I was involved in a minor accident last week. It was my fault. I bumped into the back of the car in front, going about 15 miles an hour in rush hour traffic when she slammed her breaks on to let a car who was going in the opposite direction turn right in front of her. So, the damage to my car is to the bumper – it’s hanging off and needs replacing. The thing is, my car is not worth much. It’s an old M reg Astra and I’ve been advised by a friend who knows a lot about cars that it will probably be written off when it goes to the insurance companies garage as the cost to repair will outweigh the value of the vehicle. That said, my excess is £300 and I had a quote from another garage for £120 for replacing the bumper on my car (this was before I got a phone call from the other driver involved that told me she was no longer willing to let me pay for the damage to her car outright because she was "injured" and was claiming personal injury) and my insurance co. told me if I didn’t put my car through the insurance they would still have to send an engineer out to assess the damage and I couldn’t get it fixed until that had happened and it would take me twice as long and maybe cost me more to do it that way so I may as well put my car through the insurance. If they do write it off, can I refuse or contest this? If not, and I buy it back, will I have trouble getting a "written off" car insured, or how much do you reckon my premium will jump up because of it?

thanks
Ed Fox – answer the question, don’t give me a lecture. You dick.
In addition – nice two points there for totally not answering the question. I am fully aware that the accident was my fault, and I am also very aware that it is good manners to allow a driver to turn right in front. It wasn’t, however, good manners for the driver that was turning right to exceed the speed limit to drive down the inside of almost stationery traffic in order to turn right, and it is also not good manners to do an emergency stop in rush hour traffic. HOWEVER, I still acknowledge that the damage to mine and the vehicle in front was MY fault – as I said originally. The above details were irrelevant given that my question was not insomuch a question about my claim, or how much of a reckless driver you deem me, but a question about my car should it be written off. Keep your smug attitude to yourself, and if you’re that much of an a-hole that you can’t manage that, at least try to answer the question or just don’t bother replying.
I am not a "young" driver, but I am a relatively new driver. I do not make a habit of driving up the a**e of other drivers. I obviously did not adhere to the two second rule, or my reactions weren’t quick enough. I was pre-occupied, wrongly, with the need to get home quickly due to a family emergency – none of which I think is an excuse, though seeing as you all came here to judge me rather than help with a genuine concern I thought I’d give, yet again, some more irrelevant information to you. How many more times do I have to acknowledge that it was my fault before somebody will just help me with my question?

I was in a car accident over 2 years ago, not my fault and the other driver was uninsured. The MIB were dealing with my whiplash personal injury claim but have now handed it over to the other drivers previous insurance company (due to legalities with insurance certificates etc.). Anyway, my solicitor has given Tesco insurance co. 21 days to respond to my offer to settle of £12,000. But he warned me that they are part of the RBS group, who usually take ages to settle and will more than likely dispute the amount and want to take it to court. My solicitor is going to issue court proceedings anyway if we do not get a response from Tesco within the next 21 days.

My question is – has anyone taken a personal injury claim through court and can you tell me how long it all takes to get settled?

Or has anyone been in a similar situation and can share their experiences?

I’m really hoping that because this case has been complex and run on for a long time, and is not a strightforward insurance claim, that Tesco will just agree and settle it for a maximum amount – but I’m probably being too optimistic!!

Thanks in advance
x

A woman recently backed into my fiance’s ’69 VW Bug, while trying to park her Jeep Cherokee. She got out of her vehicle, but refused to give her name or any insurance info, then sped off. The hood of the Bug needs to be replaced, & the car repainted, as it was a custom job. We got her license plate # (WA plate), but the SFPD doesn’t follow up on hit and runs, as they happen so often. Through other means, we found the address & a defunct phone # for the person that the car is registered to, & have sent a certified letter requesting either her insurance info or a payment for the estimate of damages (the latter included because we can file in small claims if the demand for payment is ignored). Because he only has liability insurance on his car, his insurance co. won’t do anything unless we have the woman’s insurance info (we do not). A report is on file with the SFPD, but since there was only property damage, they won’t pursue the matter. Is there anything else we can or should do?

When someone has a single car accident and there is no other vehicle or person’s property that is damaged, how does a claim proceed, if the owner decides to file a claim?
Say a car avoided a deer or object in the road and ends up in a ditch or blows a tire and hits a tree or such and the vehicle is still able to operate. Is a police report mandatory? Does the location have to be exact if this occured in a VERY rural location? What steps would an insurance co. take after being notified?
Thanks.
There is NO ONE ELSE involved! The question being asked is for an accident that occured alone, in the middle of nowhere with no personal property or persons involved!.
There has NOT been police report done because police will not come out to some unpaved forest road for a fender bender(although prob. expensive), but still, not a serious accident. Do insurance co’s REQUIRE police reports?
I KNOW police will not respond because there were no injuries, fatalities, or second/third parties involved.
Besides, what if I didn’t have a method to communicate with authorities and report the incident?

