Troubles after Car Accident with Insurance

dosada on 23/12/2019 - 17:25

Hello,

i know it's a long shot but maybe someone has some tips.

Long story short. Had a car accident about a month ago. It was the other driver's fault, she gave me her insurance details and i contacted AAMI. AAMI agreed their client is at fault and last Thursday said they would pay me out for the damage, i wanted a cash settlement since i don't think the car is worth repairing. Someone was supposed to contact me last Friday about it.

Since nobody rang Friday i rang them up today and was told that AAMI would NOT settle the claim because their client failed to meet their premium whatever exactly that may mean. Due to privacy reasons, they refuse to give me more details. The other party threatened me to call the cops on me just for messaging her to ask if she even filed the claim yet so i would prefer not to deal with her directly. What are my options and would be recommended to do next? The damage is quite big (over $5000) and i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident.

Automotive

Comments

  • PissLUR on 23/12/2019 - 17:28
    +24

    Wow. you drove uninsured.

    • SlavOz on 24/12/2019 - 16:52
      -3

      OP's car is worth less than $5k. Only a total dropkick would buy comprehensive insurance for a car with that value. Not worth it.

      • kerfuffle on 24/12/2019 - 16:57

        Where does it say the OP’s car is worth less than $5000?

        • SlavOz on 24/12/2019 - 17:00

          In the OP.

          The damage is quite big (over $5000)

          i wanted a cash settlement since i don't think the car is worth repairing

          If $5k in damage is not worth repairing, I'd imagine it's because OP's car is not valuable enough for him to care that $5k worth of damages is on it.

  • Baysew on 23/12/2019 - 17:33
    +1

    How much damage to the other car? (Or make model year)

    If other party wants their car repaired, they will need to sort out with insurance company and once that happens insurance will pay you.

  • thatonethere on 23/12/2019 - 17:33
    +2

    Dont tell them you have no insurance otherwise they will know you are a loser (no offence) and underbid you.

    Just send a letter of demand to the owner for the market value of the car. However once you take their offer you cant get hire cars etc. That will prompt them to get their insurance company to get rid of you (pay you out).

  • CMH on 23/12/2019 - 17:34
    +7

    Write a letter of demand to the other driver via registered post.

    After a month sue the other driver for damages via magistrate's Court (in Vic. Other states may need to go through xCAT).

    Good luck!

  • brendanm on 23/12/2019 - 17:34

    Letter of demand to the other driver.

  • Hithere on 23/12/2019 - 17:35
    +4

    their client failed to meet their premium whatever exactly that may mean.

    Sounds like their client was uninsured at the time of the accident.

    i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident.

    Looks like you are up ship creek.

    Time to think about seeking legal advice.

  • Ace Ventura on 23/12/2019 - 17:37
    +3

    The other party failing their premiums, means they basically don't have insurance either.
    So without insurance yourself, your left fighting the other driver yourself.
    I believe you can take the claim to Xcat. You'll need to know the drivers details. You'll need to prove the other driver was at fault, so keep any police reports your have. Winning won't necessarily mean you get paid either, you may have to follow that up with subsequent court dates to have the other drivers wages garnished.

    I foresee an expensive lesson on why you never drive uninsured.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2019 - 17:41
    -1

    Basically you get details via the police after sigining forms and have to take civil action.

  • spackbace on 23/12/2019 - 17:44
    +27

    i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident.

    Member Since
    20/06/2013

    Dude…

  • pegaxs on 23/12/2019 - 17:47
    +2

    and i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident.

    Call a lawyer.

    /thread

    If only there was a search function to see if anyone had posted about uninsured drivers…

    • spackbace on 23/12/2019 - 17:53
      +5

      Lawyer asked what the MY date of the vehicle is

      • pegaxs on 23/12/2019 - 17:55
        +6

        My lawyer asked;

        “What did Australia’s foremost insurance advice forum say when you asked them?”

  • crentist on 23/12/2019 - 17:53
    +1

    Sounds like the other driver messed up their own insurance and have to pay you out of pocket. So they are inviting you to take them to court.
    Speak to a lawyer I guess, and do them hard.

    Also speak to a mechanic about this, if you know one. I'd be trying to get a mechanic to fix it up on mates rates in case you can't get any money from them, but let them pad the invoice a little in case they do pay up. That way if they try to haggle down the price after repairs are finished, you have a little wiggle room to still break even. Or if they pay some inflated amount, even better.

    If they were cooperating, you could try to come to a friendly agreement on repair costs. Since they clearly aren't, screw em

  • KBZ on 23/12/2019 - 18:31
    +9

    Troubles after Car Accident withOUT Insurance

    FTFY

    • gummibear on 24/12/2019 - 06:45

      True. Insurer has done nothing to cause any trouble….

