Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 19:16
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Topdude

Quick question about insurance excess.

My son was hit from behind at traffic lights, totally the other drivers fault and he admits liability.

Where does my son stand regarding the fixed and voluntary excess on his policy ?

Will his repairs be covered in full by the other party's insurance or reduced ?

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 19:24
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - leaseman

Your son's insurance company should take over negotiations and, hopefully, the at fault party's insurance should pay all costs, including your sons' excess

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 23:17
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Andrew-T

Your son's insurance company should take over negotiations and, hopefully, the at fault party's insurance should pay all costs, including your sons' excess

I suspect this may depend on which insurer is involved. My car was damaged enough for a write-off 7 years ago, but the third party had admitted liability and their insurer (Aviva) contacted me for photos of the damage, which they estimated without visiting (the car was fully driveable). Within a week we agreed a valuation and I chose to keep the car and have it repaired. Of course I informed my insurers, but no excess was involved.

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 19:45
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Wee Willie Winkie

If your son goes straight to the third party insurer they should arrange repairs and there will be no excess to pay, as his own insurance are not involved. If he goes through his own insurer, he will have to pay his excess and then claim back from the third party insurer.

I'd be going straight to the third party insurer.

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 19:50
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Adampr

If your son goes straight to the third party insurer they should arrange repairs and there will be no excess to pay, as his own insurance are not involved. If he goes through his own insurer, he will have to pay his excess and then claim back from the third party insurer.

I'd be going straight to the third party insurer.

I'm not sure that's correct. Last time I got hit, I reported it to my insurer and didn't pay any excess.

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 20:45
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - gordonbennet

Its worth contacting the third part insurer direct, assuming their customer has told the same tale you might be surprised how helpful they can be once they realise you're a reasonable person and not off to some accident management mob to extend the claim for weeks whilst supplying an expensive credit hire car for the duration.

If they prove unhelpful then obviously you'll have no choice but to go through own insurer.

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Sat 3 Feb 2024 21:55
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - mcb100
‘ I'm not sure that's correct. Last time I got hit, I reported it to my insurer and didn't pay any excess.’

Same here. Two no fault incidents, both reported to my insurer, no excess paid on either occasion.
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Sat 3 Feb 2024 23:12
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - FP

Surely the whole point of an "excess", or "deductible" as the Americans more meaningfully call it, is that it comes into play when the insurance company pays out - which happens only when you make a successful claim. The pay-out will be reduced by whatever your excess is.

On the other hand, reporting a collision to your insurance company, even if it wasn't your fault, (which you are bound to do) without making a claim will possibly increase your premium when you renew.

Edited by FP on 03/02/2024 at 23:13

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 08:02
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Wee Willie Winkie

If your son goes straight to the third party insurer they should arrange repairs and there will be no excess to pay, as his own insurance are not involved. If he goes through his own insurer, he will have to pay his excess and then claim back from the third party insurer.

I'd be going straight to the third party insurer.

I'm not sure that's correct. Last time I got hit, I reported it to my insurer and didn't pay any excess.

Only going off my experience in 2021 when I was involved in a non fault.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 08:21
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - skidpan

If your son goes straight to the third party insurer they should arrange repairs and there will be no excess to pay, as his own insurance are not involved.

We did that once, never again. The van in front of the wife over shot the line at a red light and then reversed back into her car. He apologised by saying "sorry luv, I was on my fekkin phone". Took about 7 months to get the damage sorted, luckily the car was drivable, the damage was restricted to a bumper, grille and number plate. The hassle dealing with the companies involved (there were 3) was unbelievable each blaming each other before booking the car in at a local well respected body shop.

Would have taken days with no hassle if we had simply let our insurers sort the damage and subsequently let our uninsured loss people get our excess back.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 08:34
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - daveyjp

If the third party insurer accepts full liability before the car is repaired no excess will be payable.

If your insurance take the car, start repairs before liability is agreed an excess will be payable until such time as the arguments end.

If the car is safe and can be driven don't do anything on the repair front until liability is sorted.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 09:43
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - De Sisti

Back in 2006 when I had a SEAT Arosa, the rear edge of a lorry's trailer sc***ed the side of my car, causing a long, deep ridge. The driver admitted fault and gave me his insurance details. I informed my insurance company, who told me they only needed the registration number of the other vehicle and then proceeded to deal with the matter.

My car was booked into a bodyshop and a decent repair was carried out. My subsequent premium was not affected by the incident.

A similar incident occurred to me in 1996 when a Post Office van sc***ed the side of my Nissan Micra. The driver admitted liability and after informing my insurance company of the incident, they took control, had my car fixed and I did not have my following year's insurance affected by incident.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 10:19
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Terry W

Particularly if you have a comprehensive policy go through your own insurance company.

Irrespective of who is at fault they will ensure the car is fixed promptly. They will also pursue the insurers of the other vehicle and establish who has liability. Assuming a simple rear end shunt, the other party will be liable and pay any excess in the settlement.

Going direct to the third party insurers risks a lot of grief

  • acting counter to your existing policy which probably includes a requirement to inform them of all accidents
  • you have far less knowledge, contacts or influence in effectively chasing a claim from another insurance company. Insurance companies are the experts.
  • the person who caused the accident may deny having done so - later claims may not reflect what actually happened at the accident scene
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Sun 4 Feb 2024 17:06
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Brit_in_Germany

Also, if there are problems dealing with the other party's insurer, complaining to the insurance ombudsman is not available.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 10:07
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - mcb100
‘ On the other hand, reporting a collision to your insurance company, even if it wasn't your fault, (which you are bound to do) without making a claim will possibly increase your premium when you renew.’

