Help - rear ended!

Dunks

Dunks

Dunks

Soldato
Joined
31 Oct 2004
Posts
8,691
Location
London
Hey guys, as title! I was rear ended when stopping for traffic lights at a large round about. The guy was driving a works van and while he didn't really admit fault he said "I thought you were going to run the light like everyone else".

I've spoken to Admiral who have said it seems like a clear cut non fault accident on my end and have put through to Auxillis who seem to be an accident management company. It's my first accident and I've never dealt with these companies but have heard stories about them claiming back extortionate costs from the other insurers and then it results in a massive argument over costs.

What are my options? Will the 3rd party insurer contact me if they agree they were at fault to arrange repairs and car hire? I'm a bit wary of signing all these numerous credit agreements for the accident management company car hire and other costs.

Cheers
 
Inflated claims are really not your problem, unless you exacerbate it playing the whiplash and PTSD cards.

The accident management company and the van's insurers will fight it out. Third party shouldn't really contact you direct - that's what the AM company are for. If they do, just pass it straight on.

What really matters is A) Are you ok and B) Putting you back on the road in a satisfactory state.
 
You should only talk through your own insurer, ignore anything from the other party which comes directly to you.

Being rear ended they are pretty much guaranteed to get the blame unless they have proof you did something silly.
 
Normally you have 3 options; either go through your own insurance or contact his insurers and deal with them directly while just notifying your own insurance but telling them your dealing with the 3rd party directly, or if you are injured from the impact say whiplash which can take days to come out properly then accident management company all the way.
Don’t worry about the hire car agreement etc as long as they give you a like for like replacement that isn’t costing ridiculous amounts per day then they won’t say anything about it. Just read everything over before signing.
Did you get plenty of pics of both vehicles and a good description of the other driver?
 
Dunks said:
Hey guys, as title! I was rear ended when stopping for traffic lights at a large round about. The guy was driving a works van and while he didn't really admit fault he said "I thought you were going to run the light like everyone else".
Click to expand...

That's basically admitting fault. He's saying he didn't stop for a red light.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I've got a good description of the guy, it was his works van and I've got his name, their details, their accident management company details as well. Photos of my car and his car also.

Looking at the car hire agreement it's about £130 a day for the car, which does seem steep, and usually this is what results in accident management companies arguing with insurers!

I've already contacted admiral who said it seems a non fault claim and then they passed me through to Auxillis, the accident management company.

Can I contact their insurer and see if they have admitted fault and then sort out repairs and car hire from them directly?
 
Dunks said:
Hey guys, as title! I was rear ended when stopping for traffic lights at a large round about. The guy was driving a works van and while he didn't really admit fault he said "I thought you were going to run the light like everyone else".

I've spoken to Admiral who have said it seems like a clear cut non fault accident on my end and have put through to Auxillis who seem to be an accident management company. It's my first accident and I've never dealt with these companies but have heard stories about them claiming back extortionate costs from the other insurers and then it results in a massive argument over costs.

What are my options? Will the 3rd party insurer contact me if they agree they were at fault to arrange repairs and car hire? I'm a bit wary of signing all these numerous credit agreements for the accident management company car hire and other costs.

Cheers
Click to expand...

My wife had the same thing happen and went though a third party claims company (palmed off by her insurers). Everything went pretty quickly and smoothly, including a two week hire car, and ours was repaired and back on the road in 2-3 weeks IIRC. We did get a call from the other parities insurance to offer us a car, but they were legit, and were really just checking we were not using some dodgy claims management firm who were going to try and run up the bills for profit.

You do have to commit to supporting the claims management company in the event of a claim (ie turning up to court if necessary), and there is a clause saying you could be liable if they don't get their money in a year, but then I suppose repairs and car hire would have been paid for by our own insurance instead of the third party.

