Car Accident Question

ozbargainer888 on 25/03/2019 - 17:33
Last edited 25/03/2019 - 18:00 by 1 other user

So on a few weeks ago I was rear ended by another car while stopped at a red light. The person behind had leaned over in their car to get something and in that motion they had lifted their foot off the pedal and rolled into me.

We then pulled into a petrol station and I took a picture of his licence, both cars and his plate number. He did not have his insurance information on him but provided me his number which I immediately called to ensure it was him. So I texted him the next day to ask what insurance he had and he responded with the name. I then asked him to confirm when he submits a claim.

I decide to reach out their insurance to find out if they have filed a claim, they did not so I email all of our pictures and information to their insurance and I inform the person who no longer responds. The other insurance recommends reaching out to my insurance so that they can try to contact them so we do and they've been pretty hopeless.

We submitted a claim and our insurance has been trying to reach the other insurance (personally I think they only try when we follow up) but my question is what's next? It's very clear who is at fault and it seems strange that this all seems to hinge upon the other person responding.

Am I missing something? Is there something else I should be doing?

*This took place in VIC.

Edited to add we have Coles third party insurance and in case I didn't clarify I have submitted a claim but will not be fixing my car without payment as it is functioning.

Thanks.

Automotive

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 25/03/2019 - 17:38
    +8

    You claim on your insurance who pursue the other person.

    • Euphemistic on 25/03/2019 - 18:14
      +3

      Not if you only have third party though …

  • spackbace on 25/03/2019 - 17:39

    The other insurance recommends reaching out to my insurance so that they can try to contact them so we do and they've been pretty hopeless. At this point our insurance has been trying to reach the other insurance (personally I think they only try when we follow up) but my question is what's next?

    Don't you just put the claim through your insurance company (not the other party's), and let them deal with the rest while they get your car fixed? You might have to pay your excess if they can't get hold of the other person (though you've given them enough info).

    • loropy9 on 25/03/2019 - 18:00

      I thought you shouldn’t have to claim on your own insurance if you are not at fault. It will increase your premium come next renewal. And why pay excess if someone hit you and not your fault?

      • ozbargainer888 on 25/03/2019 - 18:03

        This was something I also did not understand.
        Why would I have to do any claim if I'm not at fault.
        I've been lucky enough to have never been involved in a car accident, however this made me really start questioning what the consequences actually are for the person responsible.

        • Beanvee on 25/03/2019 - 19:21
          +8

          You claim so you don't have to deal with this bullshit yourself. Part of what you're paying for is your insurance company to track the other person down and force them to cough up the costs on repairing your car, and they have more avenues in getting that payment than you do alone.

          • Ughhh on 26/03/2019 - 10:34

            @Beanvee: What you described is comprehensive insurance, not third party which is what the Op has (unless depending on the pds, other party is uninsured).

            • Beanvee on 26/03/2019 - 11:50

              @Ughhh: Oh I didn't see that edit originally

      • spackbace on 25/03/2019 - 18:07
        +3

        You claim through your insurance company, for them to go and deal with it from the other party…

        It's the whole reason you have insurance! Put claim in, get car repaired, don't worry about the other shit.

  • Eeples on 25/03/2019 - 17:40

    You need to claim on your insurance with your insurance company.

    You then need to follow up with your insurance company quoting your claim number.

  • ozbargainer888 on 25/03/2019 - 17:56

    Thanks all, I've done that (put a claim through my insurance so they can chase). I just found it strange that when we ask what's next? It basically is well they need to respond. Ok if they don't then what?

    I can't afford to fix my car and as it's functioning I will only fix if their insurance pays but this feels like there is no consequence to the person actually responsible and clearly so.

    Also want to add that I have third party insurance through Coles.

    • Euphemistic on 25/03/2019 - 18:18

      For a brief check, coles TPP covers you for up to $3k if the other driver is uninsured. They may not play ball if they are dealing with another insurer, you will need to check the PDS a little more closely.

    • wolffram on 26/03/2019 - 10:42

      “Also want to add that I have third party insurance through Coles.”

      This is a timely reminder to check your level of cover. Discount insurance, while still being underwritten by the large insurance groups, is discounted because it has reduced cover. You really do get what you pay for.

  • Ughhh on 25/03/2019 - 18:32
    +3

    If you had comprehensive, your insurance would say "ok, when are you free to take it to the repair shop?", then when your car is fixed, you don't hear about the case again as it's no longer your problem to do any chasing.

    I'm surprised your third party insurance is chasing, maybe they need to determine if other party has insurance or not..

  • Skramit on 25/03/2019 - 21:22
    +1

    OP just confirmed my suspicion that a lot of people don’t know how insurance works or what to do when not at fault or at fault in an accident. We see so many of these threads that only exist because people don’t know what insurance companies are for.

