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Hi all - I'm looking for some advice from those of you who are unfortunate to have had experience in the insurance claim process. Apart from the distant past when I was not the most careful of drivers, I am new to it all.
I was involved in a minor accident which I believe is other driver's fault. Due to cars parked on her side of the narrow road she was over the centre line. When we passed our mirrors clashed. We stopped and exchanged details. My mirror housing had been knocked into the "park" position, but the mirror itself was clearly dislodged. I decided to wait until I got home before examining it. It had indeed come detached from the motor assembly, but I saw that 2 of the 8 plastic clips which attach it were broken.
I phoned my broker to report the incident and I asked about the process. I have protected NCB which allows 2 claims in 5 years, but being a pessimistic person when it comes to risk (which should be obvious from some of my other posts!) I was worried that if I made a claim for this and something happened (e.g. the 3rd party was uninsured), then I'd end up using one of those 2 claims for something that cost less than my excess. So I told the broker that I did not plan to claim, at least initially.
When I took a close look at the mirror, I decided that since I had the pieces of both broken clips, I would try gluing them back on. A bit of superglue and then some resin glue just to be sure, and 24 hours later I was fairly sure I had made it good as new. Indeed it clipped back on fine and I forgot about it.
Well today I got a letter from my insurer about the accident. It starts by stating that they had been "notified", but then went on to state that they need information from me to "validate this claim". So I have just given my account to my insurer but am still a bit confused. Now that the matter is with the insurers, it seems that my decision to avoid the risk of using one of my 2 claims in 5 years has been superseded. So considering that there is a chance that my glue repair might fail, I'm thinking that I ought to make a claim for a new part.
When I told the advisor this he replied that I would have to deal directly with the 3rd party's insurer. He also said that I should expect the 3rd party insurer to contact me. This confused me. I asked why I do not make a claim with my insurer who would then claim against the other driver's insurance. He then said it was because there is no claim. So I asked if this was just a matter of notification and he confirmed - the other driver had reported the accident and so the 2 insurers had got together to confirm the details. I had assumed that the other driver was making a claim against me.
Does this seem like the correct process? I had always assumed that in any accident I just deal with my own insurer and not that of any other party. I thought that's what comprehensive insurance is for. Is it right that I should expect the other driver's insurer to contact me directly about the accident?
I was involved in a minor accident which I believe is other driver's fault. Due to cars parked on her side of the narrow road she was over the centre line. When we passed our mirrors clashed. We stopped and exchanged details. My mirror housing had been knocked into the "park" position, but the mirror itself was clearly dislodged. I decided to wait until I got home before examining it. It had indeed come detached from the motor assembly, but I saw that 2 of the 8 plastic clips which attach it were broken.
I phoned my broker to report the incident and I asked about the process. I have protected NCB which allows 2 claims in 5 years, but being a pessimistic person when it comes to risk (which should be obvious from some of my other posts!) I was worried that if I made a claim for this and something happened (e.g. the 3rd party was uninsured), then I'd end up using one of those 2 claims for something that cost less than my excess. So I told the broker that I did not plan to claim, at least initially.
When I took a close look at the mirror, I decided that since I had the pieces of both broken clips, I would try gluing them back on. A bit of superglue and then some resin glue just to be sure, and 24 hours later I was fairly sure I had made it good as new. Indeed it clipped back on fine and I forgot about it.
Well today I got a letter from my insurer about the accident. It starts by stating that they had been "notified", but then went on to state that they need information from me to "validate this claim". So I have just given my account to my insurer but am still a bit confused. Now that the matter is with the insurers, it seems that my decision to avoid the risk of using one of my 2 claims in 5 years has been superseded. So considering that there is a chance that my glue repair might fail, I'm thinking that I ought to make a claim for a new part.
When I told the advisor this he replied that I would have to deal directly with the 3rd party's insurer. He also said that I should expect the 3rd party insurer to contact me. This confused me. I asked why I do not make a claim with my insurer who would then claim against the other driver's insurance. He then said it was because there is no claim. So I asked if this was just a matter of notification and he confirmed - the other driver had reported the accident and so the 2 insurers had got together to confirm the details. I had assumed that the other driver was making a claim against me.
Does this seem like the correct process? I had always assumed that in any accident I just deal with my own insurer and not that of any other party. I thought that's what comprehensive insurance is for. Is it right that I should expect the other driver's insurer to contact me directly about the accident?
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