  • tsunamisurfer on 23/12/2019 - 18:50
    +7

    The other party threatened me to call the cops on me just for messaging her to ask if she even filed the claim yet so i would prefer not to deal with her directly.

    She wants this (you) to go away as she was herself uninsured.

    I have no sympathy for people who drive uninsured.

    • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2019 - 21:23
      +1

      Me either.

      If you haven't insured your own property you then value it at zero.

  • Euphemistic on 23/12/2019 - 18:58
    +2

    This is why you have insurance, or only have third party and are prepared to lose the value of your vehicle.

  • Muzeeb on 23/12/2019 - 19:23
    +4

    Simple. Just go through your insurance.
    .
    Wait
    .
    .
    What?

  • Muzeeb on 23/12/2019 - 20:50
    +3

    Troubles after Car Accident with Insurance

    Please amend title to:

    Troubles after Car Accident and Neither Party Insured

  • JimmyF on 23/12/2019 - 21:50

    i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident

    facepalm……..

    Well that makes things hard, you have no easy option forward.

  • slow on 23/12/2019 - 22:19
    +1

    As you are both uninsured it is a just a civil matter between her and you. Of course she is going to try and frighten you away. Up to you how far you want to push it. Going to be messy

    • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2019 - 22:58

      Frighten? The best defence is the old mother Hubbard defence. The cupboard is bare and you will pay lawyer fees and court costs yourself.

  • [Deactivated] on 23/12/2019 - 22:54

    Lawyer up or get free legal advice from Legal Aid.

  • OzHunterNSW on 24/12/2019 - 10:47
    -4

    The insurer is dodging their responsibility…
    Don't contact the other person…. NO NO NO.
    Ring the Dep of Fair Trading and seek advice. They are free and know exactly what to do in these situations.
    The issue is between you and YOUR insurer (do not contact the other party — comprendo?)

    You deal with your insurer only and it will be your insurer that you most probably will have to take to Tribunal or Court.

    They have to be answerable for their declining of your claim.

    They hide behind so called "privacy Laws" so to piss you off…. These Laws are overturned during Tribunal or Court… bc the Member/Magistrate needs ALL the facts.
    So don't be bluffed by your insurer - they are now trying to rip you off.

    DO NOT CONTACT THE OTHER PARTY

    • Ughhh on 24/12/2019 - 11:08

      The damage is quite big (over $5000) and i didn't have insurance at the time of the accident.

      Confused?

    • PissLUR on 24/12/2019 - 11:22
      +1

      read the post dude.

  • supercheapguy on 24/12/2019 - 11:16
    +3

    S*hit that could have been me a month ago. I did not have insurance at that time.

    Good Luck with everything. AAMI is bad company and they will do anything to avoid paying out. (from my experience)

    My car was hit by the vehicle that drove through the red light. I was turning right when I got green arrow.
    The old lady insisted I was driving through the red light and she was right. She even mentioned she has not been in an accident for a long time (like it's got something to do with this incident).

    My car was hit on 8 of November (Friday).
    The old lady refused to give me her driver's licence due to her concern about the privacy. I made her lodge the claim on her insurance (AAMI) to ensure there is some sort of record. She told them I was at fault.

    I spent my weekend 9 of November and 10 of November to walk around the intersection to find out any cctv cameras but no luck.
    Talked to Security at shopping Center(Victoria) and he confirmed that it is on their camera. He saved the footage.

    I called AAMI on Monday (11 of November) as I was told I will be given a chance to provide my version of accident later Friday (8 of November). No one called me until Monday ( We all know corporate go to work on Friday for the sake of being there and nothing really gets done).

    The staff member from AAMI told me I was at fault without asking my side of story which is really disappointing . I expected it is not something you can decide based on what one side says. It just goes to show that you don't have to industrial experience to work in a big corporate company like AAMI.

    I tried getting the footage from security and they could not give it to me due to privacy reason. They said that they could only give it to police. Went to police station and did not get much help. Police told me there is no crime for them to get involved.I do not blame on police. I blame the system.

    I spoke to my friend at work and her mom is a police officer to get some advice. She said she can get a footage for me and it is not illegal.

    Fast forward to a week later, I got the footage https://youtu.be/yi6eeNVGpqw - my car is turning right and you can see drivers behind me had to brake hard to stop.

    Got footage and spent 2 weeks of me threatening AAMI to sue them.

    5 weeks later, they called me and tried to pay me for the damage.

    I now have insurance and dash cam so I won't have any of those bs.

    • Ughhh on 24/12/2019 - 12:01
      -1

      AAMI is bad company and they will do anything to avoid paying out. (from my experience)

      Would that make them a good company as your insurance?

