Had a bit of a crash - need advice

[amafzal88]

Hi all,

So the inevitable has happened, a bit of a crash!...Was sat in stop start traffic and as at one point the car in front moved ahead I did so too but she suddenly stopped and I failed to stop in time and ran into the back of this Kia Rio, as a result the Kia ran into the back of the Audi A4 in front of it.

Fortunately I was only going about 10mph at most so it wasn't such a bad for all parties involved, I think the most damaged sustained has been on my own car with the front bumper and drivers side headlight being a bit offset their original position (plus a minor dent in the bonnet). Damage to the Rio was a bit of crack in the paint on the rear bumper along with scratches on the front bumper and lastly the Audi in front didn't sustain much damage except for a line on the rear bumper.

So I am guessing its a majority paint job for all the damages except for mine, we have all reported the accident to the our insurers, however I am thinking if the damage isn't too bad I could pay it out of my own pocket in order to save having my next 5 years of insurance premiums being affected and also loosing the NCD (which I only have 2 years worth of so not bored too much really about that!)

So what you guys think would be the best way?, pay it out of my pocket or let it go through insurance?

Just for reference some pictures of the damage....This is my A4

This is the Rio

And finally this is the other A4

 

[Scottyg]

Unfortunately you have now told your insurance company so it will go down as a 'fault accident' whether you go through them or not.
Best course of action is go ahead with the claim and pay your excess.
I'm guessing you don't have protected NCB??

 

[desertstorm]

You may be surprised about the cost of repairs to those two cars. What if they want to claim for whiplash/ personal injury / hire car expenses whilst their cars are repaired.
Probably best to take it through the insurance and then it's all taken care of.

 

[lfcrule1972]

Bumpers are scarily expensive in my experience, as above it's probably best to go through your insurance company in this case

 

[joinerman]

Yes now you've told your ins co you marked down as a bad risk whether you claim or not

 

[Nilz]

Now you have told insurance, it will go through them, however, i know someone who had this happen to them and in the end in your scenario your insurance would cover the damage to your car and the kia, but the kia insurance company end up covering the damage to the audi as it was them that went into the back of the audi.

May not be the case with you, but it was something that has happened previously, so you may come off lighter than expected.

The argument was that the kia didnt leave enough distance between them and the audi, so they were at fault regardless of the situation.

I have used the cars in your situation to explain the situation that I know of.

 

[AndyT306]

if you don't claim then you don't have to declare a claim on future insurance renewals - but 2/3 bumpers will cost a heck load more than your excess

 

[KrisKrk]

I had same situatuation.
I banged a small Vauxhall Adam Glam? (Looks like Corsa but it isn't) from hehing and this went into the E class.
Both of them claimed from my insurance company as I was the last one.
Vauxhall had some movement on the rear bumper with scratches also to the front bumper. E class had hairline cracks to the paint of the rear bumper and headrest withplash prevention exploded (headeest springs out to sustain your hed in the same position and prevent it to go back with force).
My A6 have chrome grill surround cracked (planning to replace it with RS6 honeycombe style, plastidipped matt black) and small dent to the front bumper.
She took my down to my pen...s from that Vauxhall as called ambulance, police and stayed stiff in the car.
My premiums shot up, up and away ...
You should offer them cash solution on the first place but as being alrwady said, it might have been more expensive. To paint a bumper takes probbably the same amount of paint as to do the bonnet. Majority of paint goes in the air as you trying to work with the curves.
You have to deal with it now for the next 5 years, I'm afraid.
Oh, don't know if you but I got the "slap in the wrist" letter from the police as this incident could be classified as "driving without due care".

 

[lfcrule1972]

I got one of those letters together with the choice of an all day driver alertness course or a potential court case, points and a fine! I went with the former.....

 

[DolomiTTe]

Unfortunately, both of the other drivers will, and probably already have, be hounded aggressively to claim for personal injury if any insurance company has been informed.

Someone pulled out of a side street into my previous car 4 years ago and I'm still being harassed by such companies now, even though I have stated over and over again that I was not injured at all. To my horror, they even suggested that I lie to make a claim, which many people obviously do, which in turn causes our insurance costs to rise. They are so persuading and manipulative in the way they put words in your mouth, and I can see why dishonest or gullible people are coerced into making false claims.

 

[amafzal88]

sorry for being a bit quiet, I have not checked this site for a few days.

Update is that i've recieved a letter from the insuracne (Tesco bank) stating that they have now assessed and concluded that I was at fault and both other cars are now claiming insurance and injury claims against my insurance!

This will really be a kicker for me, I just dont know what to do now really instead of just biting the bullet for the next 5 years on this one!

Do I also get my own car fixed on the insurance too? ps my excess is only 100 on the policy so atleast thats not too bad.

