Let The Insurance Company Deal With It

Category: Finance, Insurance.

Many of us have trouble accepting that they are to blame for an accident. I recall a claim form which said this accident was not my fault- I am an advanced driver and the vehicle in front should not have stopped in front of me! (This driver had just driven into a stationary car. ) But the truth is that even the most careful of drivers can have a sudden loss of concentration.

This is especially true of older drivers who have 40 years unblemished record or those holders of advanced driving certificates. And of course we ve all met motorists with an aggressive or exceptionally timid style of driving which is totally unsuited to today s overcrowded highways. It is better to admit to your insurance company that it was your fault. When you send a claim form to your insurance company, tell them the complete truth! They will be very unhappy if you bend the truth to try and make out that you were not to blame as they might try and defend claims made against you, lose and thus increase their costs. He must have been going so fast and it was entirely his fault By reporting honestly, owning up to your mistake and telling the insurance company exactly what occurred, you provide them a much better opportunity of making the right decisions about how to deal with any third party claim from the incident. They would much rather you told them simply and clearly what happened than make up a tale that might make you feel happier but will set them on a protracted and costly dispute they won t win. e. g. I pulled out of the minor road without looking and was hit by the other car is definitely preferred to I halted at the junction and looked both ways, the road was deserted so I started to cross when he hit me.

If they know that they must pay the other drivers claim, they might be able to take steps to limit and control the amount of money they have to pay to the other party. Simply send them all on to your insurance company, unanswered. You are almost certain to receive heaps of letters from the other drivers insurance company, his legal expense, his brokers insurers or his solicitors, maybe his employers( if using a company car) and so on. They will look after this for you. They say things like you are required to tell us the name and address and policy number of your insurers or you will be in breach of the Road Traffic Act and will be reported for a criminal offence or You must admit liability in writing within one week or we will issue a summons against you and so on. Some solicitors in particular can appear to be very threatening and intimidating with the style of letter they use.

Just ignore such letters! Let the insurance company deal with it. Don t let them upset you. I have had many telephone calls from my friends and customers who have become extremely upset by this type of letter. Since the implementation of the Woolf Report in April 1999, the legal profession should now use a standard letter of claim but this is still quite intimidating and I would urge Lord Woolf to tone it down a little further. There are a number of extremely aggressive lawyers out there today who have found a gravy train by doing this sort of work.

You might also receive a Summons through the post. In either case, send this to your insurer without delay. There are two possible Summons you might receive( for my dear readers in Scotland, this bit applies to English Law but similar action happens in Scottish Law. - A summons to answer a criminal prosecution e. g. careless or dangerous driving in the magistrates court( or Crown Court if the charge is extremely grave such as causing death by dangerous driving) - A county court claim form (or even a high court writ) seeking recompense in a civil action. They will read it to see what claims are made in the summons and decide what action they might take. If you feel that you have to talk to the insurance company, please do so but do not delay in passing on the Summons. They might appoint( and pay for) a solicitor to defend you or if it is a civil matter, they might just decide to admit guilt and to pay up rather than go through the courts with the possibility of considerable costs being awarded against them should they fail to win the case.

That is the worst thing you can do. There are strict time limits in which a response must be formulated.