Claiming from driver's insurer.

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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SeanieG
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Joined: 22 Aug 2007, 3:30pm
Location: Sheffield

Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by SeanieG »

Good evening,
I'd be interested to know about experiences of claiming against a driver's insurance.
This morning I had a head-on collision with a car, which resulted in minor injuries to me and damage to my bike. I contacted the driver's insurer with details and they are to contact the driver.
From your experience, am I likely to get anywhere, and and if so, am I likely to receive the full cost of a new bike, or is it likely to be reduced because of deprecation?
Any experiences or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks very much,
Sean.
I have an opinion. It might not always be thoroughly thought through, but it's there.
roubaixtuesday
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Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by roubaixtuesday »

The insurers will likely replace bike, clothing, helmet, pay expenses etc in full.

Personal injury will be their concern.

Get a solicitor, to represent you.
hemo
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by hemo »

Did you report the incident /accident to the plod ?
A legal reponsibility if injury was caused.
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by thirdcrank »

hemo wrote:Did you report the incident /accident to the plod ?
A legal reponsibility if injury was caused.


As a cyclist, the OP has no responsibilties with regard to reporting to the police. It also sounds as though the driver has fulfilled their responsibilities - assuming the information they have provided is correct.
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gaz
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by gaz »

If you have access to it, through Cycling UK or other club membership, union, home insurance or whatever, get legal advice. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=49627
eileithyia
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by eileithyia »

Get legal advise.
Get checked over by Dr. or at A+E for injuries (you may find some on going issues later) but it also records any damage that is current, even if it is only bruising.
Get photographs of damage to clothing, skin, bike etc.
While you don't have responsibility to report it to the police, do so... if the driver hasn't he has broken the law.
You may well find the other side tries to reduce based on depreciation of items.... this is where injury compensation can be useful as it helps make up the shortfall.
Be prepared for it to take a few months.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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SeanieG
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Location: Sheffield

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by SeanieG »

Thanks folks,
I've photos of the driver, the position of the car, my injuries, my bike, etc. I attended A&E and got mended. I reported to the police and his insurer (he hadn't done this). At the moment I think I've done all I can - I suspect it'll take a while to get sorted.
As an aside, how clued up are insurers about bikes? My bike is quite old, but as my everyday commute has been well looked after and upgraded. Only the frame, seat post, stem and bars remain from the original.
Thank again.
I have an opinion. It might not always be thoroughly thought through, but it's there.
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by thirdcrank »

Concentrate on the main things which at this stage are preserving evidence and considering whether to get proper legal advice.

I'd say there's no point bothering about who the driver has notified. There is no universal requirement on the driver to report this to the police. Itseems they stopped, gave you their details and one way or another gave you enough information about their insurance for you to be able to contact the insurer to make a claim. While the Road Traffic Act requires them to produce the actual certificate of insurance, I'd say they have done enough. Their insurance policy will require them to notify the insurer of the crash, that's a contractual requirement only.

You are understandably worried about your bike but in the big scheme of things, injuries tend to attract more compensation than damage. AFAIK, the replacement of a bike is chicken feed compared with many injury claims. However, recent changes have reduced the extent of legal help available to a claimant with minor injuries.
=============================================================================

PS A fairly common situation is where a driver offers informal compensation in return for not involving their insurer and then reneges. I'd be grateful there's non of that here.
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gaz
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by gaz »

SeanieG wrote:As an aside, how clued up are insurers about bikes?

The driver's insurance company are there to protect both the driver's interests and their own. They do not work for you.

They may dispute the driver's liability, they may suggest that your cycle/accessories have depreciated in value, or they may make a reasonable offer to you at the outset.

If they don't do the latter then legal advice and assistance is better than forum advice on these matters.
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SeanieG
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Location: Sheffield

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by SeanieG »

"PS A fairly common situation is where a driver offers inqformal compensation in return for not involving their insurer and then reneges. I'd be grateful there's non of that here."

That offer was made, and declined.
I have an opinion. It might not always be thoroughly thought through, but it's there.
thirdcrank
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Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by thirdcrank »

... That offer was made, and declined. ...


You may never know whether it was made in good faith or as part of a strategy. I fancy a lot of drivers change their mind when they have received saloon bar advice.

gaz is correct about the possibility that the insurer may not accept liability. There are two parts to a successful claim: the first is either an admission on liability or a willingness to settle without that; the second is the matter of how much? I fancy that insurers are more cautios about the first if they know that the second will involve big money. They may be unlikely to waste money arguing the toss with a relatively small claim.
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SeanieG
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Location: Sheffield

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by SeanieG »

This was a head on, with the car fully on the wrong side of the road, I had nowhere to go - difficult to see how liability can be disputed...

Driver apologised immediately (which was nice). Then claimed he didn't see me.

We'll see where it ends up.
I have an opinion. It might not always be thoroughly thought through, but it's there.
thirdcrank
Posts: 36776
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm

Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by thirdcrank »

You asked about other people's experience and the one that springs to mind - involving a car on the wrong side of a dual carriageway whose driver denied being in the wrong - was posted by my hero stoobs. Unfortunately, his crash was some time ago so some things may have changed and it's a while since he visited the forum, but his experience shows that no matter what happened, you have to be prepared for court if the other side don't pay up. Note also that stoobs had that priceless character, an independent witness who supported his version.

viewtopic.php?p=68142#p68142

viewtopic.php?p=79774#p79774

My favourite bit:

At court, a barrister even asked me if I had legal training, to which I replied "No, I just followed the on-line instructions - even a monkey could do it". It's easy to do, and it gives you great power over the insurers.

:D
PH
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by PH »

eileithyia wrote:While you don't have responsibility to report it to the police, do so... if the driver hasn't he has broken the law.

This is often repeated but simply wrong, there is no law that obliges the driver to report it to the Police unless they haven't provided the information at the scene.
(2)The driver of the [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address and also the name and address of the owner and the identification marks of the vehicle.
(3)If for any reason the driver of the [F1mechanically propelled vehicle] does not give his name and address under subsection (2) above, he must report the accident.
(4)A person who fails to comply with subsection (2) or (3) above is guilty of an offence.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170
PH
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Re: Claiming from driver's insurer.

Post by PH »

SeanieG wrote:From your experience, am I likely to get anywhere, and and if so, am I likely to receive the full cost of a new bike, or is it likely to be reduced because of deprecation?

The level of compensation should return you to the position you were in prior to the incident. In theory, that might well be a second hand bike, in practice it rarely is because they don't want the responsibility of it. They may look at a repair if that's economical and they're opinion may differ from yours - I ended up with a repaired bike after I'd already replaced it at my expense, thinking they'd replace because the cost was about the same as the repair... Most likely they'll offer you a new replacement from their preferred supplier who offers them a discount. If you feel their offer doesn't return you to the pre incident position you should reject it.
I'd agree with the advice to contact a solicitor, if you're a Cycling UK member, use the accident line. But if your injuries are below a certain amount (£1,000 I think though there was talk about it rising to £5,000) you can't claim their legal costs, so it's usually uneconomical to use them to act on your behalf, though that shouldn't stop you asking for advice which is usually in the first instance free. There were also some changes a few years back where your solicitors success fees changed from being added on to the compensation to being paid from it, they're usually around 25% of the compensation so unless you need their services you're losing that from your claim. Again it's something to get proper advice about rather than relying on forum opinion, but when you're asking for experiences be aware that it may have changed since someone else's claim.
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