Let Your Insurance Company Deal With It

Category: Finance, Insurance.

Some people find it difficult accepting that they could possibly be to blame for an accident.

I recall an accident 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 hit a stationary car. ) But the truth is that even the best of us can suffer a sudden loss of concentration. This is particularly true of more mature drivers who have 40 years unblemished record or those who have passed an advanced driving test. And of course there are motorists with an aggressive or overly timid driving style which is just asking for trouble on today s overcrowded highways. It is better to tell your insurance company that you were to blame. 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 driving well above the speed limit and it was all his fault By being honest, holding your hand up and telling the insurance company precisely what occurred, you provide them a much better opportunity of coming to the correct decisions about how to deal with the third party aspect of your claim.

They would much prefer that you told them clearly and simply exactly what occurred than make up a tale that will probably make you feel better but will involve them on a protracted and costly dispute they won t win. e. g. I pulled out of the side road without looking and was hit by the oncoming car is definitely better than I halted at the junction and looked both ways, there was nothing coming so I pulled out when he hit me. If they know that they must pay the other drivers claim, they can start to take steps to control and limit the amount of money they have to pay to the other party. Simply forward them all off to your insurance company, unanswered. You will probably receive lots of letters from the other drivers insurance company, his legal expense, his brokers insurers or his solicitors, possibly his employers( if using a company car) etc. They will look after this for you. They say things like you must tell us the name and address of your insurance company plus your policy number or you will commit an offence against the Road Traffic Act and we will report you for a criminal offence or You must admit liability in writing within 7 days or we will issue a summons against you and so on.

Certain solicitors in particular can seem to be very threatening and intimidating with the wording of the letters they use. Just ignore such letters! Let your insurance company deal with it. Don t let them upset you. I have had many telephone calls from my friends and clients who have become extremely upset by this sort of letter. Following the implementation of the Woolf Report in April 1999, solicitors should now use a standardised letter of claim but this is still somewhat intimidating and I would ask the authorities to tone it down a bit .

There are some extremely aggressive lawyers out there today who have found a gravy train by taking on this type of work. You might also get a Summons through the post. In either case, send this to your insurer without delay. The two possible types are as follows: (for my dear readers in Scotland, this section applies to English Law but similar action happens in Scottish Law. - A summons to answer a criminal case e. g. careless or dangerous driving in the magistrates court( or Crown Court if the charge is extremely serious such as causing death by dangerous driving) - A county court claim form (or possibly a high court writ) seeking recompense in a civil action. They will inspect it to see what the summons is for and decide what action they are willing to take. If you feel the need to talk to your insurance company, please do so but do not delay in letting them have the Summons. They might instruct a solicitor to defend you or if it is a civil action, they might just be willing to to pay up rather than go through the courts bearing in mind the chance of substantial costs being awarded against them should they fail to win the case.

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