I did say to them that the car in front should not be my fault as the car should have had enough distance or atleast foot on the brakes, is it was a slight hill I think I will go back to them to say its not my fault for the 3rd car!, its worth a try I think.

Luckily enough there was no police or ambulance involved at the scene so it cant become a police case really.

 

[AndyT306]

you should get your car repaired too as long as you are comprehensive, so for £100 it seems a no brainer - my insurance didn't go up massively after my last claim, the value doesn't really matter either, a claim is a claim

 

[amafzal88]

Yes I do have fully comp so its a bit of relief really, but what you say about the value of the claim, are you sure?

As when you have to declare your accidents in the history, you have to mention the value of the settlement so I am sure if the claim is for a few 1000s then that would certainly impact the premium next year dont you think?

 

[KrisKrk]

The third car will obviously claim from your insurer simply because the car that you've hit from behind wouldn't hit him if not you.

There is nothing you can do now apart of biting the bullet for the next 5 years.

Your car will be fixed only if you claim from your own insurer. Pay £100.00 excess and they'll fix it for you but, there is down side to it.
Your insurer will increase your premiums even further if you do so.

If your damage is not that big, get it done yourself or forget about it.

I have a cracked grill slightly and visible spot of what's behind the bumper (crash bar corner) after the same situation you had. Three cars involved, I'm at fault, premiums sky high, Police slap on the wrist and another 4 years to wait for it to clear.
Haven't done it yet as will be replacing the whole grill soon.

Hope All of us here could shed some light on to your query.

All the best

 

[KrisKrk]

Yes I do have fully comp so its a bit of relief really, but what you say about the value of the claim, are you sure?

As when you have to declare your accidents in the history, you have to mention the value of the settlement so I am sure if the claim is for a few 1000s then that would certainly impact the premium next year dont you think?

Correct, Higher final claim amount, higher your next year premium

 

[Chris90]

If they claiming damage costs and injury costs....you might aswell just pay your premium anyhow and get yours fixed through insurance.

It'll flag up regardless of a claim against you from 3rd parties so dont bother being out of pocket.

 

[amafzal88]

Correct, Higher final claim amount, higher your next year premium

So I had a chat with the insurance and they said they dont actually look at the claim value, they work out the next years premium based on at fault or not.....thats confusing me tbh now.

The guy said it doesnt matter whether I get the car fixed on the insurance or not, the accident is going to have the same amount of impact on my insurance.

 

[lfcrule1972]

I'm sure insurance companies are deliberately vague and waffly to keep us all in the dark and to their advantage.....

The lack of clear advice really annoys me....

 

[desertstorm]

The value of the claim doesn't come into it when it comes to insurance costs. You are not going to have a clue how much personal injury compensation the other people claim. These kinds of things can go on for years in some cases.
All the insurance companies really want to know is were you at fault in the accident.
https://www.uswitch.com/car-insurance/car-insurance-drivers-at-fault-claims/
Whether you hit a Corsa or a Maybach a claim is a claim. If your excess is only £100 get your car fixed at the same time.
If you are young or your insurance is expensive consider getting a protected NCB in the future.
If you run into the back of a car it's 99% your fault as far as the insurance companies are concerned. The fact that the car you hit may of only been 1 inch behind the car in front of it and they didn't have the handbrake on makes no difference to the insurance company. The cars wouldn't have hit each other if you hadn't shunted into the the other car.
The cost of car accidents can be mind boggling. If a fatality is involved it's around 2 million pounds.The average light bump 25K . A more serious accident would be over 200K.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/9275/rrcgb2011-02.pdf

 

[45bvtc]

If you run into the back of a car it's 99% your fault

Just for a laugh Karl, and I do agree with your view 100% and NO question and that is why...

For example and in particular: when Hamilton famously crashed sideways off the grass and into the back of Rosberg in Barcelona 2016 so many of the Hamilton fans and pundits blamed Rosberg.

NOT me, unsurprisingly, I'll have you know: so just wondering if you'd agree that it was 99% Hamilton's FAULT!!!

Hope you and your family are well...

 

[desertstorm]

Hi John, The stewards apportioned no blame it was a racing accident. If the accident had been assesed as normal car accidents are then Hamilton would probably be blamed.
https://www.insurancehotline.com/fault-determination-in-common-scenarios/

 

[KrisKrk]

So I had a chat with the insurance and they said they dont actually look at the claim value, they work out the next years premium based on at fault or not.....thats confusing me tbh now.

The guy said it doesnt matter whether I get the car fixed on the insurance or not, the accident is going to have the same amount of impact on my insurance.

It looks like it will depend on the insurer.
been told that when had the same situation.

 

[amafzal88]

It looks like it will depend on the insurer.
been told that when had the same situation.

Have you gone through a renewal yet?, if so how much of a bump was it on your premium?