My son had an accident in his car which is written off. Basically it wasn't his fault as the car that hit him

Gavin T

OK lets clear up a few misconceptions here. Firstly knock for knock has nothing to do with anyone but the insurance companies involved, let me explain how it works.. In any given week there will be accidents between people insured with Comapny A and people insured with Comapny B. Some will be the fault of Company A policyholders and some will be the fault of Comapny B policyholders, so in a year Comapny A will spend a lot of time and money writing to Company B asking for their mojney back, and in the same period Company B will also spend a lot of time and money writing to Comapny A asking for their money back. So to save time and money Insurance Companies keep records about who they pay out to and who they get money back from, and if they find a Company that they are paying roughly the same to as they are getting it back from they set up a knock for knock agreement. All this does is cut out the wasted effort in claiming money back when it isn't their policyholders fault and claiming it back when it is. ONLY the responsible party loses their no claims discount, and if you think about it this helps to keep premiums down because Insurers save on admin costs. Do not ever let anyone tell you that 'knock for knock' is a bad thing.

Now to address your question, because the other driver has not admitted fault (and may well be blaming your son) your Insurers are correct in what they are telling you. An excess is a payment you make in the event of an accident, if the other party admits responsibility (or his Insurers accept that damage to the vehicles will corroborate your sons version) then you can claim it back, if they do not accept responsibility you cannot claim it back (although you could sue them and then the other driver has to go to court and lie (which has implications)).

Yes your no claims discount will be affected because you have made a claim, the discount is for not making a claim. In the event the other party admits fault then your no claims discount will be reinstated regardless of whether it was dealt with on a knock for knock basis.

Having no witnesses makes it a little bit more difficult to resolve but insurance assessors are experts at looking at damage incurred to both vehicles and getting a pretty good idea at who was actually to blame (point of impact and severity of damage never lie).

Having said all of that you say that your son was on a main road so he had right of way and the onus is on the other driver to ensure it is safe to join it. I would write to the other party's insurers and detail these facts, stating that you hold him responsible and claim back your excess, once they capitulate your insurance company will reinstate your no claims discount.

From what you have said it sounds to me like you would win if it proceeded to the small claims court

GavinT

LJN1974

i'd see if the hotel has CCTV and use this as evidence for the insurance that your son wasnt at fault
hope he is ok

kitkat

Insurance companys do what is best for them, not you...

Big Bad Boris Mayor of London

Not if the other driver admitted responsibilty to the insurance company ! Sounds to me like the insurance companies agreed a knock for knock which is OK for them but not for your son

Duisend-poot

Ohhh it is you again. My twin:)

Deuce

The most important question is whether a police report was made at the time of the accident. If not, then it's really one word against another. You need to get in touch with the other person's insurance company and make a claim with them.

roger.williams20@btinternet.com

Why didn't your son call the police to the scene of the accident? My daughter was recently hit in the boot whilst standing at a road junction by a BMW driver and there were no witnesses. However, the driver accepted responsibility and his insurers are paying for the damage, providing a courtesy car and covering the excess on my daughter's car. Does your son have legal cover for ,if so, his insurers should fight his case. By the way who hit who?

shaza

I had a accident which wasn't my fault luckily i called the police and he took statements from myself and the person in the other car she admitted liability to the police man. if i hadn't rang the police i wouldn't have had a leg to stand on as the other driver is now saying it was my fault. the accident happened 6month ago and i still haven't been paid for the damage to my car

caring_sensitive_medic

hi 1st i totally agree with gavin t.
ok lets break it down

car pulled out of drive where was your son's car hit

side not at fault
rear not at fault
front wing not at fault

front (ie your son hit the other car side ) not at fault

offside wing ear of other car 50/50 as your son could have been going to fast

monkeymanelvis

Basically the insurance company will do anything and everything to get out of paying a penny. They like to keep all the money they make. Of course if they can take away no-claims bonuses then they can make even more money next year.
Tell the insurance company unless they can legally prove in a court of law that it was your son's fault then they can't penalise you as if it is.

When my sister's car was hit by an uninsured car the insurance company tried everything (including threats) to get her to pay the full amount so they would not have to. It took months to sort it out but in the end she did not have to pay a penny and nor should your son.

The insurance company is basically trying to bully your son into accepting full liability to save them having to pay him the money he is legally entitled to.

What you have to do is REFUSE ANY PAYMENT unless it is payment IN FULL with NO PENALTIES. Unless THEY can prove it is his fault they can't force him to accept underpayment UNLESS HE AGREES - SO DON'T AGREE.

DON'T reach "a compromise", that's basically agreeing to give them a discount on what they owe you.

IF THEY REFUSE TO PAY IN FULL then contact the insurance ombudsmen department. The ombudsmen will perform a full investiagation WHICH THE INSURANCE COMAPANY PAYS FOR.

DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH NON-PAYMENT. They legally HAVE to pay you in full unless you let them bully you into accepting less.

Good luck with this and remember - you are right, they are wrong and the owe you the money and can easily afford to pay you it!

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