No-fault shunt

JasonX1989 · 7 Sep 2012 at 18:53

Hey guys,

This evening on my way home from work somebody went into the back of my car. Luckily enough, the guy only lives a few doors down from me so it's easy to contact him!
I was wondering how I should go about claiming, should l ring my insurance company and let them duke it out? Or should I go through a 3rd party and let them settle it for me?

Thanks

4T5 · 7 Sep 2012 at 18:54

I'm not biting.

PapaLazaru · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:02

Dear god.

JasonX1989 · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:02

Sorry I don't understand... I was just reading through my policy and if I make a claim (even though it's not my fault) I will lose 2 years no claims! I only have 2 years no claims.

PapaLazaru · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:04

JasonX1989 said:
Sorry I don't understand... I was just reading through my policy and if I make a claim (even though it's not my fault) I will lose 2 years no claims! I only have 2 years no claims.

Claim through their insurer. It is a rear end shunt. There can be no liability dispute. You are legally entitled to do this, though you have to tell your insurer you are doing this.

4T5 · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:09

JasonX1989 said:
If I make a claim I will lose 2 years no claims! I only have 2 years no claims.

Azza · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:12

Remember to tell them that your lower back and neck is hurting.

JasonX1989 · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:13

Azza said:
Remember to tell them that your lower back and neck is hurting.

The worst thing about it is, my neck and back are hurting

Thanks for the advice though guys, I'll give my company a ring and sort it out through them.

Kenai · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:14

Phone his insurance company, explain what happened, begin a claim.

Then phone your insurance company, report the occurrence to them, inform them he has admitted liability (assuming he has) and you are pursuing a claim through his insurance company.

Job done.

Do not under any circumstances let your own insurance company start to actually do things or file a claim, it's just unnecessary hassle.

neodude · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:15

Get in touch with his insurance company and tell them that one of their customers "took you from behind". They should pay for everything without you having to claim on your own insurance.

Kenai · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:16

neodude said:
Get in touch with his insurance company and tell them that one of their customers "took you from behind". They should pay for everything without you having to contact you company.

You should inform your own insurance company regardless.

Pestilence · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:20

Azza said:
Remember to tell them that your lower back and neck is hurting.

... don't forget the anxiety when driving and sleepless nights spent reliving "the incident".

the_r_sole · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:26

look forward to increased premiums for the next few years!

JasonX1989 · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:35

Am I really looking at increased premiums etc even though it wasn't my fault?

Amidar · 7 Sep 2012 at 19:51

JasonX1989 said:
Am I really looking at increased premiums etc even though it wasn't my fault?

No.

I spent 7 years as a bodyshop estimator, all you need to do is contact your insurance company explain what happened and give them his insurance details.

Then all been well his insurance should contact you to get 3 estimates (You only need one) or if they have a prefered repairer they will contact you.

Your own insurance company may repair your car & then claim the repair costs from his insurers, it all depends on how your insurance company work.

Mr_Moose · 7 Sep 2012 at 20:01

I had to report the same kind of thing earlier this year, guy hit my car while it was parked outside my house, not my fault in any way what so ever.
I contacted my insurance, told them everything, gave them his details and let them deal with it all. Lost my no claims initially but after it was settled and everything signed it was reinstated.

the_r_sole · 7 Sep 2012 at 20:10

when you renew you have to declare the accident, it definitely will give you higher premiums, try it on a comparison site -this happened to me a year and a half ago, someone wrote off my car with a shunt from behind and then when I got a new car the difference in the cheapest premiums was 350 odd quid between declaring a no-fault accident and not - that is the reality of the insurance industry, apparently I was more likely to be involved in another accident after that according to the guy on the phone

Slade2 · 7 Sep 2012 at 20:36

the_r_sole said:
when you renew you have to declare the accident, it definitely will give you higher premiums, try it on a comparison site -this happened to me a year and a half ago, someone wrote off my car with a shunt from behind and then when I got a new car the difference in the cheapest premiums was 350 odd quid between declaring a no-fault accident and not - that is the reality of the insurance industry, apparently I was more likely to be involved in another accident after that according to the guy on the phone

well a no-fault accident is different to the other party admiting liability I am sure. There is normally a box where you can select who was at fault and if you select no-fault then you have been involved in an accident which could have potentially cost your insureance company money if you had made a claim. Its purely based on statistics. There was an article I was reading about the other day it said about the worse house number and name of the road to live in. The luckiest number house to have is 91 bases on fire, flood and theft. If you have been in an accident I believe its more likely that you will be involved in another one hence your increase in premiums. One unlucky dude was made redundant and so he didnt need to travel the 45miles to work everyday in his car he was shocked to discover his premium rise by £200 a year when he has his renewal, this was purely becuase as he is unemployed he is deamed to be at a higher risk of potential accidents, crazy I know!.

Refering to the OP if this ever happens to anyone I would advise taking pictures of everything even camera phone pictures and if you can get an contact details from witnesses. A friend of mine was reversed into by someone who clearly just wasnt looking and he claimed that she had rear ended him at the lights!. I told my said friend to call her insurance and tell them everything that had happened and also tell the local police everything that happened. It was only just before court that the guy in question changed his story after being told there would be 2 conflicting witness statements and most of what had happened was captured on CCTV. I believe he got into a lot more trouble becuase it was discovered he had been using his car to make deliveries for Yodel or something.

the_r_sole · 7 Sep 2012 at 20:41

well, someone drove into the back of me and took full liability for the accident, their insurance company settled the claim, and I got my excess and other losses back - that's a no fault accident, i.e. the third party is at fault and not the insured person - you still have to disclose that information when you are taking out an insurance policy

Ev0 · 7 Sep 2012 at 21:59

From my experience it depends on the insurer as to whether you get an increased premium with a non fault accident on there.

At one stage I had 2 non fault claims to declare for a period of time, some insurers loaded the premium because of it but some did not.

Was a few years ago now but I think the elephant/bell group did load the premium by about 100 quid but I was insured with privilege who didn't charge any extra.