One thing you have to remember is that the other person's insurance works for them, and doesn't have to treat you fairly as you are not their customer. If they are dodgy, they might offer you are hire car and then claim this was a full settlement that you accepted. At least going though your own insurance you have someone working on your side who is legally obligated to treat you fairly, not a third party0 who just wants to give you as little as possible.
 
Steampunk said:
One thing you have to remember is that the other person's insurance works for them, and doesn't have to treat you fairly as you are not their customer.
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On the contrary the third party insurer has every incentive to treat you well - if they treat you well you'll let them handle the claim and not a third party management company and that means they get to control the costs. Many insurers now have dedicated teams whose job it is to proactively reach out to the innocent party and offer to sort everything.

This is what happened with me when I had a similar issue - the third party insurer contacted me, handled everything, allowed my choice of repairer and provided an Enterprise E Class rental for the duration of the repair all paid for by them at a rate they were able to negotiate themselves.

At least going though your own insurance you have someone working on your side who is legally obligated to treat you fairly, not a third party0 who just wants to give you as little as possible.
Click to expand...

What actually happens is your own insurer will either:

a) Palm you off onto an accident management company
b) Treat the whole thing as a fault claim meaning basic hire car, limitations of repairer, suspended NCB and then seek to reclaim the costs from the third party.

Where there is no credible dispute over fault I would always advocate going via the third parties insurer to sort things - you still need to notify your own insurer obviously, but let the third parties insurer handle everything provided they are happy to do so on terms you are satisfied with,
 
I was in this situation years ago, but i bit by a bus. I only dealt with my insurance company every time i was contacted by the bus company's insurance company i would say you need to deal with my insurance company not me directly, I sent copies of all the letter they sent me and a diary of the phone calls. My insurance company where great and the whole situation went smoothly.
 
Dunks said:
What are my options? Will the 3rd party insurer contact me if they agree they were at fault to arrange repairs and car hire? I'm a bit wary of signing all these numerous credit agreements for the accident management company car hire and other costs.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I've only got TPFT so when I was rear ended in Dec I had to deal with the 3rd party insurance company myself. Luckily the guy that ran into me admitted 100% liability so anything I had to deal with went very smoothly. They offered car hire but I declined it has I only really use the car on weekends. Be careful when agreeing to car hire (if you do), in some circumstances you'll be liable for paying for it yourself which isn't always clear.
 
[TW]Fox said:
On the contrary the third party insurer has every incentive to treat you well - if they treat you well you'll let them handle the claim and not a third party management company and that means they get to control the costs. Many insurers now have dedicated teams whose job it is to proactively reach out to the innocent party and offer to sort everything.

This is what happened with me when I had a similar issue - the third party insurer contacted me, handled everything, allowed my choice of repairer and provided an Enterprise E Class rental for the duration of the repair all paid for by them at a rate they were able to negotiate themselves.
Click to expand...

We'll I've had experience of a third party insurance loss adjuster go from sweetness and light and offering me everything under the sun, to threatening me that I'd "get nothing" because I insisted she talk to my insurance company instead of me agreeing to her demands that were for her benefit and not mine.

A third party insurer is not legally required to treat you fairly - your own insurers are.
 
I don't understand why there isn't more regulation of the ways insurance companies and accident management firms interact with one another. Insurance companies should be encouraged work together and allow the appropriate insurer to manage costs. Accident management firms should only really be needed if there is a dispute over how the claim is being handled.

Sadly the current system often results in over inflated costs, which are ultimately covered by higher premiums.
 
Nasher said:
You should only talk through your own insurer, ignore anything from the other party which comes directly to you.
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Rubbish! I'd want to be dealing directly with the 3rd party insurer, especially if they've admitted liability. My insurer wanted to go to their preferred repair shop (seemingly not giving me an option) and obviously wanted my excess up front.

