Getting a PCP car repaired via Insurance company?

rousetafarian

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Hi,

So my wife was involved in a 50mph accident today with a 3rd party, the outcome being her car was undriveable and it was towed to a recovery compound organised by the police.

A couple of questions, if that's ok:

Our insurance company, Admiral, are reluctant to give my wife a courtesy car which is standard under the terms of our fully comprehensive insurance as they feel the 3rd party may make a claim on us.....:confused:

Secondly do I have to get it repaired at a Mercedes body shop as it is currently on a PCP via Mercedes Benz?

Finally we have independent witnesses, photos and the 3rd party verbally admitted liability to the Police Officer but he had a wife, baby and small child none of which where wearing seat belts......so we expect a counter claim. Anyone else had similar claims?

My gut is that the 3rd party wanted to be hit, as he has a V reg Toyota Corolla and mine a 09 C Class Mercedes Benz.......clearly this just a hunch.

Should I get a Solicitor involved?

What a day......:facepalm:
 
I dont understand why he wanted to be hit because he has a lesser value car? Did he risk his family on purpose?

A little confused?
 
Have a word with the finance company to check whether there are restrictions to the repairer and fingers crossed they match what your insurer provides :)

Don't get the bit regarding a courtesy car, take it as a wise lesson to not use that insurer again.
 
Not wearing seatbelts would lessen their claim not increase it so its unlikely its crash for cash, the value of the car doesn't come into it


Do you have legal cover on your policy, they should appoint a solicitor on your behalf
 
It's been quite a day so we are going to sleep on it.

I think the courtesy car issue will be resolved as, as long as I use an Admiral approved body shop they will provide a courtesy car, the work doesn't need to be undertaken by MB.

I would hate to think he would jeopardise his family's safety.......
 
You'd be surprised


A couple of days ago I was following a car, I was doing 30, he pulled away going north, getting up to around 45 I'd say

At a junction somebody pulled out going south not expecting him to be going so fast

All the numpty had to do was take his foot off or touch the brakes and he would easily have missed the car, instead he carried on at the same speed and missed the back by inches as it turned across him

Most people would do all they could to avoid an impact, i'm convinced this guy tried to hit the car without actually driving at it so he couldn't be blamed

The roadhawk camera in my van recording the road in front of me would have told a different story though
 
rousetafarian said:
It's been quite a day so we are going to sleep on it.

I think the courtesy car issue will be resolved as, as long as I use an Admiral approved body shop they will provide a courtesy car, the work doesn't need to be undertaken by MB.

I would hate to think he would jeopardise his family's safety.......

Ok, your first comment is absolutely the right thing to do, it has been a crap day and you aren't in a position to make any decisions.

There is very little (nothing) that you can do about the third parties claim, your insurance company are there to worry about it if you are liable for it.

With regards to your own car it is up to you where the car is repaired, it does not need to be by the approved repairer and you will still almost certainly get a courtesy car if it is not. If you wish to have the car repaired by a Mercedes main dealer then you can, contact your nearest tomorrow and I have no doubt that they will pick up the car from where it is and liaise with admiral for the repair. Admiral will state that you need two quotes for a non approved repair, if the car cannot be driven you only need one

Don't be pressurised by your insurance company to make decisions when you aren't fit to do so. I had a fault accident in my 6 month old Merc a month ago and I am also insured with Admiral, my car is currently being repaired by my local main dealer.

If you have a Merc roadside assistance they will provide a courtesy car to get you on the road for 5 days giving you a bit of breathing space.

Happy for you to PM me if you want any help :)
 
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You'd be surprised


A couple of days ago I was following a car, I was doing 30, he pulled away going north, getting up to around 45 I'd say

At a junction somebody pulled out going south not expecting him to be going so fast

All the numpty had to do was take his foot off or touch the brakes and he would easily have missed the car, instead he carried on at the same speed and missed the back by inches as it turned across him

Most people would do all they could to avoid an impact, i'm convinced this guy tried to hit the car without actually driving at it so he couldn't be blamed

The roadhawk camera in my van recording the road in front of me would have told a different story though

guy pulling out was still at fault
 
Ok, your first comment is absolutely the right thing to do, it has been a crap day and you aren't in a position to make any decisions.

