Non Fault accident - anyone have experience with claims management firms?

[herulach]

Waiting to turn right on a single carriageway earlier today a 20ton tipper was polite enough to crash into the back of me - to be fair to him the visibility wasn't great, but I did have fogs, brakes and indicator on and its a pretty straight bit of 40 limit.

Anyway, I've been presented with three options to get the damage sorted (its a 4 week old car and will need new rear lights (they're LED so a single unit), at least 1 parking sensor, bumper & boot lid, I can't see if theres any damage to the pan):

1. Claim on my insurance (fully comp) and let the recover the excess.
2. Claims Management company they sort it all out, presumably with some form of credit hire agreement
3. His insurer contacted me and offered to arrange to deal with it all direct

Option 2 doesn't really appeal, there appears to be lots of horror stories around about those kinds of companys, they wouldn't let me choose my own garage, and were antsy about sending over the agreements in detail before I agreed to them.

It seems like it might be simpler to deal direct with his firm, but then I worry that if the work is substandard they've no incentive to sort it out. Given the age of the car I obviously want it back to pristine nick so I'm leaning toward using my policy (i'd have to declare it anyway, and can afford the excess) but thought I'd see if anyone on here had any experience (positive or otherwise) with any of my other options.

[Agent]

Option 2 - no way. I'm currently dealing with one (more of a case of them trying to extort money from me). Stay away.

I'd personally go through your insurance company, that;s what you pay them for. Going direct sounds great, but if things go wrong, you're dealing with it without their backing.

Keep in mind that even not being at fault, your insurance will normally still go up. I didn't believe this myself until recently when it was confirmed by my insurance company directly, and quotation results from many insurers. Statistically you're more likely to have an accident if you've recently been in one, even when not at fault. Annoying.

[herulach]

Thats what I'm thinking. Any danger of claiming the increased premiums back as well? I currently decide if my neck is stiffening up, or if its njust because i've done 900 miles this week.

[bytejunkie]

if you dont appoint a claims company, your insurer likely will.

but insurance companies have been told to keep costs down. so your insurance company may be happy for you to let the other parties company sort this. but ring them and talk to them.

basically, i disagree with 125 quid a day going to anyone for a loan insignia. so i let the third party instruct a claims company when someone hit her indoors in my car. all of a sudden they're focus is keeping you happy on a budget. the car has to be like for like, so we got a hire car for the time we needed it. the claim still goes through your insurer or your insurers claims company, but nobody is charing 120 quid for a phone call anymore.

talk to your insurer.

[finlay666]

You're not claiming against your policy but against theirs, either way your insurer needs to know and it might be worth seeing if they will sort it out as they can recover costs from the other driver.

As for whiplash, got it in an accident <10mph, get checked ASAP as it can take a while to develop and for me getting physio was a PITA through the NHS, ended up going with a local ambulance chaser that had private physios I could see immediately, cost of solicitors + physio was around £7k in total FWIW (they get paid first obviously)

[GoNz0]

check your policy, some have a new car replacement option if under x months old.

[peterb]

check your policy, some have a new car replacement option if under x months old.

Yes, but only if the car is a write off!

You will have to notify your insurance company anyway (it is a material disclosure, even if it is determined as no fault. If you claim through your insurance, you are making a claim, but provided they hold the other party liable, and their insurance pays any excess, then it will be determined no blame.

If your insurance is through a broker, it might be worth asking their advice.

[herulach]

My insurance has already been notified, they were the ones that put me on to the claims handler.

I remembered this morning that seat have an assistance service that handle it all, so I've let them have a go at it, has the upside of preserving warranty etc.

Just sat in the gp surgery now as my neck/back are pretty sore this afternoon. I've had whiplash before from a pushbike accident and it's not as bad, but that time I hit a car headfirst at about 30mph.

[DanceswithUnix]

Have used claims companies a couple of times. First time I was insured via a broker, and they kicked it off so I just went with the flow. Second time, I tried going through the insurers, and they insisted that I had a Nissan Micra to replace the huge Alfa 166 for the duration of the repair. After a bit of "how the hell do I get my family in that" argument they then told me I would have to pay the £300 excess and claim it back which would only take 6 months or so. Sod that, I called the claims handlers, asked them for a Mondeo or similar (they got me a 159 2.4jtdm) and kept my excess in my own bank account thank you very much.

So I added to the burden of rising insurance costs, but the insurance companies were the ones that started with the silly beggers game.

Last time wasn't so good, my wife had someone drive into her, the claims company gave her a car that she hated and then they treated her like dirt.

