The Trouser Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I'm going through an insurance claim on the Zed at the moment and - long story short - the 3rd party is giving a different account of the collision to mine. After reading around the web, this sadly seems to be not unusual and unfortunately in my case there were no witnesses, CCTV or dashcams, so its very much their word against mine. Accordingly my insurer has said the most likely outcome is a 50/50 split liability. One line of enquiry I'm going to try to get my insurers to look at is to compare the damage of both cars (I've provided detailed images), as I believe that the damage couldn't possibly be caused by their version of events. Is this worth pursuing? Has anyone done this? Or is a 50/50 split the best outcome? Thanks in advance for any advice offered or experience shared. TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floydbax Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Sorry I can't help, but I can rant This bugs the hell out of me. The other party is lying, as per insurance directions to not admit responsibility. You will be hit with bigger premiums as being partly to blame, instead of the other driver who clearly can't drive properly being hit with bigger premiums. Yes I know it's called spreading the risk but 50/50 claims are not representitive of causality, especially when one side s lying!! It's just pure laziness on behalf of the insurance industry who should be required by law to investigate these things to a greater extent. Especially if a claim of lying is made. There's a whole industry out there of ripping off US yes US the ones who are paying for insurance!! The insurance industry don't care, it's mandatory and we have no real choice but to pay. They don't lose out. The government don't care it's all money in the system as far as they care which is good for the economy, business jobs etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 You can push, but they don't have to listen. Ultimately you've given them permission to do as they see fit, so they'll likely only go so far until they expect to get large costs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Use a company like BDL Investigations- they are independent accident investigators who occasionally act for local authorities and the police etc. It will cost you money up front, but when they prove the accident to be the other parties fault, you will have grounds to claim 100% back from the other party. Your insurers will have no issue with you spending money of your own back, and would normally hold up the case in order to give you reasonable time (especially as your work could negate their having to pay out). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 And if you lose, you lose big time. Unless it's 100% obvious, and I really mean obvious to a blind man at two miles when you take BOTH statements into account, I really wouldn't recommend doing that. It's not a terrible idea at all, I just don't think it's suitable for this case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The other party is lying, as per insurance directions to not admit responsibility. Yeah, a sad reflection of society. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 What if you paid extra for legal protection? Would that pay for such investigation? Or is it a worthless add on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 It would, but only if there is a realistic prospect of winning I would imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 You have to view the situation in context- if spending a couple of grand on a preliminary report from an accident investigation company will save your insurance excess and rise in premium for the next few years, it is a worthwhile spend. If the preliminary report is entirely supportive you may just get the other side/insurers to back down and admit liability, or encourage your insurers to foot the bill for the investigation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I very much doubt any excess + premium rise would be anywhere close to a couple of grand, but I concede your point and that it would depend on the individual's situation regarding their current insurance costs. Still not something I would personally recommend doing. The insurers themselves spend every day working how just how to pass liability to someone else, so if they're not keen then I would imagine there's a good reason why. Also, all this does is just drag everything on for longer, and sometimes you just need to accept the inevitable and get on with life as the stress of the process can be worse than anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sargara Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Dashcam. Its a sad reflection of todays society but for the small outlay <£100 its invaluable In situations like this. I know is hindsight but I hope you give it some serious consideration going forwards. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I feel for the OP. I had a similar situation a few years back. Woman driver pulled straight out in front of me and knocked me off my motorbike. She admitted liability straight away. Witnesses all said that they couldnt believe she pulled straight out. Anyhow, once it went through the insurance company she completely changed her story and said I was speeding through the traffic etc and it was my fault. The insurance companies argued the toss for months until I pointed out I had witnesses. Unfortunately by the time the insurance company spoke to the witnesses some 8 months after the accident they couldnt remember what day of the week it was let alone the accident details. After months and months more of haggling and court disputes they finally settled on 50/50 liability. It meant I only got 50% of the payout for the damage to the motorbike, lost 3 years NCB plus had an increased premium the following year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I had an odd one once, many many years back. Guy clipped my rear 3/4 coming off a roundabout, long story short it went 50/50 however I didn't pay any excess and I didn't lose any NCB. To this day, I've no idea what happened there. I was only 21 at the time so not that well versed in car insurancey things, so it never occurred to me that it was a little strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 similar thing happened to a friend of mine single track lane (my driving a white van) .......... a meeting in the middle except my mate came to a full stop and watched while the other guy skidded to a halt into the front end, he bounced off and landed in the ditch on the road, the guy admitted he was going to fast, by the time the insurers were informed it "somehow" got flipped and "he rammed my car into the ditch" went to court, my mate was found 100% guilty and all costs went against him - so whilst in reallity it would have been at worst 25/75 in his favour ......... he suspects that because he was a white van man ....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJC Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I very much doubt any excess + premium rise would be anywhere close to a couple of grand, but I concede your point and that it would depend on the individual's situation regarding their current insurance costs. Still not something I would personally recommend doing. The insurers themselves spend every day working how just how to pass liability to someone else, so if they're not keen then I would imagine there's a good reason why. Also, all this does is just drag everything on for longer, and sometimes you just need to accept the inevitable and get on with life as the stress of the process can be worse than anything. If keeping the z for a few years then the excess will be unlikely to reach £2k, but if the purchase of a GTR or similar is on the horizon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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