There is very little (nothing) that you can do about the third parties claim, your insurance company are there to worry about it if you are liable for it.

With regards to your own car it is up to you where the car is repaired, it does not need to be by the approved repairer and you will still almost certainly get a courtesy car if it is not. If you wish to have the car repaired by a Mercedes main dealer then you can, contact your nearest tomorrow and I have no doubt that they will pick up the car from where it is and liaise with admiral for the repair. Admiral will state that you need two quotes for a non approved repair, if the car cannot be driven you only need one

Don't be pressurised by your insurance company to make decisions when you aren't fit to do so. I had a fault accident in my 6 month old Merc a month ago and I am also insured with Admiral, my car is currently being repaired by my local main dealer.

If you have a Merc roadside assistance they will provide a courtesy car to get you on the road for 5 days giving you a bit of breathing space.

Happy for you to PM me if you want any help :)


Thanks to everyone who took time to read and reply, in particular to Chris for the advice above.

As an update, I spoke to my local Mercedes dealership who I got the from, and asked if I was legally obliged to mention it to them. They didn't know if I was or not.

Anyway I was passed through to another company called 'Accident Exchange' who manage such claims, without me have to deal with my insurance company, Admiral (bear in mind it was a stressful situation and maybe I wasn't thinking clearly but something didn't seem 'right'). After speaking with Accident Exchange they took some brief details and advised that a new 62 plate Merc would be on my drive for however long we needed for during the repairs being made good.

Alarm bells started ringing, so I duly called Admiral and advised them why my local dealership would pass me through to a 3rd party, intermediary. The simple answer that dealerships get a kickback and %age of the hire fees, which can be extortionate.

More worryingly if the 3rd party insurers dispute the claim back by my insurance for the courtesy car hire fees, then Accident Exchange can claim them from me.......

Long story short, Admiral are collecting my car from the police compound soon and taking it to a non-MB bodyshop for estimates.

The guilty party is going on a drivers awareness course, but not being given any points for his bald tyre (photo evidence), or having his two young passengers in seatbelts or child seats, which I find astonishing.

Admiral think we have a good case but there is no way we are accepting 50:50 liability.....

More to follow no doubt!

Cheers
 
You'd be surprised


A couple of days ago I was following a car, I was doing 30, he pulled away going north, getting up to around 45 I'd say

At a junction somebody pulled out going south not expecting him to be going so fast

All the numpty had to do was take his foot off or touch the brakes and he would easily have missed the car, instead he carried on at the same speed and missed the back by inches as it turned across him

Most people would do all they could to avoid an impact, i'm convinced this guy tried to hit the car without actually driving at it so he couldn't be blamed

The roadhawk camera in my van recording the road in front of me would have told a different story though

I see examples like this all the time. Certain people think to themselves "I'm in the right" and so carry on without slowing down just to prove the point and make the other driver suffer - I've even seen them speed up in order to prove it even more.
You see the same people on motorways. If someone pull out into "their lane" and are doing 80, these people who are probably doing 95 don't start braking until they're right up the backside of the person who's just pulled out. Again they're just proving a point I think.
I don't think they're all looking for an accident to happen, they're just proving that they're in the right and making the other person feel bad about having dared to drive on the same road as them.
 
When they get on their backside it is probably because they pulled out and now have caused them to have to hit the brakes heavily...That was very inconsiderate, why not wait and then pull out...
 
When they get on their backside it is probably because they pulled out and now have caused them to have to hit the brakes heavily...That was very inconsiderate, why not wait and then pull out...

The reason it happened was because the nobhead was doing 95MPH - the person who pulled out was doing 80 for example which is still over the speed limit and they probably was not expecting such a high speed from the Audi ...... oops sorry I meant to say the car being driven too fast, but it's nearly always an Audi.
 
I see examples like this all the time. Certain people think to themselves "I'm in the right" and so carry on without slowing down just to prove the point and make the other driver suffer - I've even seen them speed up in order to prove it even more.
You see the same people on motorways. If someone pull out into "their lane" and are doing 80, these people who are probably doing 95 don't start braking until they're right up the backside of the person who's just pulled out. Again they're just proving a point I think.
I don't think they're all looking for an accident to happen, they're just proving that they're in the right and making the other person feel bad about having dared to drive on the same road as them.

