Mate hit by uninsured driver...advice please.

[Kitchster_uk]

Hi all,

On the way back from my recent wedding, my mate got taken out by a Pug 306. Basically, the pug driver had lost control and slammed into the front of my mate's 54 plate focus TDCi, causing a horrific amount of damage to the front of the focus. The front end is basically missing, the engine is damage and pushed back, creasing up the floor pan etc - total write-off.

Anyway, although the car was insured through Zurich, the driver was not covered. A bit or wrangling later and they've agreed to pay the claim but are now messing on telling my mate that he'll need to summons the owner & driver??? He's got a Mazda 3 on hire from those nice people down at helphire but is starting to get slightly concerned at the length of time it is taking to get his dosh and get a new car due to the agreeement you sign with helphire. It's been over a calander month now and it's still dragging on.

Any experience/advice for him?

Cheers.

 

[IAmATeaf]

Shouldn't your mates insurance legal cover take care of this then?

 

[Kitchster_uk]

He doesn't know and neither do I, not having had the pleasure of such a claim before, that's why I'm asking basically.

 

[Dogbreath]

Anyway, although the car was insured through Zurich, the driver was not covered. A bit or wrangling later and they've agreed to pay the claim but are now messing on telling my mate that he'll need to summons the owner & driver???

I suspect the insurance company will want to claim their expenses back of the car driver and/or policy holder, which is hardly suprising. Not only is it an offence to drive without insurance, it also an offence to permit a car to be driven without insurance so the policy holder is in trouble as well.

 

[Kitchster_uk]

I suspect the insurance company will want to claim their expenses back of the car driver and/or policy holder, which is hardly suprising. Not only is it an offence to drive without insurance, it also an offence to permit a car to be driven without insurance so the policy holder is in trouble as well.

THat's what I figured, but surely they should be the one's doing it. He just seems to think they're being slow. Anyone know the timeframes for this sort of thing?

 

[aztechnology]

time frames can vary widely with brokers, underwiters and insurance companies, not much help I suppose, but true.

 

[Butters]

I suspect the insurance company will want to claim their expenses back of the car driver and/or policy holder, which is hardly suprising. Not only is it an offence to drive without insurance, it also an offence to permit a car to be driven without insurance so the policy holder is in trouble as well.

Thats unlikely. They'll try but there is no reason that the other party has to pay. We've been in the same situation.

His insurance company will pay out under uninsured losses.

Yes, it is an offence but the policy holder is not likely to get in trouble as they'll just claim that they didn't know the persons insurance circumstances. Sure, being negligable is not an excuse but there are no guidelines or laws to state that the policy holder must check the insurance of the other driver either.

 

[Matt82]

I suspect the insurance company will want to claim their expenses back of the car driver and/or policy holder, which is hardly suprising. Not only is it an offence to drive without insurance, it also an offence to permit a car to be driven without insurance so the policy holder is in trouble as well.

youre correct. it is something they do often attempt, but scummers driving without insurance are not the best people to attempt to recover a couple grand from.

as for the third party insurer paying, they are obliged to by some european rights against insurers thing.

what normally happens is, you get your car repaired by your insurer, they then pursue the other insurer. the thing about having to 'summons' the ohter driver is BS and wasting everyone's time.

the only problem is, if this does end up in court, the judge may feel you have not mitigated your loss by not getting your car repaired and having hired for so long (if its a long time).

 

[Sneaky Peaky]

I was hit from behind (at low speed) whilst stationary in traffic on the M25 , that was 9 months ago and it still hasn't been settled. Nothing happens fast with Car Insurance - 1 month is a tiny fart in a hurricane

 

[Matt82]

I was hit from behind (at low speed) whilst stationary in traffic on the M25 , that was 9 months ago and it still hasn't been settled. Nothing happens fast with Car Insurance - 1 month is a tiny fart in a hurricane

haha so completely true. i used to work for the in house solicitor to one of the major motor insurers, its easy to tell why people get so frustrated, but in short its due to insurer's making cut backs and employing minimal staff to save money, but causes massive massive delays

 

[Kitchster_uk]

Cheers lads, more like what we were looking for. Think the best idea is either get it sorted on his insurance (car's a write-off) or give the hire car back and drive a banger until it gets sorted.

 

[Malachy]

Thats unlikely. They'll try but there is no reason that the other party has to pay. We've been in the same situation.

His insurance company will pay out under uninsured losses.

Yes, it is an offence but the policy holder is not likely to get in trouble as they'll just claim that they didn't know the persons insurance circumstances. Sure, being negligable is not an excuse but there are no guidelines or laws to state that the policy holder must check the insurance of the other driver either.

my friend got 6 points on his liscence he genuinly did not know that the driver of his car was uninsured (who then crashed it) and was still convicted.

 

[Avalon]

Is he putting the claim through Zurich or is he putting the claim through his own insurance co who are hitting Zurich ? It's just it's not clear from the first post.

If you allow someone else to drive your car (or any other road going vehicle for that matter) you are personally responsible for checking if they are legally licensed/insured to do so. If the owner claims he didn't give them permission an insurance co. will insist he makes a police complaint for TWOC and follow it through or they won't touch the owners claim only the 3rd party (assuming it had anything more than TPFT).

 

[IAmATeaf]

Is he putting the claim through Zurich or is he putting the claim through his own insurance co who are hitting Zurich ? It's just it's not clear from the first post.

True, tis not clear from the first post who actually is the uninsured driver? Was it the guy who hit your mates car of the person driving your mates car?

 

[Kitchster_uk]

Sorry, the unisured guy was driving his sister's car...badly it would seem!

 

[Kitchster_uk]

HOLY THREAD RESURRECTION BATMAN!!!

Ok, things have changed slightly, the hire car has gone back and he's buying a banger to run fur a while.

Just been on the phone and now Zurich (3rd party vehicle's owner) are refusing to pay for the car BUT...they've taken it from the recovery yard in newark...to Bristol, without informing my mate! So, when his company (Quinn Direct) have sent an assessor out, it wasn't there. Loads of his personal stuff is in there so that's annoyed him. Quinn's legal team are also jerking him around - they opened a case and then closed it because they didn't have the details of the car/insurance of the owner. He gave them that. So they phoned him back with the same excuse.

Any advice from anyone who's been in a similar situation or in particular from Merlin et al would be very useful

Cheers.

 

[Vertigo]

Have to say I'm not surprised at Zurich refusing to pay out as I was surprised when you said they would, despite the driver not being covered.

If the driver wasn't covered surely they'll just refuse to pay and that's that?

 

[merlin]

Is the Quinn policy Comp or TPFT?