Would Anyone Be Able to Give Me an Idea of What to Expect with Car Accident Insurance Claim? (QLD)

Lpickleopathy on 24/08/2022 - 20:57
Last edited 24/08/2022 - 21:01

My car recently got damaged in an accident which I do not believe was my fault. I came to a stop in second position (from the front) in a line of four cars, and the fourth car impacted the third, pushing it into my car, and then mine into the car in front of me. I also was an idiot and let my insurance expire a couple of weeks before. The driver who I believe is at fault has insurance and has provided me his claim number. Police attended the scene and their report is pending. Does anyone have any experience and would be able to fill me in on

  1. How long it usually takes for insurance companies to determine fault in situations like this?

  2. The most effective way to go about getting my car repaired. The car has been towed to my property, and getting smash repairers interested has been difficult. Is it best to wait for the decision of fault and discuss with the insurer directly, or get quotes and make a direct letter of demand?

  3. If I hire a rental car pending the above, is this likely to be reimbursed by the at fault party or should it be negotiated/discussed with the insurance company beforehand?

I haven't been in an accident before and luckily no-one was injured, and really wishing I'd not been lazy and renewed my insurance, but would appreciate any experience/insight, thanks in advance!

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

Comments

  • jizmo on 24/08/2022 - 21:49
    -1

    No insurance company is going to pay for a hire car "Ever" if you're the 3rd party.
    No insurance company is going to help you sort out damages against them.
    My guess would be tail gating in police report. They wont put much effort into it unless it was serious.
    Insurance companies are going to come after you soon treat them the same way that they're going to ignore your demands.

    • Philpski on 25/08/2022 - 08:46
      +2

      This isn't great advice.

      If an insurance company knows they will be liable for some or all of the damage resultant in an accident, it's in their best interest to get involved, assist those they're liable to assist and control the total cost of the claim. OP is entitled to have their car repaired and have a replacement hire vehicle while theirs is off the road, so a smart insurer would be on the front foot and using their repairer/hire car network to control costs.

      In OPs accident description, if Car 1 (Front Car) and Car 3 (Car behind OP) agree that Car 4 (Last Car) caused the chain reaction, Car 4's insurer will have no avenue to dispute the accident. They will be liable for the 3 cars ahead. 3 vs 1.

      Advice to OP is to contact the last car's insurer, provide them your version of events - i.e. "I was stopped at the lights, I got hit from behind and pushed into the car in front. They car behind me was hit by the car behind them and pushed into me."

      Write everything down. Ask for information in writing. If the accident is as you say it is, and the other cars involved support this, I don't think you'll have that tough a time of it.

      That said - Get insurance, they'd do this running around for you.

      Edit: Source: Been in the industry for many years resolving disputes exactly like this.

      Edit Edit: To answer your questions - 1) Liability will depend on how quickly they get everyone's version of events/insurance details - if you have all the drivers information, you could potentially speed this up by providing it to the Last Car's insurer.

      2) Depending on your situation, I would take a stack of photos of the car - a front and rear end impact is probably going to total loss the car if it's any sort of serious impact - given you mention it was towed, I would suggest it's gone.

      3) Re hire car, the at fault party is liable to pay for all "reasonable foreseeable expenses" resulting from the accident, meaning they will be liable for a hire car. Don't hire a Ferrari - Hire something that is commensurate to your car. Some insurers, will put you in a hire car if they accept liability for the accident, so if you can wait until that's sorted out, you might not have to arrange yourself.

  • sjj89 on 24/08/2022 - 21:53
    -6

    You’re liable for the car in front of you.

    Car behind you liable for damage to the rear of your car.

    Fourth car liable for damage to the rear of third.

  • TheBird on 24/08/2022 - 22:49
    +1

    would appreciate any experience/insight

    There's a shot that you're going to:
    1). Have the insurance company deem you at fault and demand money from you.
    2). Get d*cked around until you either give up or want to kill yourself.

    really wishing I'd not been lazy and renewed my insurance

    Don't worry about it. They're going to make sure you remember for a very long time.

    When I was young and bumb I had insurance but for some moronic reason I decided to go chase the other insurance party myself. They delayed it for a month or two but in the end they relented. I gotta say I regret not letting my insurance company deal with it. It took a lot of follow up with both them and the at fault driver.

  • EightImmortals on 25/08/2022 - 09:41
    +1

    Man don't skimp on insurance, even if you only get 3rd party property insurance. You've learned a lesson.

    Similar thing almost happened to me when I was young and broke. Bought a new car for use with work, company downsized about 12 months later leaving me with a huge lease payment and no income for a while so I had to drop insurance for a year or so. Finally renewed it and about 6 months later wrote the car off (no fault accident), if I hadn't had the insurance I would have been screwed for years.

  • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2022 - 11:15

    With a simpler two car accident when not at fault you (if not insured) are responsible for getting quotes and sending a letter of demand to the at-fault party for them to forward to their insurer.

    I wouldn’t wait on the insurer to determine fault (they have no incentive to say anything but that it was you or simply ignore you), do it yourself or get that decision from the police report. Once the at fault party has the letter of demand then it’s their contract with their insurance that covers you. They might wish to be proactive once they have the letter of demand to reduce their costs.

    https://www.legalaid.qld.gov.au/files/assets/public/publicat…

    IANAL so you should seek real legal advice.

    I would guess delays on your part decrease the chance of them paying for (all) of a hire car, but one imagines ultimately you’re ultimately entitled to reasonable out of pocket expenses.

    Ultimately complex cases like this is where insurance is a life saver.

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