3rd Party Insurance Claim

K

kgotson

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I am in a bit of a pickle at the moment, I had the unfortunate luck to be on the receiving end of a three-car collision at Robot, resulting in minor rear damage for myself. There were no injuries, and we all exchanged details. Luckily, all parties have insurance. The party that caused this whole thing is insured with Santam, my own insurance is happy for me to either claim directly or claim from the other insurance as a third party, either way, I should be able to recover my excess. I would like someone to give me some advice on a few things, please:

1. if I do claim from my insurance, will this count against me? Given that they will recover any and all funds anyway, could they increase my premiums?
2. If I go via Santam, could they reject the claim and if so what is my recourse?
3. Which route is best long term?
4. Any legal issues I should worry about?
 
Let the insurance companies battle it out. They can afford much bigger legal teams than you can as an individual.
 
You never claim from someone elses insurance, They will give you the run around and your car will sit unfixed for months. Claim from your own insurance and your legal department will sort it out with their legal department. That is what you pay insurance for.
 
epah said:
You never claim from someone elses insurance, They will give you the run around and your car will sit unfixed for months. Claim from your own insurance and your legal department will sort it out with their legal department. That is what you pay insurance for.
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This.

Its a very common tactic for insurers to lowball "the little guy" and make their lives a living hell

You pay insurance for a reason, let them battle it out to get you the best possible deal.
 
If you value your time, energy and sanity just claim from your own insurance and let them battle it out. Life's too short to try claim directly from another insurer.
 
Actually you can claim from Santam instead of your own insurer. There are a few things you must do:
1. Inform your insurer of the accident and tell them you would rather try to recover the cost from Santam.
2. Get the Santam claim number from the guilty party and register your claim under that number.
3. Do not accept any cash offers from Santam. If you do you will lose out. Insist that Santam arrange and pay for the repairs.

If all this do not work out, go to your insurance company and ask them to repair your car. You will lose your no-claim bonus and your premium will increase but at least you have that back door.

It is always better to try to sort it out yourself first.
 
Stonemason said:
Actually you can claim from Santam instead of your own insurer. There are a few things you must do:
1. Inform your insurer of the accident and tell them you would rather try to recover the cost from Santam.
2. Get the Santam claim number from the guilty party and register your claim under that number.
3. Do not accept any cash offers from Santam. If you do you will lose out. Insist that Santam arrange and pay for the repairs.

If all this do not work out, go to your insurance company and ask them to repair your car. You will lose your no-claim bonus and your premium will increase but at least you have that back door.

It is always better to try to sort it out yourself first.
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The question wasn't if they can, it was of its a good idea or not.. it's NOT a good idea, for all the reasons every one else has mentioned this far...
 
WAslayer said:
Always claim from your own insurer, let the insurance companies fight each other for whatever monies is owed to each other..
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This had a similar issue excess took 6 months to get back but I got it back in the end.
 
Claim from your own, never do a 3rd party
 
WAslayer said:
The question wasn't if they can, it was of its a good idea or not.. it's NOT a good idea, for all the reasons every one else has mentioned this far...
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If you stay within the rules, you will not have a problem. I have been in the insurance business and I have successfully claimed from a 3rd party insurance company in the past.
 
Claim from your own insurance. No matter what anyone says, 3rd party claims are not worth the hassle.

Insurers tend to apply the Apportionment of Damages Act to 3rd party claims and you end up on the hook for more than just the excess amount.

Just claim from your insurance. You pay them for this exact reason. This is why I stay away from these No claim bonus schemes, one ends up making bad decisions just so you can keep the “no claim” status.
 
3rd party claims afaik are excluded from impacting your loss record. What's the point of paying for insurance if you are going try hassle yourself. Claim, then nag for excess.
 
Kosmik said:
3rd party claims afaik are excluded from impacting your loss record. What's the point of paying for insurance if you are going try hassle yourself. Claim, then nag for excess.
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Any claim on your policy have an impact on your loss record or no-claim bonus.
Some of the better companies will reinstate your no-claim bonus if they are successful in recovering the cost from the other party.
For every year that you do not claim the better insurance companies reduce your premium by between 7 and 10 percent. This means by the time you get to the maximum no-claim bonus of 7 years, you pay between 50 and 70 percent less per month for your insurance. If you lose this by claiming, it will have a significant effect on your monthly cost.

That is why if the damage is such that you can drive your car,rather claim from the 3rd party.
 
Claim through your insurer
If you with a decent insurer you wont have an excess an neither will your no claim bonus be affected.
More importantly get and work through a broker.
 
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