urgent insurance advice needed - just been driven into

[k3ab]

For gods sake don't go to your insurance company !!! Ring your Audi dealer - they will have a no fault service for when it is clearly not your fault. You ring the number they give you, they establish with the other party's insurer it is their fault and then they arrange an IDENTICAL loan car for you, they repair your car no expense spared and then pursue the the other party's insurer for their costs. Your insurance company need know nothing about. I've used this twice now and all the "prestige" german dealers have this system.

Interesting - I might give that a shot. Didn't know audi do this.

I think you can only comfortably ignore the incident if no insurers ever know the incident had ever happened.

I am going to wait for her hubby to call me and talk it over. If he's in the trade hopefully he'll have enough common sense not to take it straight to his insurer given the fact the damage is cosmetic.

 

[csmith319]

The only possible way out of having it on your record is if you're both insured by the same company. We had someone drive into our 3 series - £2.5K worth of damage. However, we were both direct line - I spoke to them and they said to deal with everything through their policy - I effectively was not making a claim and they said explicitly that I would never have to report this during any insurance quote / renewal.

but when you sign up to or renew your insurance you are always asked - have you had an accident (your fault or not your fault) in the last 3 years. Does not matter if it isn't my fault and HER insurance company pays out - the fact that I've had an accident and contacted my insurance company will go on the record (even if they dont pay anything).

That's the ONLY reason I am hesitating right now. If i start the process now, i will potentially put myself in a situation where my renewal (on BOTH A4 policy with directline and Z4 policy with admiral) will be a couple of hundred pounds more expensive.

The thing is that there was no claim made through my policy. They don't ask if you've had an accident - it is whether you have made a claim, whether or not the fault is yours. When I contacted them, they didn't even pull up my policy - they went straight to hers and then waited for her to contact them to start the process off.

 

[csmith319]

For gods sake don't go to your insurance company !!! Ring your Audi dealer - they will have a no fault service for when it is clearly not your fault. You ring the number they give you, they establish with the other party's insurer it is their fault and then they arrange an IDENTICAL loan car for you, they repair your car no expense spared and then pursue the the other party's insurer for their costs. Your insurance company need know nothing about. I've used this twice now and all the "prestige" german dealers have this system.

Yes - agree. As I say above - if you are not making a claim, then there is nothing for you to have to say when renewing your policy.

 

[dgm]

So the insurance companies ask you if you have had any accidents or claims , fault or no fault, and you falsely tell them no. There won't be any negative consequences? Of course there will be, they want to know if you have been involved in any accidents because it effects the insurance loading. The fact that you haven't claimed against your own insurance policy doesn't alter the fact that the insurance industry will now class you as a greater risk by virtue of the fact that you have been involved in an accident. If you choose to keep your involvement in an accident from your insurance company then you risk not being paid out in the event of a future claim.

 

[BMWZ4MC]

Your insurance company need know nothing about.

Yes - agree. As I say above - if you are not making a claim, then there is nothing for you to have to say when renewing your policy.

All of the above is nonsense, of course!

Typically, insurance companies ask ""Have you or any driver had any accidents, incidents, thefts, or losses, or made any claims (fault or non-fault) during the past 5 years ?"

The fact that you have been involved in this accident at all means that you are obliged to inform your insurance company to meet the terms of your contract with them. Technically, if you do not declare this event at renewal, you are uninsured. However, in the real world, if no insurance company is involved with the repair of either vehicle, then it is unlikely they will ever know about it. However, insurance companies do use a common database of claims, so if either party informs their insurance company about this, it will likely be logged somewhere.

 

[k3ab]

So the insurance companies ask you if you have had any accidents or claims , fault or no fault, and you falsely tell them no. There won't be any negative consequences? Of course there will be, they want to know if you have been involved in any accidents because it effects the insurance loading. The fact that you haven't claimed against your own insurance policy doesn't alter the fact that the insurance industry will now class you as a greater risk by virtue of the fact that you have been involved in an accident. If you choose to keep your involvement in an accident from your insurance company then you risk not being paid out in the event of a future claim.

yes it is true. no matter how much I disagree with the principle. daylight robbery. So if she does not claim and I do not claim then there is no "impact" on the insurance industry and it is safe not to disclose the incident.

