Young driver, small crash - pay up or claim off insurance?

R

RichieRuin

Registered User
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My daughter is 23, full licence, 5 years no claims on her own policy.

Last week she had a small crash, got a skid in the rain and hit a 141 jeep in front of her. Nobody hurt but she was at fault so we asked the owner to let us know the cost and we'd either pay for it or he could claim off her insurance. He came back today with a quote for €2,000.

If he claims off her insurance, roughly what impact could it have on her renewal cost? Last year it was €980. If the renewal will be a lot more expensive, not to mention losing her no claims bonus for future years and possibly having the claim held against for God knows how long, would it be better to take it on the chin and pay up?

Also, I'm no expert but €2k seems a bit steep for the small amount of damage that was done. The quote is from a main dealer but I am wondering what's the done thing if we offer to pay for it ourselves? Do we have to take that one quote at face value and pay it, or can we ask him to get other quotes for comparison purposes? Should we pay him or pay the garage directly? The guy was very decent about it and we want to respect that, but is it ok to try and get it fixed as cost-effectively as possible, to his satisfaction of course?

Apologies for all the questions but I've never been in this situation before and am not sure what to do. Thanks!
 
I have been in this position myself it’s a tricky one . The premium will certainly go at renewal but not by 2k. Does she have step back protection ? In my own instance I paid the guy directly and that was that . But I am thinking most people will recommend going down the insurance route to ensure the best steps are taken .
 
I'd put it through insurance, you've no way if knowing if there's likely to be a personal injuries claim and thats where it gets very expensive.

Yes there'll be a premium hit next year, but doubt it'll be €2k increase.
 
There would be a record in her policy for 3-5 years which means her policy will be up for at least 3-5 years.
I'd pay the 2k but I'd ask the driver too agree (written on paper) that he won't come back looking for more €€€ if his/her back hurts in a few weeks time.
2k and it's done and dusted.
A quick search would give you figures for a replacement bumper or tail lights but you would need too know the model of the jeep so you'd have a rough estimate of costs involved
 
Pinoy adventure said:
I'd pay the 2k but I'd ask the driver too agree (written on paper) that he won't come back looking for more €€€ if his/her back hurts in a few weeks time.
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There’s literally no incentive for the other driver to do that. Option A is have the damage repaired through insurance and have cover there if they happen to develop a serious injury, option B is to have the damage repaired but have no recourse if they turn out to be injured.

FWIW I had a young driver hit me in a similar scenario a couple of years ago. He asked about paying himself and I had no issue with that, but I went to the main dealer to get the quote so I knew it would be sorted properly and there’s no incentive for me to shop around and take a chance on a cheaper quote. I would have no issue supplying the receipt to the person, but I certainly would not be at the mercy of somebody negotiating my car.

This person is doing you a favour and taking a risk not reporting the incident, you cannot be too choosy after that.
 
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It'll probably work out the same cost over the next 5 years. Her premium won't go up by €2k but it will go up and continue to be higher until she gets 5 years no claim bonus back. She will also be unable to shop around for at least 3 years as another insurer won't take her on. If you have the €2k, I'd pay it out of pocket. Insurance is getting more expensive as it is.

As for the cost of repair, car repairs are very expensive. The whole back panel will probably have to be replaced. It can be cheaper if they are happy to get a spurious back panel but they are under no obligation to do so. It wasn't their fault.
 
Ive been in this situation...id advise to contact the other party again and ask if you were to pay the garage direct with insurance company not involved.would the price be able to be reduced..by going this route i had my costs reduced by over 25% and no impact on insurance cost...i would imagine you might be able to judge the character of the 3rd party and if they might be rceptive to this if the reason is explained in full to them.....lots of decent people out there.
 
I think you should ring your insurance and tell them anyway. This will be an official record of the accident and that you plan to settle privately. I have done this and insurer said this is important to do so.
 
Also if she pays up directly does she still have to declare the accident if she shops around for quotes? Is one of the questions asked when looking for a quote 'have you had any accidents in the last 5 years?'. If you pay up directly without going through insurance do you still have to declare the accident which would effect quote even though you didn't claim? Probably not an issue if you are not changing insurance company.
 
Think that there may also be an issue if you settle yourself and somehow the insurance company finds out about it. Your policy may be cancelled and you may become persona non grata in the insurance world. Safest and least troublesome option is to let insurance company handle it and forget about it. Anybody can have an accident.
 