I spoke to their insurer, emailed over the quote I'd gotten from the BMW workshop and my detailer (for the ceramic coating), had it accepted, dropped off the car at the bodyshop on the scheduled day, the hire company came and picked me up and took me to the hire car and that was that. Dropped it back off 3 days later, took a taxi back to the bodyshop and invoiced the insurers for it. All done and dusted.
 
We recently had the experience of insurance claims, which is still going on due to the other party not responding to the claim, our car was fixed and we were given a hire car but as we were due to be travelling about during that time paid extra for insurance to cover any damages, over the course of three weeks there were delays to our repair so the hire car was extended and also was the extra insurance we did not agree to the extra insurance for that time but was charged, Thankfully Enterprise were understanding and refunded it, but keep an eye on it if you do have the same issue.
 
Steampunk said:
A third party insurer is not legally required to treat you fairly - your own insurers are.
Click to expand...

As an innocent third party victim of negligence you arguably have better rights than you do as the customer of an insurer.

Unless you want to make a claim on your own policy your insurer isn't actually obliged to treat you at all let alone fairly.
 
[TW]Fox said:
On the contrary the third party insurer has every incentive to treat you well - if they treat you well you'll let them handle the claim and not a third party management company and that means they get to control the costs. Many insurers now have dedicated teams whose job it is to proactively reach out to the innocent party and offer to sort everything.

This is what happened with me when I had a similar issue - the third party insurer contacted me, handled everything, allowed my choice of repairer and provided an Enterprise E Class rental for the duration of the repair all paid for by them at a rate they were able to negotiate themselves.



What actually happens is your own insurer will either:

a) Palm you off onto an accident management company
b) Treat the whole thing as a fault claim meaning basic hire car, limitations of repairer, suspended NCB and then seek to reclaim the costs from the third party.

Where there is no credible dispute over fault I would always advocate going via the third parties insurer to sort things - you still need to notify your own insurer obviously, but let the third parties insurer handle everything provided they are happy to do so on terms you are satisfied with,
Click to expand...

Called the third party, they said they had logged the accident from the guy that hit me, then they took some details and got back to me within 30 minutes.

I think it's their accident management/fleet management company as he spoke to their insurers QBE to check the status of the claim. I asked if they had said it was non fault on my behalf, and he said they never say whether it was or not to them, but that they'll be sorting everything out for me, including a hire car with Enterprise. So guess it must non fault on my behalf?

They've also allocated me to a BMW approved body shop also, but not that it probably means that much!
 
Dunks said:
Hey guys, as title! I was rear ended when stopping for traffic lights at a large round about. The guy was driving a works van and while he didn't really admit fault he said "I thought you were going to run the light like everyone else".
Click to expand...

Somebody did that to me, the week I passed my test. You were stopped at a red - It's totally clear cut.
 
Steampunk said:
A third party insurer is not legally required to treat you fairly - your own insurers are.
Click to expand...

I realise you've had bad experience with a particularly poor Loss Adjuster in the past, but I'm really not sure where you're getting this from.

You may not be a customer of the third party insurer, you may not have any kind of contractual agreement with them, but their liability to you is unchanged. You have a right to expect indemnity, to be placed in the same position you were (where possible) prior to accident, and if they're unable to offer that then you're entitled to financial compensation that will effectively achieve the same thing.

I know there are a lot of horror stories out there, and all insurers are doing their best to minimise the cost of claims - but this should not and for the most part does not mean they're out to screw you, instead for a Third Party Insurer it means they'll want to do as much as they can to handle the claim internally where they can take advantage of "In network" repair centres, agreed hire car arrangements at competitive prices, etc etc. It is in any conceivable scenario that I can think of beneficial to handle a genuine claim internally for an insurer than it is to let somebody else sit in the middle and price gouge the hell out of them.
 
We had to deal with Auxillis recently because of a non fault claim.All went smoothly hire car dropped off and picked up,our car taken away for repair then delivered back to us.No extra charges to us,had to leave the hire car with the same amount of fuel it had when it arrived.
 
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