It makes me incredibly angry of course as I strongly believe that if it isn't my fault I should not have to be penalized. The fact that I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time is not a good justification for increasing my premium. Them using a blanket rule to say that I am now a higher risk is bullshit. Why don't they add a premium onto everyone's policies that parks up at tescos?

 

[sars]

One of the problems using AUDI's own service, or any of them in fact, is that you will have to guarantee payment. That is they will do the work, loan you a car and sort it out with the insurance company and bill them for the cost, if for any reason they do not get the full amount from the other third parties insurance company YOU will be responsible for the difference (it's in their small print)

Unfortunately you have been involved in an accident, failure to inform your or any future insurance company, is there get out jail free card, do you really want to take that kind of risk?

 

[lacroupade]

My experience is that, providing it ends up being a genuine 'no fault' incident, which requires her to admit full responsibility and not, for example, blame you for parking poorly, you won't be penalised by your existing insurer.

But as has been said, it might be a different matter if you go elsewhere down the line....the bastards have you by the short 'n curlies every time

 

[k3ab]

My experience is that, providing it ends up being a genuine 'no fault' incident, which requires her to admit full responsibility and not, for example, blame you for parking poorly, you won't be penalised by your existing insurer.

But as has been said, it might be a different matter if you go elsewhere down the line....the bastards have you by the short 'n curlies every time

MMMM but what is the chance of that happening. If as she says her husband is in the trade, he'll know all about this sort of thing and they'll never admit their responsibility. I do have a picture of the scene for all its worth.

 

[original guvnor]

One of the problems using AUDI's own service, or any of them in fact, is that you will have to guarantee payment. That is they will do the work, loan you a car and sort it out with the insurance company and bill them for the cost, if for any reason they do not get the full amount from the other third parties insurance company YOU will be responsible for the difference (it's in their small print)

Yes that is correct. However I know of no occasion where there has been any shortfall. Both of the times I have used the system though there has no been no quibbling at all, likewise in the two instances where my friend had to use a similar organisation.

Let's face it these franchise dealers are in the main, major PLC organisations. They are not going to be able to set something like this up without the insurance industry's full knowledge and consent. There is a quid pro quo here for the insurers. Even if you open up a claim which is eventually a no fault claim it still costs your insurer a lot of admin time (and cost). Far more cost than if they were never involved.

For peace of mind you could do what I did the first time, which was inform your insurer that you were going to use this sort of service. They open up a claim but once it is confirmed as a no fault they should be happy enough to close it down with no adverse effects. Swiftcover did that with mine. My renewal suffered absolutely no consequences whatsoever. Best of both worlds.

This is a 2009 A4 which is worth a lot of money. If you are going to deal with her husband make sure you take it to an Audi dealer and get a quote and get him to settle the quote. Your corrosion warranty may be nullified if you don't.

 

[bernerbeemer]

this situation happened to me 4 years ago, on my birthday, in a public car park, on Fistral beach of all places, this guy reversed out of his space straight into my parked up 320d, I was sat in it, fortunately , but didnt have time to alert him as my keys were not in at the time. Anyway because my claim recovered all costs including my own excess this has not affected any of my subsequent quotes and policies taken out, including for the zed, via adrian flux. It is just listed on my claims history as accident, driver not at fault, total cost 2k, for 5 years- so you should be ok

 

[Wondermike]

I'd ring your insurance company and give her details and let them sort it out for you - you're going to have to declare it at renewal time anyway so you might as well get it sorted properly.

 

[k3ab]

ha ha - this is still going on. The lady refused to give me her insurance details and stated her husband would settle with me by paying for the scratch to be repaired privately. 4 weeks screwing around, we are finally at the stage where all he has to do is pick up the phone and pay the spray shop before I take my car in.... I love it when people drive in to you and then waste weeks of your time. Fabulous.