help with accident claim

[I.am.Sam]

Hi Guys

My sister had an atos and some old man with a picanto hit her from behind and he did not have insurance , so the doors of her car locked and she could not get out and stuff but she managed to and so the car was a write off ...and nothing wrong with the front of the car but the back was bad

she paid for the car 65k and was an automatic 08 model with only 22000km on the clock .....the autos are quite scarce and the price would have held for a long time and she only had the car about 6 months

insurance paid out only 50k ....huge difference and then the 5k for access will come back hopefully

so now my question is can the other driver be sued to claim back the money that was lost, atleast the 10k ....or is that also a write off

 

[froot]

Well that would be where the insurance could come in handy. Unfortunately he has no insurance and although he is liable it will be pretty tough to sue him for it. If he has no insurance chances are he doesn't have the money to pay out anyway.

 

[I.am.Sam]

im doubting it was his car cause it was a new picanto and not having insurance was something unexpected

yeah i know thats where the insurance comes in but alot of money has been lost

 

[The_Unbeliever]

im doubting it was his car cause it was a new picanto and not having insurance was something unexpected

yeah i know thats where the insurance comes in but alot of money has been lost

Ouch... that old man will have financial troubles

 

[I.am.Sam]

Ouch... that old man will have financial troubles

lol ...but still here we lost alot more cause if you look for an auto atos the prices are crazy so yeah we lost out alot

 

[undesign]

Hi Guys

My sister had an atos and some old man with a picanto hit her from behind and he did not have insurance , so the doors of her car locked and she could not get out and stuff but she managed to and so the car was a write off ...and nothing wrong with the front of the car but the back was bad

she paid for the car 65k and was an automatic 08 model with only 22000km on the clock .....the autos are quite scarce and the price would have held for a long time and she only had the car about 6 months

insurance paid out only 50k ....huge difference and then the 5k for access will come back hopefully

so now my question is can the other driver be sued to claim back the money that was lost, atleast the 10k ....or is that also a write off

If you don't have insurance you shouldn't be on the road. Period.

Speak to a lawyer about it. You could probably institute a civil claim for damages, but unfortunately the amount is relatively small vs possible legal costs. At the very least have a lawyer send a strongly worded letter threatening to sue for damages and costs, unless they are willing to settle a fair amount.

Also try to find out if the car isn't owned/insured by somebody else (you say you don't think it was the old man's car). If it is new (as you say) it is probably financed (very likely) - insurance is compulsory when financed by a bank.

You shouldn't have any sympathy for the old man - he was irresponsible and clearly in the wrong.

 

[MFour]

Insured value and market value is never the same thing, and (depending on the car) you will always be on the short end of the receiving stick. Of course you can sue the old man for the amount, especially if negligence can be attributed to his actions. However, a few things to consider:
1) Will it be worth the money spent on lawyers to try and get the additional R10k from him? (They don't come cheap)
2) Even if you win the case, will the old man be able to pay up? (Pointless if the man has no assets/money to pay you)
3) Would getting the R10k be worth potentially (don't know the old man's circumstances) destroying the old man's life? (Can you live with that?)

My opinion, write off the R10k as school fees and move on. Might not be easy financially, but I do not see you / your sister walking away a clear winner here. If the old man cannot pay R10k up front a court can only order him to pay you off whatever he can afford monthly. So that could end up being something like R100.00 / month for the next 100 months. Hardly enough to buy a car with.

 

[I.am.Sam]

Insured value and market value is never the same thing, and (depending on the car) you will always be on the short end of the receiving stick. Of course you can sue the old man for the amount, especially if negligence can be attributed to his actions. However, a few things to consider:
1) Will it be worth the money spent on lawyers to try and get the additional R10k from him? (They don't come cheap)
2) Even if you win the case, will the old man be able to pay up? (Pointless if the man has no assets/money to pay you)
3) Would getting the R10k be worth potentially (don't know the old man's circumstances) destroying the old man's life? (Can you live with that?)

My opinion, write off the R10k as school fees and move on. Might not be easy financially, but I do not see you / your sister walking away a clear winner here. If the old man cannot pay R10k up front a court can only order him to pay you off whatever he can afford monthly. So that could end up being something like R100.00 / month for the next 100 months. Hardly enough to buy a car with.

yeah i understand your point ...but when you work hard and not earn enough and takes you a while to save the 10k its seen as a major loss

and yes i dont want to put this guy is some misery but would be nice to know of someway that maybe he can compensate some of that money back

 

[I.am.Sam]

If you don't have insurance you shouldn't be on the road. Period.

Speak to a lawyer about it. You could probably institute a civil claim for damages, but unfortunately the amount is relatively small vs possible legal costs. At the very least have a lawyer send a strongly worded letter threatening to sue for damages and costs, unless they are willing to settle a fair amount.

