Will a car insurance claim mess up my trip?

[Tiki]

Last week I was in a minor accident in a shopping centre car park. I was probably at fault. I have never been through this procedure before and don't know how it workd or how long it takes. Both the other party and I are insured and exchanged details. We both notified our respective insurance companies, his is Allianz and mine is Woolies Everyday Insurance. I just called him and he said his car is "being assessed" and it looks like he is going for the max. There is only minor damage but he is saying this and that and whatever (indicators, other electrical things) don't work. After the accident he drove off and I entered the shopping centre, did my shopping and left. Now he is saying his car had to be towed to the assessor. I have an $800 excess and tbh I thought the damage was so minor I would just pay for his damage and not file a claim.

How long does this kind of thing drag on? Will my insurer just bill me for the excess and be done with it? I have a trip in Oct, will the whole thing be over and done with by then?

 

[MELso]

After you claim, you may be contacted by your insurer to work out who was at fault (which you suggest you were), you'd pay your excess, you'd provide any information pertinent to the claim and you'd move on with life.

What happens from there is that your insurance peeps talk to his insurance peeps and they sort it all out - this is one major reason why insurance is a good idea (even if only fire, theft and third party if you drive a s***box)...

(EDIT - also do NOT contact the other driver directly in future - let your insurance handle future correspondence.)

 

[Forg]

Agreed, go through your insurance, whatever he claims is irrelevant to you - it’s only relevant to your insurer. He can’t “go for the max”, his insurer OR your insurer are going to find out if he tries some sort of scam & tries to get stuff fixed or changed that aren’t related to the incident … but that isn’t your problem, it’s your insurer’s problem.

I don’t understand how this might affect your trip?
I suspect you’re worrying about it way too much … it’ll just be sorted out, yes you’ll have an excess to pay, maybe your insurance will go up a little next renewal, but I can’t see this affecting your trip. The only way you should need to be involved is to pay that excess & that’s all, if you’ve already told your insurer you’re at fault they’ll have hit you up for the excess (or will soon) and October’s irrelevant.

 

[coriander]

Did you photograph the damage to both cars?
I had a similar cross street cark park accident where other driver claimed I slammed into his car. The photos proved the damage to his car involved tail and brake lights whereas damage to my car was entirely rear right door and side panel.
I gave everything to insurance company and let them work it out. Didn't pay excess.
BTW, he may have driven home and it may have been insurance company's decision to flattop his car to the assessment centre.

 

[Catardale]

Don’t overthink it, it won’t have any effect on your trip. The insurance companies will handle everything between themselves so highly unlikely the other driver will be able to rip anyone off. Even if he did it won’t really impact you (except next year’s premium will probably rise), you will just pay your excess no matter what. Your insurers will ask you for the excess fairly soon, maybe a week or two, so just pay it when they ask. Don’t contact the other party. Enjoy your trip.

 

[burmans]

The downside to having the insurers handle it is they have now real understanding of the situation. My wife has a 2km/h accident backing out of a car park. No obvious damage to our car, for them the number plate came loose but no evidence of other damage. When the insurance company got hold of it they claimed ( we strongly suspect pre-existing) damage, front bumper bar replaced, etc. The killer was the towing charge for 30km and the claim the car was undriveable.

My wife range our insurer and tried to argue this was totally a scam, they were largely uninterested! She had no photos as she regarded the matter as so minor, and as per the OP had told them give us a ring and let as know the cost as no way this justifies a claim. Live and learn!!

 

[Tiki]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know if these things ever go to court, and I would be forced to testify in person or something. Does the other driver have anything to gain by maxxing out the claim and fluffing it up? Like collecting a big payout and then paying a small amount to a cheaper repairer to fix it and pocketing the rest? Or do the insurers only pay direct to the repair shop? Or can he go to his cousin's shop and get an inflated price?

 

[dajop]

Insurers dictate the term of the repairs, not the insured, and have preferred suppliers.

 

[Freq Flier 2013]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know if these things ever go to court, and I would be forced to testify in person or something. Does the other driver have anything to gain by maxxing out the claim and fluffing it up? Like collecting a big payout and then paying a small amount to a cheaper repairer to fix it and pocketing the rest? Or do the insurers only pay direct to the repair shop? Or can he go to his cousin's shop and get an inflated price?

There will be no court case. Just the 2 insurance companies agreeing on a repair bill. If the other driver does something dodgy it will not impact you at all, so not worth even thinking about.

 

[JohnK]

It depends what you want to achieve.

Pay your $800 excess and let the other driver fix pre-existing damage to their car on your claim. It won't cost you more but I couldn't live with it.

My dad had a parking accident in my car. No clear sign of who's at fault but other party claimed dad was reversing. NRMA tried to extort $6000 from me and I said NO. Lodged a claim with my insurer and we fought NRMA that it was not dads fault. The minimal damage on my car suggested very minor accident and not as described by other party. Took quite some time but we didn't budge and when the photos of other car were sent to us it was clear the other car had at 2 other pre-existing damage that was significant and the one that lined up with my car was paint scraped by her not t-bone by dad reversing. NRMA gave up and I got excess back.

Stressful but I'd do it all again if not at fault.

 

[UP4014]

Some insurers will take the path of least resistance, pay the excess and forget about it. Not all insurance companies were created equal and accidents do happen.

As others have said, don't over think it, it's a process send photos of you vehicle to your insurer and let them do battle not you. It's unlikely you'll even know the outcome.

 

[Mwenenzi]

As others have stated photos help a lot. Can never take too many at any traffic - car incident

There is only minor damage but he is saying this and that and whatever (indicators, other electrical things) don't work.

What brand-model of car was the other person?
Car lighting-indicators can cost a lot to replace with new OEM units.

Woolies Everyday Insurance will likely be WW reselling from an insurance companies. Now days some insurance companies have many brands/resllers.

Car Insurance Quotes Online | Everyday Insurance from Woolworths

Comprehensive Car Insurance & Third Party Car Quotes. 24/7 Roadside Assist option. Get 10% off an in-store Woolworths shop every month. T&Cs apply.

insurance.everyday.com.au

Retail partners

Hollard supports some of Australia's brands. Take a look at who we are working with to provide you with insurance.

www.hollard.com.au

The insurance companies deal with each other every day. Do not overthink this small incident

 

[Tiki]

LOL maybe I got spooked a bit by the other thread about jury duty messing up someone else's trip. I didn't know if these things go to court or what. I was born in the most litigious country in the world so maybe a bit paranoid. Visions of lawsuits over whiplash, stuff like that.

Wow the insurer's nominated repair shop can't do a quote even for 2 weeks, repair jobs booking for Jan! I don't really care, my car is 16 years old and it was minor cosmetic damage. The other car is 1 year old. The guy was being a real jerk about me not admitting fault but it even says in the pds I should not do that.

 

[MELso]

As my uncle once told me of the Australian legal system: 'if you win, you lose and if you lose, you're screwed'. Insurers know this and will thus bend over backwards to avoid duking it out in court with another insurer. They will settle matters.

And no, never admit fault to the other party - just give a dispassionate description to your insurer and they can sort it out.