I've never dealt with a car insurance issue.

We had a small break-in last year and the insurance company told me over the phone told me what a claim would do to my premium. It made more sense to pay out-of-pocket, and that's what we did. For their own records they were able to note an incident with a null claim, or something like that.

Maybe car insurance is different. I would ring up the insurance company and frame it as a theoretical question.
 
I wouldn't dream of handing anyone 2k. I'd just let the insurance company handle it and have no further contact with he other driver. She could easily have another tip anyway, do you pay up again?
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
Maybe car insurance is different.
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It's the same for car insurance, they can record a null claim that will not impact your renewal, but will ensure you are covered if the other party decide to make a subsequent claim.

OP, you are obliged to inform the insurance company of any incident that may result in a claim without delay. Waiting a few days to see if you can haggle with the other party might in some cases lead to them denying liability in the event of a larger claim.

The insurance documents usually specify the level of no claims discount applied. Look that up to get a sense of the increase in premium, though keep in mind they will at times add an additional loading on a policy with a recent accident.

The bumpers on all modern cars have crumple zones to help absorb impact, even relatively small bangs can affect them and reduce their effectiveness in future crashes. If someone hit me I wouldn't be compromising and putting my family at risk with a cheap repair job.
 
It's very rare for a dealer to do crash repair. They hive it off to a specialist and then add about 50% to the bill.

I suggest you ask the other driver to go to ace body repairs or similar and which would be "insurer approved"

Put on the poor mouth, "covid has hurt her, little spare cash, dealer would be using similar place anyway" etc etc

At under 2k I'd be looking at private settlement with a hope to get it under €1500
 
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It might not look like a lot of damage but you have to factor in respraying which can be costly. I would try and avoid the insurance company if at all possible. It would be a good idea to get something in writing to say this is a full and final settlement. Somebody ran into the back of my car a couple of years ago and didn’t want to involve insurance and I agreed - accidents happen and we have to move on.
 
Generally, private arrangements to settle claims from other parties - outside of your motor insurance - are a notoriously bad idea.

Your daughter is obliged to report the matter to her motor insurers under policy conditions.
Incidentally, it is also a legal requirement to do so under Ss 71 and or 72 RTA 1961.

Negotiating directly with another party is also a breach of policy conditions.

In any event she will probably have to declare the occurrence of the accident before next renewal or that could constitute non-disclosure at renewal which is treated as seriously as non-disclosure at inception.

In general, you should always report an accident to your insurers and let them deal with it.
They will usually be better equipped to deal with it properly and economically.
 
DirectDevil said:
In general, you should always report an accident to your insurers and let them deal with it
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So, how would they deal with it?

Would they ring the jeep guy, and say, I believe you had an incident with our policy holder, I also believe you are sorting this out privately, are you sure there are no injuries on your part?

Genuine question.
 
LS400 said:
So, how would they deal with it?

Would they ring the jeep guy, and say, I believe you had an incident with our policy holder, I also believe you are sorting this out privately, are you sure there are no injuries on your part?

Genuine question.
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Insurers would simply contact the third party [jeep guy] and advise him of their interest.
They would then proceed to do what they need to evaluate quantum and negotiate a settlement.

They would be unwise IMHO to mention injuries !
It is not for OP's insurers to compile the third party's claim for them.
In any event if the third party wanted to make a personal injuries claim they are entirely free to do so as that is a separate cause of action.
 
DirectDevil said:
Insurers would simply contact the third party [jeep guy] and advise him of their interest.
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Com`n, you know very well, this claim will be more than likely rocket from €2k to €20k without fuss from the Insurance Co. This girls Insurance renewal policy will be tarnished unnecessarily. Whether its wise or not to mention injuries, as a nation we have a reputation.

You see, in a proper functioning society, this is exactly what we should do, let the Insurance Co take care of things, thats why we pay our premiums, but, the Insurance Companies have absolutely made a sham of settling claims, (and we all know Ireland is an easy target on that score) that the mere mention of a possible claim on their policy will leave a black mark, due to the enormous possible payouts.

I wouldn't advise anyone not to contact their Insurance, but in this situation, and speaking for my self, I would settle privately. 1961 act or not.
 
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