Car accident, not at fault, should I go through my insurance?

LMultiplex on 27/09/2016 - 09:21
Last edited 27/09/2016 - 09:22

My wife was involved in a car accident and the other driver was at fault. I called my insurance company and was told I can repair the car and my insurance company will claim the other party on my behalf, effectively I do not need to deal with the other party

My wife did not check with the other party but I believe they are insured since it is a company car (semi-trailer).

My insurance said I do not need to pay the excess and it will not impact my premium but there will be a record in the system even though we are not at fault.

So my question is, should I go through my insurance? What is the pro and con with going through my insurance company to repair the car when I am not at fault? They are relatively painless to deal with. My insurance policy is from NRMA.

Automotive

Comments

  • TheMatrix on 27/09/2016 - 09:35
    +4

    Go through the insurance, they do all the work for you, if you are NOT at fault then there is no need to worry about it being recorded in the system. They will deal with the other party for you, usually they will contact the other's party insurance and arrange the papers work for you. One of the benefit of havng a comprehensive policy is for situation like this. If you only have third party policy only, you will need to do all running around yourself even though it is not your fault…. and sometimes it is a real pain…..

    • Banana on 27/09/2016 - 15:10

      They will record it on the system.I believe it will affect your rate slightly too(was advised by my insurer) as it means you drive around unsafe suburbs..

  • trevor99 on 27/09/2016 - 09:56

    Yes, if you don't have an insurance company behind you and there's any room for doubt it could be trouble. However if it's insurance vs insurance they won't fight because it's not in their interests to. They use the "knock for knock" system.

  • OldBugger on 27/09/2016 - 10:00

    As the above poster said, go through your insurer. They do all the administration work for you. You may as well get something for your money. However just be aware your premium 'may' go up. There is a whole thread about it on WP forums with no definitive answer.

  • Grayfox on 27/09/2016 - 10:07

    Recently I was hit from behind (not at fault). I didn't want to go through my insurance as I suspected my premium may go up even though I was not at fault. I liased with the other party's insurer to organise repairs and ended up getting a quote from a repairer of my choice. They also organised a rental vehicle for me to get around in for a week.If not at fault I would recommend this approach. If the other party/insurer is being difficult about the situation then I would go through my own insurer to avoid the hassle.

  • Savas on 27/09/2016 - 10:17
    +6

    Its always best to go through OzBargain first

  • Ryanek on 27/09/2016 - 10:20

    At this point you should question how much your time is worth. Do all the work yourself or let your insurance company handle all the details.

  • Euphemistic on 27/09/2016 - 13:28

    Sometimes, if it a low value claim, the other party might stuff you around to try and get out of it. It is worth their time to stiff you if they can as their insurance premiums can be pretty high. They may also have a policy that excludes low value claims meaning it comes out of 'petty cash'. Where I work the claim limit is around $20k - anything under that doesn't go to our insurance so reducing the cost of a claim saves real money.

    My mum had a truck reverse into her car years ago with only minor damage, initially the driver said he didn't want to involve the insurance company as his premiums would go up too much. Got 3 quotes, he mucked around, wasted time, said it was too much etc. Eventually mum got sick of that went to her insurance and had the car fixed with no further hassles - but it probably cost him more as they would have gone straight to his insurer.

    Use your comprehensive, let them deal with it. If you haven't/wont crash at fault you've been paying all that money for nothing.

  • pjetson on 27/09/2016 - 16:53

    Read your policy. Even if you do not lodge a claim through your own insurance company, your policy still obliges you to tell them about any accidents.

    So, if you are trying to "hide" an accident from them so that your premium does not rise, then you're not complying with the policy terms and the insurer may decide not to cover you in the future.

    Use your policy.

  • Mad Max on 27/09/2016 - 17:50

    Since you are not at fault I do not think your premium will go up.
    However NRMA used to have an auction type repairer selection. They would inspect your car and post the photos with description of the damage to a panel of their repairers in your area. They will then send you to the repairer with the cheapest quote. Accordingly the work would be done as cheap as possible as confirmed by some repairers.
    It happened to me.
    Whilst I could accept that outcome for an "at fault" comprehensive claim, I would reject it for a claim were I was not at fault and my insurance (NRMA) was handling my repair. In this case I would want to select the repairer of my choice and I would expect the best possible repair job.
    I never renewed my insurance with NRMA after that.

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