My friend’s car was hit by a guy in a stolen car. The police later caught him.
My friend has insurance, but a high excess. The insurers say he has to pay excess unless he gives them the name and address of the guy who hit his car.
The police say they can only give a file number for the case.
Is there a way to get the details needed for the insurer?
Thanks.
The insurer’s problem, not the friend’s.
Give them the Police file number.
The insurer says “no - police file number is not enough, we need a name and address”. Or are the insurers being sly?
@HeWhoKnows: Just another sneaky way for insurers to get out of paying or in this case dropping the excess.
They would have much more success if they took the case number & contacted the police & took it from there.
@HeWhoKnows: Not quite true. I was involved in an accident (other guy's fault) and the police would not provide me with the other guy's details…only the file number and said the insurance company would be allowed to access the information. And this was how it happened.
Another angle is to ask the police for his/her details and when they refuse - say that you need a name and address to serve the summons as you don't have insurance and you are seeking compensation yourself. Which - given this person is a scumbag already and your chances of recouping directly are buckleys or none…it may get you the details.
They should accept the police file number. Maybe talk to an ombudsman?
About 20 years ago, I used to work in car insurance claims and we were able to simply request copies Police Reports. (I don't know if anything has changed since then, especially with the privacy laws, etc).
I've had this issue before with an insurer. They have to pay some fee to get the info from the cops and as such will try and push it back onto you to obtain the info. It's their job to get the info.
Is this NSW? Normally police make their enquiries and when they find the driver of the vehicle at the time of the collision, they give you his details for your insurance claim.
No idea.
Just give the police file number to the insurance company.
Too easy.
The insurer says “no - police file number is not enough, we need a name and address”
Those details are in the file. Privacy laws prevent your friend from accessing those details directly I'm guessing.
Yes - the police wont give him the contents of the file, only its number.
@AddNinja: And the insurance company will be able to get that information from the police most likely
Police file number IS enough.
Ask to speak to a supervisor as the consultant you spoke to has it wrong.
Thanks My Nan Rips-cones. That’s really useful to hear and I’ll pass it on.
Which insurance company is it?
share with us so we can avoid this company please
Im guessing it will be AAMI?
I had a similar issue with them they refused to wave the excess even though it was a taxi that backed in to me I had license number and a police report.
The police ended up calling the hit and run driver on my behalf asking them to hand over details for insurance which they did thankfully…..
Is it possible to charge the perp with a hit and run?
The police may I guess. It was literally a hit and run. Other people were injured as well as property.
Police do the least work they can. Tell your friend to press charges.
Although this is good advice - how would it help my friend avoid the excess?
@AddNinja: It puts the perp as a defendant to your friend which means your friend will get their details. It also directly links the damaged car with an act. From the insurer's POV, how do they know the car was damaged by the perp? The police case could just be the perp is being charged for stealing a vehicle in which case why would they have to release their details to the insurer? It's possible they also itemised and charged everything that was damaged but probably unlikely they go to that level of detail.
When I had a somewhat similar situation many years ago, I provided the insurer with the police reference number and it went from there.
I never came into possession of the other party's details and no excess was paid.
Sounds like you need to speak with the insurer on the matter and make it clear that you have no way to get the information based on the totality of the situation, however the police have all relevant details. Ask the insurer how you are supposed to get the information based on these circumstances.
Thank you - I will pass this suggestion on.
Sounds like you need to speak
Considering that the person is getting their friend to post on their behalf, speaking seems like a skill they don't have.
Which insurance company is this?
Easy , assuming your friend is in Vic.
Get friend to go to local police station.
Ask for form VP1146.
Complete form (sections 1, 1A, 2 and stat dec)
Hand back to member at desk.
Wait for member to complete their section 3 of the form.
Take completed form and send copy to insurer.
PM me if you want more
Thanks so much for this. I’ve downloaded the form and passed your instructions on.
Interesting. Where did you find it ? Fairly sure it's not available online.
@oscargamer: That's fair, maybe I'm blind. Anyhoo, on page 2 it says 1147 so IDK, I'd guess it would still work as the average if you round it comes to 1146 OR they will give you the right one.
@oscargamer: Interested to know why a particular form isn't available online. Is this the only circumstance where it would be of use?
Nope - I had the wrong form.
Curious about this.
What us form VP1146?
Simply put - It's an over-the-counter form for someone involved in a collision to get the details of the other driver. It's free and it's available to interested parties as well (like insurance companies), so I don't know why they don't use it……Well I do, it's easier to say no to the claimant and force them to pay their excess.
There are many if's, and's and but's associated with the form and when it's available, but that's sort of it.
Spread the word.
It was AAMI. Sadly my friend didn't have time to fight with the insurers - so I think they ended up paying the excess. But from everything I've learnt here - I'm changing my own car insurance, and I'll be ready if something like this happens.
Thank you to everyone for advice and help.
This is very strange… My boss had AAMI and was rear-ended by an unregistered, unroadworthy under influence driver and they covered $30k+ repairs. Even replaced a few curbed rims.
Yeah - this was for less and I wonder if AAMI just made it harder so that it wasn’t worth them fighting it. I don’t find it strange though - people guessed it was AAMI before I revealed it. That tells you everything you need to know.
I would guess it was easy for him at the time as he called the cops and the guy was right there. In his case, it fell under minimum effort they would do.
Oh seems one should avoid AAMI. thanks for sharing.
87percent on 10/11/2022 - 12:37 Comment score below threshold.
