letter from driver who knocked me off

[robing]

So this morning I received a hand-written letter from the driver who knocked me off my bike on Monday.
It gives all their insurance details etc and a case number from their insurance company.
At first I thought this is a nice thing to do, but then I noticed -
it says I hope you are recovering from your injuries but no apology or admission of liability.
It also says they are writing because it occurs to us we didn't give you our insurance details at the time.
This is BS because the police attended and took all the details of both parties - after all it's how the driver got
my address to write to!
They go on to say we would be happy to reimburse you directly for any costs involved.
So I think that is the real reason they have written - they would prefer to pay themselves rather than claim on
their insurance, plus maybe they are hoping if they butter me up then I won't push for a full prosecution and let
them attend an awareness course? Or am i being too cynical?!

I guess from my POV - I am happy for them to pay me direct. I'll probably get paid quicker that way. The bike is at the LBS, I don't know the cost of the repairs yet (plus cycle shorts + train tickets).

[thirdcrank]

I often urge people to think what they want to achieve. If you want reimbursement, then target that and forget anything else. If you want the other party to be prosecuted, then that's OK but you might well antagonise the other party, with little gain. Bear in mind that few crashes result in a prosecution these days anyway. Obviously, if it's been reported to the police already, then some of it is outside your control.

[Psamathe]

I can see that such a letter is a reasonable thing to do

I always understood that however obvious the blame in an accident the insurance companies require that nobody admit liability.

Did the other party give you their insurance details. They might not be aware that the Police have passed them on and may know that you must be given those details - hence telling you make sure they have met this obligation.

Wishing you a speed recovery (hoping you are recovering well) is a polite thing to say.

Paying the claim themselves is something I thought they had the option to do (i.e. I believe they are under no obligation to pass your claim on to their insurance company and can chose to pay themselves) - so a quite reasonable thing to say. I would not have thought you have any say in who pays.

Don't take this the wrong way but don't let your (quite natural) anger get in the way of a good resolution.

Ian

[climo]

Quite likely the repairs etc are close to their car insurance deductible so by paying direct they avoid losing any no claims bonus for no gain whatsoever. Add in some extra for inconvenience and take his money. Faster & easier than dealing with insurers.

[CyberKnight]

I dont think they should be contacting you after the accident if the police attended ?
I would contact your insurance and the plod to tell them in your position as it seems they are trying to avoid paying out and when you give them the full costs of repair and any costs involved with losses incurred for health issues such as time of work, physio etc which you are entitled to are they going to pay ?
"I can buy a bike or £80 , you want £xxxx? "

[robing]

I'm not angry about it, I was remarkably calm afterwards!
I thought it was perhaps a bit irregular of them to approach me direct - I will check with the police officer concerned that it's ok,
but otherwise I think I will just claim from them for everything. Luckily I wasn't badly hurt and didn't need any physio, just a couple of appointments with the nurse at my local GP practice to have the wound dressed. I'm semi-retired now so don't work that much especially not in the summer months so don't think I could claim for that.

[Bonefishblues]

Happens all the time - the young man who decided to park his dad's Range Rover in the rear of my wife's car later pushed a note through our door offering to fix the damage at their workshops.

[Psamathe]

.... as it seems they are trying to avoid paying out.....

I don't see where you get that from. They are identifying that they may wish to pay the settlement themselves rather than use their insurance - nothing wrong with that and where the money comes from it in many regards nothing to do with the claimant.

Get quotes, take advice, sort out figures and claim - up to the other party whether they wish to pay of pass on or question the claim. I suspect insurance companies would be just as ready to question a high claim as the other individual.

My only thought is about any medical/personal injury aspect to the claim, particularly for any longer term injury that may come to light some time after the accident.

Ian

[Bonefishblues]

Has your protagonist actually reported this to his insurers yet, do you know?

They will be very anxious not to, given the very significant (and ongoing) hike in premium that this would represent. Not saying you exploit this, but it's useful to bear in mind when entering into financial discussions. If you can't reach agreement, then there's still the professional route, as it were.

[Psamathe]

Has your protagonist actually reported this to his insurers yet, do you know?

They will be very anxious not to, given the very significant (and ongoing) hike in premium that this would represent. Not saying you exploit this, but it's useful to bear in mind when entering into financial discussions. If you can't reach agreement, then there's still the professional route, as it were.

...
It gives all their insurance details etc and a case number from their insurance company.
.....

Ian

[robing]

Has your protagonist actually reported this to his insurers yet, do you know?

They will be very anxious not to, given the very significant (and ongoing) hike in premium that this would represent. Not saying you exploit this, but it's useful to bear in mind when entering into financial discussions. If you can't reach agreement, then there's still the professional route, as it were.

Yes. The letter says they have been in touch with their insurer and they have allocated a reference number. I will call their insurer to verify this.

[Bonefishblues]

Odd offer then, as his insurers can't unknow that which they know, irrespective of whether a claim is actually processed by them, so the driver is going to face a hike. Perhaps he doesn't realise this?

[PH]

The claim is a civil matter and there's no problem them contacting you unless you ask them not to. There doesn't appear to be anything in it about possible criminal proceedings which would of course be wrong. You'll have to decide whether you want to deal with them or the insurers but I wouldn't adjust the claim based on who was paying. Not that you've suggested you would, but I know some who might think that way.

[PH]

Odd offer then, as his insurers can't unknow that which they know, irrespective of whether a claim is actually processed by them, so the driver is going to face a hike. Perhaps he doesn't realise this?

Yes, a lot of people don't realise that a claim is a claim regardless of who pays it out.

[Psamathe]

Odd offer then, as his insurers can't unknow that which they know, irrespective of whether a claim is actually processed by them, so the driver is going to face a hike. Perhaps he doesn't realise this?

My complete guess is that it comes down to no claims bonus. If they don't claim then they don't lose their no claims bonus. If they have any accident (even if no claim was made on their policy) then they have to declare these and that can affect their premium (not their no claims bonus). Given that the Police have recorded the accident I guess they would have to declare the accident to any insurer whether or not they make a claim.

Ian