  • adam on 25/03/2019 - 21:42
    +1

    If someone else is at fault in an accident with you:

    1) If you don't have insurance: Ask at fault party to pay for damage caused. They may:
    1a) Pay for it
    1b) Ask their insurance company to pay for it
    1c) Refuse. In which case you can go back to step (1) or take them to court.

    2) If you do have comprehensive car insurance:
    2a) Pretend you don't have insurance and go to step (1) above
    2b) Ask your insurance company to fix your car, they will do what you would otherwise do in (1) above. They may or may not increase your premium, refer to your policy terms and conditions.

    Note:
    * If you have third-party property insurance only then there is no reason why your insurance company would help you in the above scenario. Third party property insurance will cover you when you are at fault and someone else is coming after you for the damage you caused to their car.
    * If you don't even have third-party property insurance then you still have third-party person insurance (included with your registration) which covers you in case you are at fault and have physically injured someone.

    • Euphemistic on 25/03/2019 - 22:45
      +2

      If you don't even have third-party property (TPP) insurance then you …

      …. will be liable for damages to another persons property. It might be a scratch on a bumper costing a few hundred dollars, or it might be replacing a brand new Mercedes or rebuilding the house you parked in.

      Repeating for those that don’t get it:
      TPP is not the same as CTP - compulsory third party insurance that covers you for injuries to PEOPLE in a crash where you were at fault. If your car is registered it will have CTP of some sort (states vary) but will not have TPP unless you buy a policy separately. CTP will not pay for the bumper repair, the replacement Mercedes or to rebuild a house. CTP only covers injury costs for people. TPP will normally not cover your own vehicle, but some policies have a little bit of cover if the at fault driver is not insured.

      IF YOU ARE DRIVING A CAR WHICH DOES NOT HAVE ANY INSURANCE OTHER THAN CTP YOU ARE AT VERY HIGH RISK IF YOU CRASH

  • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2019 - 00:02

    …we have Coles third party insurance…

    Acting on your behalf such as chasing a claim is not part of your insurance. If they do so, consider it charity otherwise they're within their rights to humour you lip service only.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2019 - 00:04

    TLDR

    Got rear ended. OP only has third party insurance. At fault driver is now unreachable to arrange compensation.

  • Ryanek on 26/03/2019 - 09:20

    Coles third party insurance

    Found the problem

  • Rayman011 on 26/03/2019 - 09:30

    If the at fault driver does not pay their excess, you get nothing and there is nothing you can do about it. Insurance will not go into bat for you. All you can do then is go to small claims court to recover the cost.

  • wolffram on 26/03/2019 - 10:37

    Not trying to be harsh here, but you only have third party insurance which doesn’t cover you for most scenarios-all that is for is to protect you from a horrendous civil claim in case you are the at fault party in an accident. In this scenario, you can make a claim on your insurance nominating the party at fault, but you will have to pay your excess which will be refunded if your insurance resolves the liability issue in your favour. The matter will be followed up by your insurance, once you have nominated the other party. Just be warned that it may not be resolved to your satisfaction-ie. the other driver says you stopped suddenly in front of them and so caused/contributed to the accident. Dash cams and independent witnesses are worth their weight in gold. Good luck.

  • brad1-8tsi on 26/03/2019 - 11:21
    +1

    You have to claim against the other parties insurance. You need to fill out forms and provide documentation.

    I'd also be filing a report with the police just to tick a box for later.

  • nith265 on 26/03/2019 - 17:01
    +1

    Ironically you might be better off if the other party didn’t have insurance. From the Coles PDS is the below info:

    https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/174016/67903/coles-3rd…
    (note that the date you signed up might mean a different PDS applies)

    If they have no insurance, Coles will pay up to $3000. Apart from identification, they ask for "confirmation that the other driver is not insured." god knows how you'd do that though.

    But assuming they do have insurance you need to start the process and tell them what you want.

    The other party can't really make claim on your behalf. The other insurance company won't follow you up for the privilege of paying you money.

    You need to get a quote for the repair, send it, text it, email it whatever to the other party - at least then they will have something to react to. Until you have asked for something from the other party nothing will happen.

    If they don’t respond then you need to start the official process of sending them an official “letter of demand”. You can write it or you could get a solicitor to do it, since it's such a simple case of who is at fault any legal fees that you might incur would also be recoverable, but you’d probably have to pay the solicitor first an wait for the payment.

    All of this is the fun of just having 3rd party insurance!

    • nith265 on 26/03/2019 - 17:12

      just reread your post, what does the below mean?:

      We submitted a claim and our insurance has been trying to reach the other insurance

      What are you claiming? You need to quantify what it is you're asking for.

  • ozbargainer888 on 02/08/2019 - 19:23

    Just wanted to come back and update that our insurance called and spoke with the other party who admitted fault and then angrily hung up because they didn’t want to have to contact their insurer. Then they sent them a letter of demand on our behalf.
    In the end they finally said they actually had lapsed their cover so were uninsured which meant we could claim under our third party. If they had just said from the beginning they were uninsured this would’ve been resolved quickly.

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