need advice? !Car insurance claim!

C

cgal

Guest
Hi

I was hoping someone could maybe shed some light on a claim I have with an insurance company.

Here's what happened - my boyf is a named driver on my policy and he had a bad crash last night in my car. there was one other car involved.
basically traffic lights at a junction where out of order and the other car was coming out from the crossroad and hit my car at the drivers side -it then spinned around and hit a lampost on the other side of the road -this impacted on the passenger side. Lucky for my boyf he came away with only a gash on his forehead - the air bag didnt come out on impact and he hit his head off the steering wheel.
the other car was damaged on one side - the drivers door was badly damaged -but my car was a total write off.
Both cars where towed away.
(it just so happens that the corporation worker who was the first person at the scene of the accident, had just arrived to fix the broken traffic lights)
My boyfriend got the other drivers details etc..

My car was a yaris'99. I bought it 2 years ago .It was my first car and It was in great nick! passed its NCT- and had low milage 67 k. I was planning on holding on to it even though it was an old car because it was so reliable and economical!!Now here I am without a car
I had full comp insurance the other person had third party insurance does that matter ?
Now I dont know what will happen?
who will be liable? .....Would the council be liable as no alternitive markings where in place at junction to indicate traffic light failure?

will I be able to get a reasonable amount for my car? who decides the price? how long does it take for a claim to go through?

My boyf lost his job so Im the only person earing at the moment so we are not financially sound to buy a car.
Can someone who had similar experience or familiar how claims work give me an idea what to expect?

Any info would be much appreciated.
Many thanks
 
firstly let that be a lesson to your BF regarding the non use of a seat belt. lucky he wasnt thrown through the windscreen!! the drivers air bag will not detonate unless an impact was to the front of the car as there are sensors beneath the bumper

if the lights were out of order was there a sign stating out of order?

someone has to be held liable and its up to garda to investigate

third party insurance....noting wrong there lucky all vechicles were insured!
 
If traffic lights are faulty .... you proceed with caution and give way to traffic on your right.

It sounds as if it's your boyfriend who's at fault.

If you are liable both you and the other car are covered. You probably won't get much in settlement for your car and your premium will go up next time around.

An assessor appointed by the insurance company will chek out the damages to the cars and it will go from there.

If things run smoothly claims should be settled in a matter of weeks unless the other driver decides to sue for injuries etc.

First thing you need to do is inform your insurance company. They'll investigate and they'll decide if you're liable or not. They'll also decide if your car is a write off or not.

Were Gardaí informed? If not ... your boyfriend should go to the local station and report it as insurance company will ask that.

If your boyfriend has medical costs they can be claimed off your insuance.
 
yes the gardai arrived at the accident last night and took a report.they then dropped both drivers home.
We rang the insurance company first thing this morning to notify them.
My boyfriend was wearing his seat belt thank god!

I dont know who is to blame _ im trying to work it out - but obv I wasnt there so....
he wasnt familiar with the area and there was no signs on the road to say signals where out of order
I think the other car must have been going at a greater speed as my car was thrown to the other side of the road.
Hopf car insurance comp will ring with an update soon
Thanks for the insight anyway
 
First stay calm, accidents happen everyday and it just happened to involve your car on this occasion. This is why we buy car insurance. The main thing is no one was hurt.

The first thing you should do is contact your insurance company and inform them. This is done irrespective of who is at fault. You can inform them if you believe the other driver was at fault. Were they Garda called to the scene? Did either party admit liability at the scene?

Your boy friend will in due course be asked to fill out a full accident report. You may well go back and take photo's to illustrate what happened if needed. Your insurance company should walk you through all stages as needed.

It's unlikely the council will be liable as both cars should have stopped if they seen there was a traffic light junction not functioning.
It could be then argued that traffic should yield to traffic from the right and it does sound like the other car was coming from the right as it hit your drivers door. But it does sound like you boyfriend was on the junction first as from what you say, he was hit from the side by the front of the other car.
If you claim from the other driver, and are found to be correct, their third party insurance will cover your repair or car value more likely (As value will be less than repair cost). If its found your boyfriend is at fault then the other driver will claim from your insurance, but as yours is comprehensive then you can also claim from your own policy for the value of your car. If this happens you may as well claim from your insurance for your car as due to the other claimant, your no claim bonus will be gone anyway. I have to say an 11 year yaris is not worth much money irrespective of any attchment you had to the car. Whichever insurance company has to pay out will access what it's worth.
It may also be deemed both their faults. In this case both pay for their own. You would be crazy to claim for such an old car from your policy in this instance, as it will drive up your future insurance costs far more than what you will be paid for by the insurer for the car. Not to mention losing any no claims bonus you have gained.

You may be entitled to the use of a car for a few days under your comprehensive policy. You need to talk all this through with your insurer ASAP to look at you options and their implications. Your insurance company will NOT care about the fact your car was in an accident, they are only concerned if there is a claim made againt the policy (by you or other party). This is what costs them. Remember insurance is a product and you have paid for a service. Call the local Garda and ask their advice also about the accident and their opinion of it.
I would start looking for another cheap old car even if it's the last thing you want to think about right now.
Dont worry it was an old car and no one was hurt. It happens 20 time a day all over the country. Learn from it and move on. You will feel much better in a few days time.
Chin up and good luck.
 
Thank you for your advice McClure. I feel somewhat more in the loop ..
Are you saying then, that if it comes down to it and the insurer offers to pay the value of my car- low as that may be given the year and make- I should not claim as it will increase any future premiums I may have even with different companies ? i have never had an accident myself - it was my BF who was driving.
Does that not mean that paying my monthly direct debit to them for the past 2 years was all but in vain....
 
Sorry to hear about the accident but I'm glad no-one was seriously injured. Cars can be replaced.
cgal said:
... Does that not mean that paying my monthly direct debit to them for the past 2 years was all but in vain....
Click to expand...
First of all remember that unlike certain other insurances, motor insurance is a legal necessity - you have to have it to drive around, so from that point of view your monthly payments have not been wasted.

I don't know what value you'd put on your poor little Yaris, but realistically I'd say €1,500 - €1,700 would be the top whack on a good day.

I hope it goes well for you.
 
I had composed a reply to the OP earlier, but before submitting it Troy Mc Clure had basically said everything that I had wanted to say (& more).

I'd firstly like to just say that I can understand how the OP is feeling - first car.....first accident.....first claim. I remember how scary & upsetting that was.

But now I have a question.

Let's just say that the OP's boyfriend was at fault & she decides not to claim for the damage to her Yaris. Does she have the option of just claiming for the damage done to the other car? If so, will this mean that her no claims bonus won't be affected as much as it would have been if she claimed for the damage to both cars?

Or is a claim a claim as regards no claims bonus?

Just a quickie to the OP: try not to get any more upset - it was an accident - accidents happen - thankfully nobody was seriously injured. Ddon't feel as if your insurance premium payments have been in vain - they haven't. You'd be in a hell of a mess now if you hadn't bothered.

Check your policy now to see if your entitled to a loan car.
 
Claim is a claim regardless of how much is paid out for which car.
 
Hi

I picked up a replacement car this morning, which I will have for the next week.
I have yet to hear back from the insurance people to see what stage my claim is at or the garage who are assessing my car.
Thank you everyone for your kind words of advice, I really appreciate it.
 

Where does she say he wasnt wearing a seat belt???

Airbags are not always detonated by a frontal sensor, there is a sensor in the seatbelt also and there are also sensors inside the doors for side impact protection ect.

She doesnt give a clear explanation as to the scene and where the other car exactly came from so could be the other car was at fault or even both drivers!..
 
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