BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 10:28
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - Roger Meredith

Just wondering what to do when your insurance company won't argue your case. Briefly, we live in a hammerhead cul-de-sac. I entered the right hand side of the hammerhead and reversed straight back towards my drive. As I did so a lady reversed out of a driveway at right angles into my side. much more damage to my car than hers. She apologized and clearly considered it to be her fault, as did an independent witness. My insurance company wants to settle 50/50 as "that's what we always do when both parties are reversing"

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 10:32
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - thunderbird

If both cars were moving its 50/50. If one had seen the other car and stopped I would argue its the moving cars fault.

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 11:51
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - John F

If both cars were moving its 50/50

This is clearly wrong. It depends on circumstances. It seems the OP was already occupying the road which the third party was attempting to enter from a driveway. Whether the OP was moving forwards or backwards is immaterial. I would be inclined to inform your insurance company that if they won't defend you that you will sue for any losses through the small claims court, assuming they are less than £10,000.

Insurance company mutuality means they like to go 50/50, or indeed any ratio of dual blame so they can cancel any no claims bonuses both parties might have accrued. Their profit interest trumps your well-being.

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 13:02
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - RT

If both cars were moving its 50/50

This is clearly wrong. It depends on circumstances. It seems the OP was already occupying the road which the third party was attempting to enter from a driveway. Whether the OP was moving forwards or backwards is immaterial. I would be inclined to inform your insurance company that if they won't defend you that you will sue for any losses through the small claims court, assuming they are less than £10,000.

Insurance company mutuality means they like to go 50/50, or indeed any ratio of dual blame so they can cancel any no claims bonuses both parties might have accrued. Their profit interest trumps your well-being.

Unless you can show that you're totally blameless you'll lose your NCD - the insurer won't want to spend legal costs debating the exact % - it would put premiums up if they did!

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 13:28
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - daveyjp

That is key, showing you are in no way at fault which comes down to how well you present your evidence to the insurance company.

If you were t'boned when going forwards you would find it easier to argue you were 100% in the clear, as you were reversing the insurance companies will try and pin some fault on you as all round vision is impeded when reversing.

Good luck.

Edited by daveyjp on 13/06/2020 at 13:28

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 14:13
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - Roger Meredith
Many thanks for these responses. This rather confirms my suspicion that a 50/50 settlement is entirely for the convenience of the insurance companies. I wonder how my “duty of care” can extend to ensuring that a TP won’t reverse off their drive without looking-in this case a very short distance before hitting me. I am reluctant to trust our insurers repairing the car in the meantime but not sure if there’s any alternative.
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Sat 13 Jun 2020 14:04
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - Manatee

Another rule of thumb they use is that anybody joining a road is responsible for avoiding a collision with those already on it. Maybe that's your argument.

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Sat 13 Jun 2020 17:47
BMW 320d - Ins. Co. will not argue case, both cars reversing - bazza

Depending on the cost of repairs, can you not both pay privately to fix the damage to your own vehicle?. It might be cheaper than losing your excess and your NCB. This worked for me a couple of years ago when we both reversed into each other in a car park. But I guess having informed your insurance your premium will already be increased.

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