Need Help Claiming Off Insurance?

[Andy J]

Hi there, today I was involved in accident that wasn't my fault. I was waiting at a 'T' junction indicating left when a Range Rover rear ended me. Fortunatley my main witness was an off duty police woman who helped me sort out the necessary details and called her colleagues. The bike was thrown out infront of me and I ended up in the middle of the junction, fortunatley nothing was coming the other way. I was knocked off my feet and suffered back pain where I hit the floor and was transported by ambulance to the nearest A&E in Chertsey.

I suffered quite severe shock, I was vomitting and suffer from an anxiety disooder which didn't help, I was thrown across the road, and the driver admittted full lialbility. Following an Xray I appeard fine just a muscular strain too my lower back similar to whiplash occurence where I was thown forwards then backwards eventaully landing on the floor.

If an injury is involed do I simply claim through my insurance or do I need to contact another authority?I'm quite young and never been in accident before, any advice or guidance would be appreicaited as I have to sort this out by myself.

Thanks, all the best.

Andy.

[G]

You should be able to use a 'no win no fee' solicitor to sort it out.
You have to notify the police, but sounds like that's been sorted.

Possible your insurance may offer something like this (as they often make a lot more money by referring non-fault claims than from the insurance themselves), but best to find a decent one yourself.

[Pete.]

Hi Andy.

You contact your insurance company, tell them you had an accident and the circumstances over the phone. They will either take down all the details over the phone or send you a claim form to fill those details in. You also have to inform the police within 24hrs because there's an injury.

Make sure you keep a record of everything that has happened, separate from the form you fill in so that you have a clear time line of events, the time, date, location, what happened, where you went (hospital) and how, the name of the witness and a contact number or address. Just get a notepad and jot stuff down. If you have to go to the doctor or to the hospital or even if you have to phone anyone for anything connected to the accident - write it down as a lot of it will be recoverable. Even if your mum runs you places etc - record it.

What sort of insurance do you have, is it third party or comprehensive? If it's comprehensive, your insurance will do all the leg-work, if it's third party then because the claim is not your fault a claims solicitor/management company will either be appointed by your insurer or you will choose one yourself.

There's a member here called TC who is an expert in this, perhaps you could send him a PM and ask him for his advice and recommendation.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[G]

While if you have got fully comprehensive insurance you can get them to do everything, it's worth considering if you want this.
While it's unlikely in your case, they've got the option of going 50/50 etc - personally I'd not use my insurance company for the various possible issues - if nothing else, you get the choice if the company used.

[Andy J]

[G]

[Andy J]

[Pete.]

Yes, you have to notify your insurers. You don't have anything to lose by it because you'll have to declare the non-fault accident when you come to insure next year anyway.

You DON'T have to use the claims management company/solicitors they refer you to, if they do. That is your choice to make.

Who are you insured with?
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[G]

It's probably best to, just so they know what's going on.
Has been heard that the 'third party' has claimed a bike reversed in to them at speed!

[neil.]

Tell your insurers so they know - you can't claim from them anyway as you're cover is third party only. As said, they'll pass you on to a claims management company who do all the work for you and they send you forms and things to fill in so you can provide an accident report to them.

I had an accident last April which wasn't my fault but there were no other witnesses and the other driver is denying liability (they are lying) so it's going to court after the claims management company working for me got no joy from the other driver's insurers. They are funding the lot, which includes the costs of providing me with a hire bike, even if it goes 50/50 I don't pay anything towards it (hire bike, court costs etc). I made absolutely sure that this was the case before I proceeded with the claim.

Only thing is, if it went 50/50, I'd lose 3 years of no claims and have an at-fault accident on my record, which I'd be annoyed about out of sheer principle, but after making a few 'test' quotes on comparison sites, my premiums won't go up by much, say £50 for the year extra, so it's not a huge financial impact for me. Would imagine it would hurt the other driver's car insurance premiums a lot more as they're young as well.

Since you've got a very good witness and the other driver admitted fault, the only thing that might be argued is the amount of money being claimed for, but that's for the claims management company/solicitors and other driver's insurers to hammer out, not you. Some of the correspondence you might receive may look daunting (full of legal jargon etc), but in reality it really isn't much to worry about, as a lot of it is just part of going through the motions of getting your claim resolved.

The company I was using are BLD, who provided me with a decent service, in my opinion. The hire bike was delivered on time and in good condition and they kept me updated regularly, right up until they passed it on to a solicitor who is now taking it to court. Incidentally this solicitor has been excellent so far as well, clarifying everything and taking a lot of time to explain things I've been unsure of over the phone and in writing.

[mossi123uk]

exaggerate your injuries to get more money, when they send you to get checked out for your claim act like stuff is hurting as much as possible and thats its affecting everything in your life like playing sport, having sex etc

[Rogerborg]

Sorry to hear this happened.

Tell your insurer, you've got nothing to lose. However, you do not have to use the claims management outfit they pass you on to, it's entirely your choice. You could in theory even handle your own claim, but with those circumstances, an admission of liability and that witness, any claims management company would wet themselves at the opportunity to get their finger in the pie.

However, don't expect a quick payout since the injuries could end up having long term complications even if you're feeling OK right now. If the case drags on, you can ask for an interim payout, since it's really just a matter of how much you're going to receive.

Definitely record and ask for all your costs - given the circumstances I think you're pretty safe accepting a hire bike until yours is repaired or written off.

The member you're looking for is "T.C", with the period. He does this for a living.

And a Range Rover, what a surprise! Any sign of the driver being done for Due Care and Attention?
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Fisty]

[Rogerborg]

Heh, that.

And I've also just realised that another member that you could PM is "AndyJ", without the space. He works for an insurance company. Spoooky.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Vincent]

Give these lot a ring/email, they'll tell you everything you need to know:-

https://www.whitedalton.co.uk/contact-us.html
____________________
Space Is Deep

[janner_10]

[Andy J]

[G]

Yes, they should also cover clothing and any other 'losses' you may have encountered.

[Andy J]

Thankyou everyone for all you help.

(ps thanks for clearing that up G)

I found out today I do not have legal aid with my insurance company, so I'm going to deal with the whole thing privatley. Which means they won't assist me if I need help with injuries, and although he admitted liability if he changes his mind I don't think my insurance company will battle my case for bike damages either.

I remember when starting my policy thinking my insurance was rather good value for money my own iggnorance has now paid a greater price, hopefully things will work out though.

[G]

The only time insurance companies themselves will help is when it's fully comp and they're basically doing it to reclaim their own money.

As said, a lot now do offer this 'service', but it's merely a case of them passing on your case to another company and receiving commission for doing so.
You could still do the same privately, or you could use a different company.

[T.C]

[Andy J]

[Vincent]

I used White Dalton myself after an accident a few years ago, which is why I recommended them. They did a great job, not only by claiming for everything including clothing etc but were also excellent at tracking down witnesses and kept me informed during the whole process. They also managed to secure me half of the total payout, (about £4K), in advance as the process took 18 months in all.
____________________
Space Is Deep

[Andy J]

[Vincent]