When they get on their backside it is probably because they pulled out and now have caused them to have to hit the brakes heavily...That was very inconsiderate, why not wait and then pull out...

The reason it happened was because the nobhead was doing 95MPH - the person who pulled out was doing 80 for example which is still over the speed limit and they probably was not expecting such a high speed from the Audi ...... oops sorry I meant to say the car being driven too fast, but it's nearly always an Audi.

Oh the irony :rotfl: So the person pulling out did it because they were in the right :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Exactly, it would help if we are ALL a bit more considerate and stop acting like we are right...They are not the police, they are not there to stop others speeding...When you do you mirror, signal, manoeuvre one of the factors to take into consideration is judge speed as well....And when you speed one of the factors is that people can pull out on you....

Oh the irony, really made me laugh...
 
Let me guess, you're one of those arrogant Audi drivers who expect everyone else to move out of the way for you? Or do you just enjoy winding me up with your comments?
 
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Let me guess, you're one of those arrogant Audi drivers who expect everyone else to move out of the way for you? Or do you just enjoy winding me up with your ****ty comments?

No need to start calling names now :nono:

You were suggesting others were in the right, yet when 'you' block their path, it is not righteous...I'm not saying that either is correct which you would have noticed if you bothered to read my response....Everyone just needs to calm down and stop being so righteous about thinking they are right :smashin: The fact that you self admit you are getting wound up by this I think just highlights how you must behave in traffic :nono:

But yes I have an Audi big engined quattro thing, and also a Prius. I can't be held responsible for what kind of unfounded conclusions you draw from that though...

Regardless of what speed, I always expect someone will jump out whether it be a car, bike, bus, child...Likewise whenever I pull out I do look over my shoulder and assess the speed and try not to 'squeeze' in but let people continue on their journey...Smooth manoeuvres are excellent for the environment and stress level :D
 
Hope you get it sorted, I've had to deal with a TP claim against me via one of these "accident management" companies, they tried to get £2K out of my insurance company (Admiral) for a scuffed headlight. I wasn't at fault and had photos to prove it. Admiral disputed the claim, in the end my no-claims wasn't affected and Admiral haven't even bothered to count it as a claim against me, presumably the claims company gave up due to the photos showing their client was clearly at fault.

Good luck getting things sorted...it use to be so easy, make sure everyone is alright, work out whos at fault, exchange insurance details and forget about it. These accident claim companies just make things complicated/more expensive for everyone.
 
The 1st quote has come back from an approved Admiral repair agent, at >£3.5k.....other parties car is more than likely a write off being a V-reg Toyota Corolla with no back end now.
 
Hope you get it sorted, I've had to deal with a TP claim against me via one of these "accident management" companies, they tried to get £2K out of my insurance company (Admiral) for a scuffed headlight. I wasn't at fault and had photos to prove it. Admiral disputed the claim, in the end my no-claims wasn't affected and Admiral haven't even bothered to count it as a claim against me, presumably the claims company gave up due to the photos showing their client was clearly at fault.

Good luck getting things sorted...it use to be so easy, make sure everyone is alright, work out whos at fault, exchange insurance details and forget about it. These accident claim companies just make things complicated/more expensive for everyone.

Im curious. Have they noticed it down as an incident on your record?
 
Im curious. Have they noticed it down as an incident on your record?

No Admiral hadn't added to my record. I phoned up last week regarding my renewal and the guy at the end of the phone had no record of accident/calim against me!! I'm not sure what counts as an "accident/incident", persumably because the TP didn't actually use their insurance company and the claim was dismissed they didn't count it :confused:

Regardless I've declared the incident with my new insurance company (just changed due to lower permiums)...I rather pay a extra few ££ than risk having a claim turned down because I didn't disclose information about the accident/incident.
 
Gits. I've been with Admiral a few years now and 2 years ago I had an incident. Basically a woman drove into the back of me but it was at sub 5mph and there was no damage. I only reported to insurance because she gave false details and that was on the advice of the police.

I never thought anything about it and they never flagged it up that it needed mentioning until 6 months ago where they suddenly wanted £500 for this incident. No claim, no cost but Im a higher risk. In the end they backed down when I emailed the CEO with my complaint.

Still with them now though because their renewal quote was cheaper than any other company even with this incident listed. Somewhat annoying though.
 

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