[herulach]

Just thought I'd update this now the car is somewhere near right. The actual claims handling firm (connexus, operating as SEAT ensurance) have been fine, courtesy car was a mondeo estate (for a leon) which was the nearest they could get with cruise/bluetooth the week before christmas.

The garage have been woeful though. First time I went to pick it up I didn't even leave the office as you could see problems from the other end of the carpark (lights not refitted properly, number plate not replaced etc). Second time the paint didn't match, orange peel & runs everywhere, broken clips on the trim, big patches of primer showing inside the bootlid etc. Third time looked fine, but turned out to be leaking washer fluid all over the boot. Fourth time leak fixed, but broken clips on the trim again, so grab handles are unusable and it rattles all the time. The paint is still not perfect, theres orange peel on the inside of the boot lid, but tbh its not awful, and you wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it.

Needless to say, not a happy bunny. I can't see how it can be symptomatic of all the work they do or they'd be out of business, unless most people just don't check the things?

[malfunction]

To be honest I have ignored the insurance recommended places in the past and used a small local place which was a lot cheaper (important if you were looking at a Cat D and didn't want the car written off), a lot faster and a lot more flexible (e.g. courtesy car even if your policy doesn't include one, and a better rate on any other repairs you might want to do at the same time).

[Saracen]

On the original question (and yes, I know it's too late, but this is for general readers not just herulach), I'd say each route has merits, and a downside.

1) Own insurer. As Peter said, they need to be told. I had experience if premium loading after 2 no-fault accidents, about 30 years ago. One, I was stationary in a queue of traffic, at red lights, and was hit from behind. The second, the car was parked and I wasn't even in it. In both cases, any 'accident-pronensss' in statistics is pure aberration, and NOTHING to do with ne. Yet, premiums went up.

A more serious concern is (and again, I've caught some companies doing this) even if the accident is 100% provably not your fault, some operate a reciprocal arrangement to not claim against the other firm below some financial cut-off, and then as they haven't recovered costs, deal with it as 'fault', and load the premium.

Bear in mind, even in you have a protected no claims bonus, they can do this. You'll still get your 60% (or whatever) NCD, but 60% of a premium that may have doubled.

2) Claims firm. No real opinion, because no direct experience.

3) Deal direct. Well, it CAN work well, but doesn't mean it always will.

The second accident I referred to above, when I wasn't even in the car, I dealt with directly. My (parked, and parked legally) car was hit by a delivery driver for a car hire firm. I notified my insurer, but didn't claim through them. After all, it's a No Claim discount, not no 'blame' discount.

Instead, I dealt, initially at least, with the car hire firms insurer. They gave me the run-around. So, I went to the (fairly small, and local) car hire firm's office, and asked to speak to their insurance manager, abiut one of their cars that had hit me. We had a pleasant chat over a cuppa and biscuits. He was aware of the incident, but emphatically not aware I was being jerked about by his insurer. I pointed out that, legally, I had no claim against his insurer. I was dealing with them as an administrative courtesy, but as they were messing me about, I had no option but to pursue matters difectly. Hence my visit to him. As I had got nowhere with his insurer, I was reluctantly () going to be for ed to pursue his company directly, in court. And, as his driver hit a parked car, I regarded it as pretty much open and shut, especially in light of the antics of his insurer, which typically is assured to annoy County Court (Small Claims Track) judges, because it smacked of big insurer trying to browbeat private individual into an unjust settlement, just to keep their costs down.

So, Mr Insurance Manager, I'm here as a courtesy to you, "in case you aren't aware that your insurer is about to get you sued", to see if you have any thoughts, or jyst want this to proceed to court?

And then, not another word from me, until he spoke.

Oh boy, did he blow a fuse. It was a remakable demonstration of tearing off a strip, whilst (somehow) refraining from actually swearing. Then he let his insurer have both barrels ... and he reloaded several times. And he did it, to his insurance company, while I was sitting in his office. Grinning.

He informed his insurer, VERY pointedly, that, first, his driver was 100% to blame. Second, ALL I wanted was to be put back into the pisition I was before the accident, and costs incurred because of the accident (hire car) reimbursed, and that if his company got sued because the insurer was playing silly beggars, they'd never get another penny in premiums from him, and he'd put the word out among other car hire firms too. And, his firm would take legal action against the insurer. They paid premiums to be covered, not to be sued because the insurer was trying to browbeat me.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. Then we had another cuppa.

Thing is, though, I was prepared to deal with it, to visit him, and critically, the "I'll sue" WASN'T a bluff. I absolutely meant it, and had copies of the completed forms to start the court claim with me. Had he not reacted as he did, I'd have posted them on the way home.