Also try to find out if the car isn't owned/insured by somebody else (you say you don't think it was the old man's car). If it is new (as you say) it is probably financed (very likely) - insurance is compulsory when financed by a bank.

You shouldn't have any sympathy for the old man - he was irresponsible and clearly in the wrong.

yeah the car was a new picanto so most likely insured and thats why me thinking that its not under his name cause he says he is not insured

the accident happened at a robot ...people normally jump that robot but my sister never and he expected her to jump which i think of and he rear ended her

 

[reactor_sa]

That 10k is probably a write-off, if you were worried about the shortfall you should've added top-up to the insurance so they settle the shortfall witht the financing house, or you shoul've insured it for retail value (which isnt much more than market/trade value), or alternatively specified an actual amount you wanted insured. Its obviously too late for that now though. **** happens, a lot, especially on our roads....

Oh and the government needs to put some law in place to say you cant drive on public roads without insurance. There really needs to be some accountability from all drivers. Its only fair.

 

[I.am.Sam]

That 10k is probably a write-off, if you were worried about the shortfall you should've added top-up to the insurance so they settle the shortfall witht the financing house, or you shoul've insured it for retail value (which isnt much more than market/trade value), or alternatively specified an actual amount you wanted insured. Its obviously too late for that now though. **** happens, a lot, especially on our roads....

yeah never thought we would lose out so much so quick

cos now looking for a car around 50k is much harder than having that atos

 

[undesign]

yeah the car was a new picanto so most likely insured and thats why me thinking that its not under his name cause he says he is not insured

If he owns a new car he can afford the R10k. If he doesn't own the car it is most likely insured by the actual owner. Or he may be insured and lying to you.

I smell a rat...

 

[I.am.Sam]

If he owns a new car he can afford the R10k. If he doesn't own the car it is most likely insured by the actual owner. Or he may be insured and lying to you.

I smell a rat...

yeah need to find out if that is possible to find the owner and claim from him maybe

 

[reactor_sa]

yeah need to find out if that is possible to find the owner and claim from him maybe

If you have his ID number and vehicle reg number, your insurance company can check with other insurance companies if he has insurance or if the vehicle is insured.

Also we know that finance houses require comprehensive insurance on vehicles they finance, but it isnt unheard of that people buy cars and cancel the insurance after the first month.

 

[danlr]

One idea is to find out who the owner of the car is. You could then find out if the owner has insurance and get it through his insurance. As the owner is liable for what happens to the car! It is one way of trying to get something. If I were you I would find out who the owner is. Then phone YOUR insurance company's legal department and provide them with all the details. Tell them they need to write a letter to the owner requesting insurance info and see what happens. Long shot but worth a try

If it makes you feel any better - twice in the past 24 months a taxi hit me and drove off, I lost the excess both times and there is really NO point in trying to pursue them for that...

 

[Pitbull]

Hi Guys

My sister had an atos and some old man with a picanto hit her from behind and he did not have insurance , so the doors of her car locked and she could not get out and stuff but she managed to and so the car was a write off ...and nothing wrong with the front of the car but the back was bad

she paid for the car 65k and was an automatic 08 model with only 22000km on the clock .....the autos are quite scarce and the price would have held for a long time and she only had the car about 6 months

insurance paid out only 50k ....huge difference and then the 5k for access will come back hopefully

so now my question is can the other driver be sued to claim back the money that was lost, atleast the 10k ....or is that also a write off

No, the car was only worth R 50k that is what your insurance paid out. His insurance would have paid the exact same amount. She will get her excess back though, but the worth of the car is what she got, she isn't entitled to more.

 

[I.am.Sam]

One idea is to find out who the owner of the car is. You could then find out if the owner has insurance and get it through his insurance. As the owner is liable for what happens to the car! It is one way of trying to get something. If I were you I would find out who the owner is. Then phone YOUR insurance company's legal department and provide them with all the details. Tell them they need to write a letter to the owner requesting insurance info and see what happens. Long shot but worth a try

If it makes you feel any better - twice in the past 24 months a taxi hit me and drove off, I lost the excess both times and there is really NO point in trying to pursue them for that...

yeah its just feels krap that she lost so much and she loved that car and now looking for something is harder

No, the car was only worth R 50k that is what your insurance paid out. His insurance would have paid the exact same amount. She will get her excess back though, but the worth of the car is what she got, she isn't entitled to more.

but thats what im saying is that how can the car be worth 50k after like 6months of buying it and market is definately more than even the 65k

 

[The_Ogre]

Your family and accidents hey.

First you hit an old lady from behind, now your sister got hit from behind by an old man. (that actually sounds kinky)

 

[I.am.Sam]

Your family and accidents hey.

First you hit an old lady from behind, now your sister got hit from behind by an old man. (that actually sounds kinky)

haha ...damn dude ...uh uh ....mine was a young lady ..hot also....