accidents happens, but what now?

[crabman]

hey all.

I was visiting a friend today and a idiot drove into my car.

I need to fix it and pay a excess of R2500.

I want to know if i can claim that R2500 back from him as my car was parked. Or how does it work. Does his insurance repair my car or mine?

Dial direct insurance

[killadoob]

Your insurance will get the money back from him. You cannot do anything. Your insurance will fix up your car and then get it back from his if i am not mistaken, something along those lines.

The last time i was in an accident i was not sure either and the person who was at fault said speak to my lawyer. I never got my excess back though :(.

[Kosmik]

Your insurance will get the money back from him. You cannot do anything. Your insurance will fix up your car and then get it back from his if i am not mistaken, something along those lines.

The last time i was in an accident i was not sure either and the person who was at fault said speak to my lawyer. I never got my excess back though :(.

If you go through your insurance the process works as follows:


The accident must be reported to the police
A claim must be lodged with your insurer
The insurer will give instructions to have the vehicle assessed
Once assessed, they will either pay out with deduction for excess due to write off or will advise panel beater to repair and you will pay excess at panel beater
In the background, the insurer will approach the other party and determine culpability
If the other person is insured, the insurance companies will argue between themselves, upgrading to litigation if necessary
If no insurance is involved, the insurer will attempt to contact the other party and litigate with them
Based on the results, a person will receive back excess or portions thereof based on culpability and the amount recovered
This process takes anywhere from 3 months to a year even
Hound your insurers for excess payback as a lot of them hold on to the excess if no-one questions and only pay out on request or at a discretionary time for them



That is based on my experience with insurers and being involved with 2 accidents personally and the resolution of my wifes.

[Dan C]

Make sure whoever rams into you, is sexy and you can resolve it on other terms.

On a serious note, it takes about 2 months for the insurance company to get your excess back.

[Imoe]

If the other party is insured, a claim will be submitted on your behalf. Unfortunately if they are not insured, it is a long battle with not guarantees of getting anything back.

My experience was similar a few years back. Intoxicated driver with no insurance drove into the back of my bakkie. Everything was for my cost, and the idiot played poor. The legal battle would just cost too much ito time and money so I launched it.

[Grimspoon]

Had a chick drive into the back of us a while back, I logged a claim directly with her insurance and thus didn't pay any excess.

[hansotto]

[QUOTE=On a serious note, it takes about 2 months for the insurance company to get your excess back.[/QUOTE]

I hope you are that lucky! Mine only got paid back after 9 months! But at least I got it back! :-)

[Jola]

Yes, i can take a long time to get your excess back, and then only if you are 100% innocent - which I guess would apply if your car was parked !

[lcbxx]

PHONE THEM, and ask. Why confuse yourself more by everyone else's theories/experiences? It's dial-direct, so you don't have to wait from the broker until Monday.

[Venomous]

Had a chick drive into the back of us a while back, I logged a claim directly with her insurance and thus didn't pay any excess.
That would also not been ''written on your accident record'' if he claims from his insurance he'll get a ''written record'' even though he was innocent.