Accident claim help

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Thu 29 Jan 2009 23:32
Accident claim help - slall
Hi

I was involved in accident 6months ago and it was my fault. But now i recieved a letter from solictor asking that the other person had whip lash injuries on knees, back etc. He has now filed a claim against me. I have changed my insurance company since accident but who will pay the fees for the claim by the other driver? will insurance settle all the money or do i have to pull it out of my own pocket?

Any help will be really appreciated

Thanks

{made non make model specific}

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 30/01/2009 at 01:11

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Thu 29 Jan 2009 23:36
Accident claim help - Lygonos
Your insurer at the time of the accident will defend the claim. I presume they paid for the damage to the 3rd party's vehicle.
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Thu 29 Jan 2009 23:38
Accident claim help - slall
The claim was just made today after 6 months and i left the insurance to join nw one does that still mean they will pay?
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 00:55
Accident claim help - rtj70
You did declare accident to the new insurance company didn't you?
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 07:31
Accident claim help - grumpyscot
Sounds like a "If someone's to blame then let's make a claim" no win, no fee type of thing. I am always sceptic of this sort of thing - definitely engage your insurers (those at the time of the accident which of course you reported to them!) That's why you paid your premium (assuming you had the "legal" coverage).
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 09:05
Accident claim help - 206Hdi
It's not clear from your post whether you did or didn't claim for vehicle damage at the time of the accident - if you did then everything is straightforward and the claim is handled by your insurer at the time.

If you didn't claim at the time then you may have an issue. Your original insurer is still the right company to go through but technically you should have reported the incident to them at the time (even if you didn't believe the other party was going to claim). The reason for doing this is that you have a duty of care and by not notifying a potential claim as early as possible the insurer could be put in a position where they incur additional cost. For example in this situation had the insurer known about the accident then they could have checked if the third party had sustained soft tissue damage and then they could have provided treatment earlier; by leaving it the damage may be worse or take longer to treat and therefore cost more. I doubt this invalidates your insurance and probably the claim will sail through but I think strictly speaking you could become responsible for any additional cost that the insurer can prove arose as a result of you failing to notify them promptly.

As regards legal cover I don't believe in this instance it makes a difference whether you have it on your policy or not. The injury to the other party and any legal costs associated with the whip lash claim would be covered by your third party liability.

Primarily legal cover is just a tool for recovering your uninsured loss (eg excess) when you are involved in claim which is not your fault. Of course some legal cover includes other things like defence against some motoring offences etc.
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 18:41
Accident claim help - slall
Thanks for getting back. Anyway i did make a claim during my accident and they paid for my car as well as it was write off. My insurance has bombed from £700 per year to £1800 per year now. I have lost my no claim bonus and judging from your replies i figure that i will be covered by the insurance for all legal damages.

Thanks mate
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 18:59
Accident claim help - Hamsafar
Your old insurer should have been notified of the injury and may well have been, but the third party has to demonstarte that the injuries are affecting them in the long-term in order to get compensation, hence the delay in claiming.
If they did not notify your insurer of the injury at the time, I suspect your old insurer probably made a 'full and final settlement' in which case, the claim may not be entertained.
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Fri 30 Jan 2009 22:18
Accident claim help - Blue {P}
I wouldn't worry about this, seeing as you've already lost your NCB and advised your new insurers that you had a previous accident things can't get any worse.

Just forward all details to your old insurer and they will cough up the extra dosh or fight it in court, either way it's nothing for you to worry about anymore! :-)
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