Having been involved in an accident in November 2001, where I was put in a position of having to take some of the blame for the car in front of me (long story), we have just received a county court form from a solicitor acting for the other party with respect to costs.
For the legal minds here, the form is a CPR Part 8 Claim form. No enclosing letter has been sent, but it appears that we have to respond to this within 14 days. It was even sent to our old address!
From what I can make out a figure for damages has been agreed but there is arguement over costs (about £1k).
My insurance company will no doubt ask me to send it to them for them to deal with it, but we are getting hacked off with these people forwarding stuff to us, rather than go via our insurers.
The question is, is it normal practise? Or should they be sending everything to our insurers? My wife (her policy with me as named driver) has been identified as the defendent.
This annoys me a lot. It is over 3 years since the accident took place. Personally I consider this as a form of intimidation, but may have to accept there may be a perfectly reasonable legal arguement for this approach.
Any advice would be gratefully received - PU, David etc??
Thanks
Hugo
|
You have the liability to the third party, not your insurers. Their responsiblity is to you.
Therefore whilst most correspondance may and usually is sent direct to your insurer, summons and the like will be sent to you. It is you who is being sued, not your insurer.
Mind you, I might be asking the insurer why you were being sued and what about the damage to your reputation etc. etc. etc.
|
|
The case is over three years old, then. Subject to Mark's expert opinion, the summons is perhaps a tactic because your insurer has spun things out too long, and the expectation is that your side will settle once the court room doors open. It tends to concentrate the mind wonderfully.
|
Thanks chaps.
As I thought Mark, I guess the legal process requires the policy holder to receive this correspondance.
So, as my insurers have a responsibility to me, then I guess they deal with it on my behalf, hence I should receive no more paperwork.
The problem is that I know that my insurers are not the brightest stars in the sky, so what's the betting we'll receive more nasty letters because they continue to spin things out?
Thanks
Hugo
|
|
If even you have been having problems with your own insurers, then that rather confirms my view above.
|
|
|
|
Hugo,
This is the sort of situation that makes the extra 'legal cover' worthwhile.
I have this on both my policies and it really proved it's worth when someone pranged my car in a car park and then drove off. Luckily there were witnesses. The insurer appointed solicitor handled absolutely everything.
Kevin...
|
I actually have legal cover. That was worth a sizeable sum to me at the time.
I intend to contact the broker first thing tomorrow to asvise them of the situation and I suspect the enclosures will go via them. Only then can they harass the insurers for me.
Hugo
|
|
|
|
|
Certainly a bit odd to send ne of these out without a covering letter of sorts - very odd. Difficult to advice really, when is the respnse time up ? If you engaged Solicitors via the Insurance's Legal Cover, I would personally suggest phoning them in the first place. Three years appears to be a bit overlong to me. Certainly odd practice.
|
Thanks PU, the accident happened on the 7th November 2001, so it is over 3 years ago.
The response time states 14 days starting 2 days after the post mark. Thing is, it was not sent special delivery or anything, and to the wrong address.
The legal cover policy found me a very good set of solicitors who acted for me to recover costs from another driver (it was a 4 car pile up). Are you suggesting I send it to them, or even just advise them I have received it?
You're right, these solicitors don't seem 100% clued up.
Hugo
|
HJ
A few facts into place here.
The person named as the defendent is my wife, as it was her policy. I was a named driver on it at the time.
I was deemed at fault for running into the back of another vehicle (I was actually pushed but lets not go into that now).
It appears that the other party received and agreed compensation but his solicitors is arguing with my insureres over their costs.
Value of car and compensation received by the other party have been settled. It seems that it is just solicitors costs that are being argued over. It just annoys me that we have to be involved in their arguements.
Further to my responses to PUs post, I am interested at what else he may have to say.
Hugo
|
I had a similar solicitor's letter demanding £125.00 for claimant's costs, telephone calls etc. The letter was designed to intimidate. Send it straight to your insurer as I did.
This was about a year after my wife was accused of touching another car after it boxed her in, in a shoppers car park. The police rang my wife after our reg. number was given to them and said that the damage was minimal. The other party, a foreign gentleman rang my wife and explained that the trim had to be removed and straightend, and how would she like to approach it, privately or by insurance. It was very suspicious, so I opted for by insurance. When my renewal came up I found that the Insurance Co. had paid £750.00 for the repair. I complained to the Insurance Co., but they said that the injured party had witnesses. I was most displeased, but could do nothing.
|
An update.
I contacted my insurance broker and advised him of these. He asked me to send it to him so that he could forward it on. I was going to do this anyway, but felt it was prudent to tell him I had it.
On closer inspection, it turned out to be a County Court Document sent straight from the Court, not via a solicitor, hence the lack of a letter.
His advice was similar to Mark's, but he added that it should be seen as action against the policy, not us. This is very important.
He said that solicitors often act to involve or expose the policy holder to the process to get the policy holder to phone up the insurers in a panic. It often works!
The issue seems to be over resulting costs. It looks like both parties are around £1k adrift in their negotiations, hence the solicitor acting for the other party have prodded the process to get it going again.
As others have said, if you receive something as a result of a claim against you, send it straight to your insurers. If you have a broker, it is often a good idea to involve them so they can acknowledge receipt and take copies for their records.
H
|
Well with my name, I ought to know the answer to this one!
sounds to me that your insurers have agreed to pay a fixed sum in compensaion and to pay reasonable legal costs. They have been unable to agree those costs. The part 8 procedure is a shortned form of court procedure for deciding issues like this.
It has been sent to you because it is your liability, but you really ought to have been warned that it was coming.
|
Hugo,
I wouldn't ignore it on the grounds it went to the wrong address.
Any update ??
|
Hugo, I wouldn't ignore it on the grounds it went to the wrong address. Any update ??
Yes PU, a few posts above, I sent it to my broker who has forwarded it onto the insurers. Apparently it is effectively the insurance policy that is being pursued in practice, so my broker tells me.
Hugo
|
>>broker who has forwarded it onto the insurers. Apparently it is effectively the insurance policy that is being pursued in practice, so my broker tells me. Hugo
simplistically:
as hj and the lawman have pointed out, it is the defendant who is liable.
the insurance policy is there to cover you for that liability. if the insurance company is being tardy, the injured party is quite right to come back to you direct, and it is your responsibility to nudge the insurance company in to action.
in effect, they are negotiating on your behalf to come an agreed settlement which results in the insurer having to pay out as little as their negotiator can get away with. the insurers are not there to do you any favours, but merely to pay out damages that you are liable for while trying to minimum the cost to themselves.
whilst you are right in forwarding everything to the insurance company: but if they do not get their act together, and you continue to be hassled at home, you should bring their complaints procedure in to action. three years is enough patience of the injured party and their lawyers to have to put up with.
|
Daglish
What you have said is basically what Mark and the broker said.
Legally I have a responsibility to the other side, yet the insurers have a responsibility to me.
Hence they are likely to pay the minimum they can get away with and get it settled, because if I have actions against me that could hold water in a court, then they are the ones that could have to pay.
Talk about complicated, a few months after the accident I also received a visit from an assessor, who wanted to take me to the spot and get my exact story about where the impact took place etc. I suspect the insurers are trying to drag it out as long as poss.
Hugo
|
|
|
|