This has happened here.
Two no fault collisions for my wife’s car (it was parked outside the house for one of them) have resulted in increased premiums for both our cars because I was driving it for the other one.
So my premium increases as a driver who’s been in a no fault accident.
You have to answer questions truthfully to avoid jeopardising your cover, and all the insurance companies use the same database anyway.
So yes, a no fault accident increased my premium on a completely different car.
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Sun 4 Feb 2024 10:22
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - FiestaOwner

I had a rear end shunt a few years ago. My insurance company was Direct Line. The other party's was LV.

Within 2 hours of the shunt, LV phoned me admitting liability and offering to take care of everything themselves as well as supplying a loan car.

I decided to claim via Direct Line though. The reasons were:

  1. I had a contract with Direct Line, and felt I had protection if anything went wrong in the process.
  2. Going through Direct Line meant a had a five year guarantee on the repairs.
  3. I knew I had a guaranteed small and basic courtesy car for the duration of the repairs.
  4. Even if I had dealt directly with LV, I would still have to declare the non-fault claim to my insurers (for the following 5 years).

Direct Line tried to persuade me to opt for a larger courtesy car (Fiesta sized, as that was similar to what I had), as they could claim the cost back from the other party. I rejected this offer, as it sounded like a credit hire agreement. I was worried, if things went wrong, I would get stung with the cost of this.

As it turned out Direct Line's car hire company didn't have any small basic cars, so ended up with a Fiesta anyway. I had the hire car for a month.

I didn't have to pay the excesses, the insurance companies sorted this out between themselves.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 11:21
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Steveieb

Sounds like a good outcome Fiesta Owner.

But in your case you were dealing with LV which have one of the highest ratings in Which magazine.

Would be interested to hear of other experiences when dealing with other third division companies.

Its tempting to accept cheaper cover from little known companies but it’s only when you have an incident that you find out how good they are.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 17:59
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Bromptonaut

Agree with others. It's tempting to accept an offer from the third party's insurer but you need to be aware that if it then goes belly up and there's a problem with the repair's quality etc you may have closed some doors as regards redress. For example, who is the bodyshop's customer?

Had a todo about ten years ago when the barrier on a Council car park closed prematurely leaving a ding in my car's roof. Claimed through my own insurer - LV= - and got it repaired. Council eventually accepted liability for my excess and for my hiring a car to get around while mine was in the bodyshop.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 17:58
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - John F

Will his repairs be covered in full by the other party's insurance or reduced ?

Beware. When Mrs F's well cared for c.12yr old Focus was similarly injured, the third party's insurer (NFU), after agreeing total responsibility, tried to write it off. Much argument ensued, a hire car was supplied and an eventual repair was obtained. AFAIR their management of the affair was so dilatory that the cost of the hire car eventually exceeded the repair cost.

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Sun 4 Feb 2024 22:35
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - bathtub tom

Not a motor accident, but when a council grass mower knocked down my garden wall, the council left it to me to sort out. Dealing with the council and their insurers was a nightmare and as the house was on the market I went through my own. What a mistake! My premium has increased, despite my insurers admitting they claimed everything off the council's insurers and I have to declare the claim for several years.

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Mon 5 Feb 2024 08:45
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Steveieb

Some interesting stories which show that dealing with insurance companies can turn into a nightmare.

So referring to John F s story about his 12 year old Focus can I have your advice on insuring my two cars . One over 20 years old value £2k but in amazing condition. and the other 17 years old value £3k but high insurance category.

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Mon 5 Feb 2024 09:44
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Andrew-T

So referring to John F s story about his 12 year old Focus can I have your advice on insuring my two cars . One over 20 years old value £2k but in amazing condition. and the other 17 years old value £3k but high insurance category.

Presumably if anything more than trivial happens to one of those, (a) the insurer will claim a write-off, and (b) you will want to have the car repaired so will accept a reduced settlement, as I did in 2016 ?

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Mon 5 Feb 2024 11:53
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - John F

The argument seems to be around the assertion that you should be put back into the same position as you were before the collision. Unfortunately this appears to be the financial position, not the material position. I found this thread which might be of interest.....

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=10...8

.....it seems the legal reference precedent is the Darbishire v Warran case 60yrs ago! It appears that the careful owner of an old car damaged by a third party will be disadvantaged.

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Mon 5 Feb 2024 14:38
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Andrew-T

It appears that the careful owner of an old car damaged by a third party will be disadvantaged.

I am wondering how an insurance company might do business with income and expenditure accounts in 'material' rather than 'financial' quantities, John ? Any suggestions ?

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Tue 6 Feb 2024 10:01
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - John F

I am wondering how an insurance company might do business with income and expenditure accounts in 'material' rather than 'financial' quantities, John ? Any suggestions ?

I suggest that to avoid penalising a careful owner of an old car, they should pay the cost of repairing it, or offer the owner the cash sum of the estimated cost of the repair, or offer the material market value of the pre-damaged car, whichever is greater.

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Tue 6 Feb 2024 12:23
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Andrew-T

<< .... whichever is greater. >>

Ha ha - I can't see any insurer agreeing to that idea !

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Wed 7 Feb 2024 08:37
Any - Rear end shunt and insurance excess - Topdude

Hi, original poster here, thanks for all the replies. I have passed this discussion on to our Son so he can decide the best course of action. Will report back at a later date but that might take a while !!

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