      Ie. Bad if you're not with them, but good if you are.

      • Never Pay RRP on 24/12/2019 - 12:42

        The only one in that scenario who would consider AAMI 'good' would be AAMI shareholders.
        If you're at fault in an accident you want your insurance company to pay out the other party without any hassles. You don't get any benefit since you would be paying the excess to repair your own car anyway

        • Ughhh on 24/12/2019 - 13:21

          If you're at fault in an accident you want your insurance company to pay out the other party without any hassles

          Once you've paid your excess, who calls up the other party to check how their car is going?

          I would assume they would, but their job is to take care of my liabilities once excess is paid. What happens after, don't care.

      • supercheapguy on 25/12/2019 - 20:58

        Haven't you heard of AAMI? It's cheap. You will only regret being a member of AAMI when you need to claim something.

        • Ughhh on 25/12/2019 - 21:58

          I'm guessing you haven't actually been a member wth them? You're just going by what people tell you?

          Well I have been a member with them and have made claims, as at fault and not at fault. So I'll stick by experience rather than verble farts.

          • CMH on 26/12/2019 - 13:36

            @Ughhh: My issue with AAMI is their in-house car repairs.

            Done on a ridiculously low budget and it shows (if you know what to look for).

            Sure, it looks fine, until you give it a real close look.

    • KBZ on 24/12/2019 - 12:11

      Did she use her position as an Officer to get the footage? Or is there some other way, curious to know
      Really seems unfortunate unless you're in a position of power or know someone who is; you really are shit out of luck getting any help with obtaining CCTV footage.
      Private business/people don't have to assist, police won't assist unless crime involved; I also believe even if police did get the footage they would view it themselves and not release to you.

      • supercheapguy on 25/12/2019 - 21:01

        Yeh her position as police officer and just gave the footage to me. I was really lucky though. I don't think I can get anything without her help. Security at shopping centre is nice enough to go through and kept the footage aside

  • dosada on 24/12/2019 - 13:52
    +2

    A big thank you to everyone who has helped and shared their input. I will contact legal aid as soon as the public holidays are over and see what they recommend.

    • smashman42 on 24/12/2019 - 14:39
      +2

      Good luck!

      Not trying to be a dick here, just thought I'd try explaining why all the "wow, driving uninsured?" comments.

      Driving uninsured is like screwing a cheap hooker without a condom.

      You've learned the lesson the hard way now so you don't need kicking while you're down, but in future if money is tight then at the very least please get 3rd party property in future to cover your arse for hitting a Merc/Beemer/etc. If you didn't know, the 3rd party included in Rego/green slip/whatever is just insurance for people - like if someone ends up in a wheelchair or needing a year of physical therapy to walk again. It doesn't cover the any of cars at all.

      Also, don't rely on the "I'm a good driver so I won't have an accident" self delusion everyone seems to have, as you've just discovered other people can still hit you and you end up just as screwed without a car and with huge bills regardless of who is at fault.

      IANAL, but I think even after the court stuff figures itself out, you're likely to both be left fixing your own cars anyway (even if you win, she'll probably do some pay you $20/month BS deal), so I'd get onto sorting your own car ASAP or just replace the car if it is too expensive to fix right now.

      One of my best mates fell on hard times after a relationship breakdown financially screwed him & he let his insurance lapse, much like the lady in your story. Then also just like the lady in your story, he hit a car. He was lucky enough to borrow money from his mother interest free to pay the other people's insurance company off, but it was a hell of a lesson to learn. He thought he was financially up shits creek before that happened, then what do you know shit gets worse.

      Good luck dealing with all this, I hope it goes as well as it can for you.

      • dosada on 24/12/2019 - 19:36

        Thank you. I didn't even know that the car isn't insured. It is my wife's and for some reason, she didn't renew the policy. I would never assume that i am to good of a driver to cause or end up in an accident. Happens to everyone and i have had more than enough accidents so far to know. It was never my fault but hey, you still end up with the hassle and bad feeling about it.

        AAMI has identified her as the one at fault, i have taken photos of the accident and she is clearly in my lane without me having a possibility to move anywhere away from here. She also hit me at the front wheel which proofs that she was actually behind me, Her excuse is "But i was indicating".

        There is a quote from AAMI which should be plenty for the court to determine the damage caused, especially since it is by AAMI's own assessors. The plan now is to sell the car and buy a replacement. Being a 2012 Ford Mondeo with 236000KM It is not worth it to put so much money into a repair. I will have a chat to legal aid first and see what they recommend but i sure as hell will chase this until the end of it because she needs to learn a lesson.

        • smashman42 on 24/12/2019 - 21:59

          Was there a police report when it was going through insurance? Cause you'll probably need one

          Good luck!

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