My husband was waiting in a line of traffic while another car turned off the road and was rear ended by a pick-up going about 50mph, he was hit from the rear and then my husband hit the car in front and so on. Here’s the problem… We are in our 60s and have a very tight budget. That car – a 2003 Honda SUV was suppose to last us another 10 years. It only had 40,000 miles on it and was in perfect condition. Not a scratch (I always park away from the crowd). So, the insurance co. has said they would give us ,000 for the tottaled car, but the new SUVs cost over ,000. Never having an accident before, we thought that our insurance would pay the value of the car and the car at faults insurance company would pay the difference for a new car. Found out that is not the way it works. So, we have been paying the insurance company for car insurance for about 40 years without any claims and now when we need them we find that they will not replace the car. Is this right?

I’m from out of state and I was in the process of switching over license, registration, insurance to MD and I got into an accident in the couple of days that I was technically uninsured. I hydroplaned on a rainy highway and crashed into another person. The other person had insurance, and his front bumper was scratched but otherwise the car was fine, and he was fine. I offered to fix his car but now he won’t answer my calls and a ‘legal assistant’ supposedly speaking on behalf of him informed me that he made a claim to his insurance co for property damage, personal injury, lost wages etc regarding the incident and that the ins co will turn to me afterwards.

I thought all ins had PIP coverage of 2500. would the ins co really go through the trouble of suing me for such a minor incident?

somebody hit my car and did some damage to my car,i had some repair and some rental car bills my insurance company wanted me to go to certain body shop which i did not like so i went to my known body shop well the repair bills they paid only cover some of total bills which i do not mind but i had two rental bills they only paid one one 1 other $ 777even though my coverage is for 30 days they did not pay $ 777 bill . my insurance sued the other car insurance company and arbitrator judge in my favor the other insurance repaid to my insurance but i am still out $ 777 now none of insurance co. answer my phones for the rental bill for $ 777 in state of new york what is my option to cover rental , small claims say i can not sue insurance co can complain to NY insurance commissioner or what can i do. Thanks

Here is the story:
My fiance drives a truck and a couple of months ago he rear-ended a girl in a honda accord. Nothing serious, but her car was slightly damaged. When the police arrived to make a report, my fiance was issued a ticket for the accident and the girl was also issued a ticket because her car insurance had expired.
Later that day he contacts his agent and they tell him that if she was driving without any coverage at the time of the accident, any claim she files with his insurance co. will be denied. They retrieved a police report to confirm. He was also told not to worry about the matter any further.

He gets a call today informing him that she did file a claim, he/his insurance company will have to pay and on top of that she is filing personal injury and wants to sue.

Were we just misinformed? She shouldn’t even have been on the road in the first place if she didnt have any insurance. Is there anything we can do regarding this? We live in Louisiana. Thanks for your help
I understand he was at fault and of course has to pay for damages now but I don’t understand why his insurance company would tell him they would deny her claim and not pay because hers was expired

asked for a settlement of ,000 my insurance denied it and offered, ,000. That amount was refused and now I am being sued for the maxium of 0,000. The legal rep from my insurance co is now saying in eleven years he has seen the company back out of claims on freud. I am wondering why this attorney would tell me this and he claims he is working for me not the ins company even though they are paying him Do I need my own lawyer?

I had my car backed into in August.

The man was cited for improper backing.

He did have insurance.

I have been battling with them since August to get paid,,there was a considerable amount of damage to my car as he was going fast and kept going in a panic.

The Co. (Allstate) has said they have to "contact" him to confirm fault,,in Ct where I am there is No fault..but they keep playing this tune…there was a ticket as I pointed out to the Co..this is clear of who’s fault it is…my car was parked and was not moving.

Can I sue the Insurance co. for double if they continue to refuse to pay me? Or is this just for personal injury?

Can I ask for loss of vehicle use only if I use a rental?

Is there anyone (ha ha) I can file a complaint with regarding the lack of cooperation with them,,I know FTC handles businesses but are insurance companies above all?

My car was damaged and I would like to be compensated..my own insurance is at the lowest so they do not cover me,,won’t even help me.

How can they take so long?
I am so frustrated.