Dealing direct can work, but you have to be aware you might have to follow through, and it might get messy.

[DanceswithUnix]

Just thought I'd update this now the car is somewhere near right. The actual claims handling firm (connexus, operating as SEAT ensurance) have been fine, courtesy car was a mondeo estate (for a leon) which was the nearest they could get with cruise/bluetooth the week before christmas.

The garage have been woeful though. First time I went to pick it up I didn't even leave the office as you could see problems from the other end of the carpark (lights not refitted properly, number plate not replaced etc). Second time the paint didn't match, orange peel & runs everywhere, broken clips on the trim, big patches of primer showing inside the bootlid etc. Third time looked fine, but turned out to be leaking washer fluid all over the boot. Fourth time leak fixed, but broken clips on the trim again, so grab handles are unusable and it rattles all the time. The paint is still not perfect, theres orange peel on the inside of the boot lid, but tbh its not awful, and you wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it.

Needless to say, not a happy bunny. I can't see how it can be symptomatic of all the work they do or they'd be out of business, unless most people just don't check the things?

That sounds pretty shocking.

I have been annoyed at how long repairs take, but I normally expect them to be OK.

Mind you, the 166 had the bonnet micro-blister a few years after I bought it so that must have been badly resprayed at some point but it looked fine when I bought it

[Saracen]

To be honest I have ignored the insurance recommended places in the past and used a small local place which was a lot cheaper (important if you were looking at a Cat D and didn't want the car written off), a lot faster and a lot more flexible (e.g. courtesy car even if your policy doesn't include one, and a better rate on any other repairs you might want to do at the same time).

Ditto. I use certain garages when I'm paying for it, because I know from experience they do good work. So I use garages I trust if I'm making a claim, and will, and have, had that argument with insurers. I've not lost it yet, but haven't needed to claim in quite a few years either.

Example. I had a high-end stereo (about £3k worth) put into an M3 about 20 years ago .... and had declared, and covered both that value, and the specific pieces of equipment. After a theft, the insurer wanted to send some bloke in a van round. I asked what experience he had of high-end installation? They didn't know, he was just on their "approved" list.

Well, no way was he touching my system. I'd paid, and paid well, for installation by a high-end specialist, and as far as I was concerned, a high-end specialist was repairing it. If I had to argue about that afterwards, well again, I was prepared to tske it to a court. Having someone they weren't SURE was qualified, or even sure what grade of components he'd use, was not "putting me back into the condition before the incident". I don't expect to be be put into a better pisition, but nor do I accept being put into a worse one.

Similarly, when a vandal damaged the (6 month old) M3 paintwork, I insisted that paintwork repairs were handled by a BMW main dealer, not the cheap local 'approved' repairer, unless the insurance company were prepared to guarantee, in writing, they they were willing to be responsible for, and ipreimburse me for, any and all future problems and independent assessment attributed to that repair job? And, were prepared to absolutely guarantee that any parts, paint, etc, was BMW supplied, or approved.

BMW did the paint job.

My view is that you DO have to be reasonable in your expectations, but you also do often have to be firm with insurance companies. I don't mean obstreperous, or obstructive, or unreasonable, but I do mean firm.

My insurer, on one occasion, said I don't get a courtesy car from them if I don't use their approved repairer. Fair enough, if that's what their policy says .... and it did. I pointed out, though, I do get a courtesy car from the BMW dealer, when they do the work. So I don't need their courtesy car. "Oh", they said.

[herulach]

That sounds pretty shocking.

I have been annoyed at how long repairs take, but I normally expect them to be OK.

Mind you, the 166 had the bonnet micro-blister a few years after I bought it so that must have been badly resprayed at some point but it looked fine when I bought it

Indeed it is. To be honest I would have rather used a local crowd about 5 minutes down the road who have done work on other cars for me to a very high standard, but given the car was only 6 weeks old at the time of the accident decided to let the SEAT ensurance crowd handle it as it then preserves the manufacturer's paintwork warranties etc. I assumed (it transpires wrongly) that a VW Group approved shop would have some form of reasonable quality assurance procedures in place. I take some small comfort from the fact that its now easily cost them all their profit and extra in hire cars & parts whilst they've had it back in.

[Sarahangius98]

Yes I do have experience with claims management firms. They really handle your case lawfully. And If you will not hire any claims management firm then i am sure your insurance company will definitely go for it. Ultimately, you will gt benefit of all this. You will get your compensation for all the medical treatments you had undergone and the car damage as well

Good Luck