in another accident.

Personally I'd not claim.

/Edit: Ignore advice above, do a test quote on Elephant etc, a non fault claim WILL increase premium, been there, got the T shirt, paid the extra....
 
I didn't say it wouldn't increase the premium, I said it shouldn't. Subtle difference.

Premiums increase year on year anyway as insurance rates increase, so of course it'll most likely go up regardless. But it shouldn't go up because of your bump. It's just a case of shopping around and finding an insurer where you can save a bit of money.
 
Avoid the claim if there's not much money involved. Any claim is adverse, non fault or not.
 
Make sure you get it checked out. I had an accident and although the bumpers themselves looked decent (not really), but there was so much more damage behind it. The heavy bumper bar got crushed completely, and wheel alignment messed up, but you wouldn't know until it has a thorough inspection. I hope it doesn't end up too bad for you.
 
The person who hit you won't want to do it through insurance as they'll lose NCB and have to pay through the teeth for a few years. Phone them up and say how much it'll cost to get it all fixed through a garage, 9 times outta 10 they'll just pay.
 
If it so minor then in my opinion, get in contact with him, say your not going to go through insurance, providing he is ok to foot the bill to get the scratch damage repaired on your car.

he be daft not to accept as it would save both of you the hastle of claiming.
 
In that situation I would consider getting a fair quote to repair the damage, see if the other party is willing to pay it, then put the money towards your next car and leave the damage (other than giving it a decent t-cut).
 
It's unlikely he'll want to go via his insurance either. Give him a bell and ask him the question... watch him jump to the cash option.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I rang the guy as I think it could do with so touching up from ChipsAway or similar which I know from past experience is about £120ish.

Sadly there wasnt an answer and I've tried twice since. I have found the guy on FB and might send him a message to contact me or i'll go to the insurers. I don't really want to and not sure that I will even if he doesnt cough up. The guy just had his 18th B-Day (according to his FB Wall!) so I think he'll be ok with coughing up.
 
NorthstaNder said:
So long as it goes down as a non-fault accident on your part (ie, your insurer recover 100% of the recoverable claim costs from the other insurer) then there shouldn't be any impact on your future premiums.

Yes, you'd have to declare the incident for the next 3-5 years but you'd be able to say it was non-fault.

It might be worth getting the car looked at just to make sure there is no damage and yes, you could certainly go back to your insurer in a week or so.

I used to work in motor claims for your insurer (now work for another insurer) and we used to get plenty of people wanting to claim a few weeks (or even months) after an incident after unsucessfully trying to get the other driver to pay for the damage themselves.
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Completely false the part about your premiuming not going up, completely depends on the insurer, however mine did increase my premium when i was hit ( non fault ) no ncb loss either.
 
I think I'll only bother with getting it sorted outside of the insurer (unless my wheels start falling off) I gave it a wash last night and most of the grey plastic from his bumper has come off, but there are still some surface scratches. I'm not 100% confident the guy will pay up though, seems like hes a bit of a chav judging by his profile. When I take my DSLR home tonight i'll get a few pics for you.
 
If I have a knock then I pay cash & I get my mates to do the repairs, Bit moody at first for the Victim but once they see that my mates have Proper body shops & do an Excellent job they are happy.
Can't remember the last time I knocked a motor though, In fact I don't think I ever have in over 25 years of driving, Smashed a few up of course but that was me being a **** & didn't involve other people/cars.
 
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