[WA] Was in a 3 Car Accident Being The One at The Front and Insurance Can't Contact The First Car

Lgrsbargain on 11/01/2022 - 16:56
Last edited 11/01/2022 - 17:56

Hey guys,

Just want to get some ideas on what I can or should do in this scenario.

Was involved in an accident where the car behind me was rear ended and ended up hitting my car after the impact. I got the details from the car behind me, but not from the car behind the car that hit me (if that makes sense)?

Now apparently the dude behind me lost the details of the dude behind him and Youi is saying that because of that I have to pay my excess in order to fix the rear bumper…

I was always under the assumption that the person behind you was at fault and in a multiple car accident then the person just didn't give enough space.

The first car I'm pretty sure was a write-off as the whole front was bent and he couldn't drive it home so there is a police report for it (I didn't do one because mine is a minor damage to my bumper).

Thanks for the help! First time car owner here so not sure what to do.

EDIT: Apparently there is a police report for it. Car 2 guy said he's gonna get it from the police and forward it to me, then Youi said they will follow up on that. Very lazy of Youi to expect me to chase those details as they should do it from the beginning.

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Comments

  • seajay on 13/01/2022 - 06:39
    +1

    Having dealt with this with friends in the same situation it became apparent how difficult and lazy insurance companies are. We got full driver licence details but not insurance or phone number and the insurance company still refused to act.

    In any accident do everything you safely can to get full vehicle particulars, a photo of a driver's license / complete details including phone number and name of their insurance and a police report.

    Expect also the police to not be interested in filling a police report unless someone is injured and probably not even show up.

    In my friends case it ended up being the tow company who blindly just handed out the contact details of the at fault party with a simple phone call. Everyone else was avoiding and ducking and weaving.

    It's not how it's supposed to work - the innocent party shouldn't have to do so much leg work - but being aware of reality can make life much easier.

    All the best.

  • DarkOz on 13/01/2022 - 07:41
    +5

    Imagine what you have to do in a 10 car pileup? Get the details of all the cars behind you?

    Youi is short for Youidiot.

  • seeknsearch on 13/01/2022 - 08:16
    +8

    Lol Youi. Drop them immediately.

  • AG_ACT on 13/01/2022 - 09:28
    +2

    My 2c:

    Tell the insurer, the damage to your car was by party B. What caused Party B to cause damage to your vehicle, is not really a concern for you, and how party B's insurer chases Party A (or their insurer) for the actual cause is not really your concerns, and shouldn't be your insurers concern.

    You have an agreement with Youi, and unless there is something crazy written in the PDS, you shouldn't have to go chasing other info than the party who caused damage to your car. If the CSR can't see logic the insurer probably has a IDR department, and if not, I think insurers fall under the Financial Industry Ombudsman.

    Given the treatment you have had from Youi, I personally would be trying to get the claim number from Party B and contacting their insurer as a third party, and dealing with them for hire car + repairs/fair market value pay out. You will (hopefully) get a choice of who to get your car repaired through, and probably have a significantly better chance of getting the job done properly. My personal experience is there is a remarkable difference between a 3k job done by a panel beater for an insurer and the same 3k job done for a private individual.

  • Carmen Sandiego on 13/01/2022 - 09:28
    +4

    Firstly, @grsbargain - on behalf of decent Insurance people, I'm sorry you've had this issue.

    As an Insurance Broker, I have come across motor claims and I can say the following;
    * ALWAYS get photos of the whole post accident situation, especially ones with the number plate of the cars in the accident so you have some kind of solid record
    * Exchange phone numbers of as many people as you can (if it is a multi car accident) so you have some witness statements and at least some kind of details
    * Once you get a moment, write down your version of what has happened so you have a written record of your memories

    • imurgod on 13/01/2022 - 13:21

      Agree and this is why you should use an insurance broker.

  • solidussnake on 13/01/2022 - 10:43
    +5

    Youi is the Harvey Norman of insurance

    • hopper on 13/01/2022 - 16:28

      Harvey is back

  • Seraphin7 on 13/01/2022 - 11:30

    Seems to me like the biggest problem in all of this is OP not gathering all relevant details at the time of the accident.

  • JimB on 13/01/2022 - 12:16
    +3

    Another reason why I don't like Youi.

    Giving Youi my credit card just for a quote? Get the f out of here.

  • BOWEN012 on 13/01/2022 - 12:21
    +4

    You hit by a car, you are not at fault and you have details of the driver that hit your car. Leave this to Youi then that is their jobs.

  • knhchris on 13/01/2022 - 12:43
    +3

    Dear friend,

    I have been in almost exact same situation before except mine is 4 car crash.
    The car at the end caused the accident.
    My car was the 2nd from the front.

    I am with comprehensive on budget direct. Are you on a comprehensive?
    Anyway, they asked me for the same thing, please provide me the car that caused the accident AND the car right behind my car.
    I did not get the details of the car right behind me, only the guy who caused it.
    I took picture of every single car that were involved.

    Why I didn't get the detail of the car right behind me? Because I was a noob. I didn't think that it was that the guy right behind me is not at fault considering that his car was not close to my car at all (4 car accident, so note that the guy who caused accident was going quite fast).

    Insurer said I need to pay excess if I cannot provide the guy right behind me.

    I didn't like that approach because they just said that without asking me for further details. (I guess they are just doing their job efficiently).
    It took me some effort but I was able to get in touch with the guy right behind me.

    Provided it to the insurer and they took it from there.

    One lesson I learnt through this process is that, if there is an accident get the following:
    1) Picture of the drivers license of everyone who was involved in the accident
    2) Phone number of all of them

    Bonus:
    Process will be superfast if you can provide:
    1) recording or written agreement of the guy at fault stating that the accident was caused by him.

    • JimB on 13/01/2022 - 14:14
      +1

      ' recording or written agreement of the guy at fault stating that the accident was caused by him.'

      FYI- even if you are clearly at fault, do not admit you are at fault. You may void your insurance that way.

      Let your insurance company determine if you are at fault.

  • imurgod on 13/01/2022 - 13:16
    +1

    Youi, Budget, Progressive, etc. are some of the the worst insurers for everything.

    In this instance, your PDS will outline what info you need to provide to have the excess waived.

    If you met the requirements, you don't have to pay the excess.

    Also, in a multiple car accident, the liability depends on who hit who when. i.e. if car 2 hit car 1 and then car 3 hit car 2 afterward; then car 2 is AF for the first hit and car 3 is AF for the 2nd hit.

  • MrFunSocks on 13/01/2022 - 13:31
    +5

    Youi are in the wrong here. It's not your problem who hit the person who hit you, only who hit you. Youi should chase the guy who hit you's insurance, who will then chase the guy who hit him's insurance.

  • Ughhh on 13/01/2022 - 13:46
    +3

    When in an accident, assume you may never hear or see any other parties and their car again, so take as much info (including photos) as you can- your car, their car, one with everyone's car etc (without being creepy).

  • RedDevil860 on 13/01/2022 - 13:51
    +1

    There is a reason why Youi is cheaper. Rubbish service. I had similar experience with them. Prefer paying a little more for piece of mind.

  • factor on 13/01/2022 - 14:07
    -2

    Youi PDS:

    "Where the incident is completely the fault of a third party and you can
    provide their full name and two of either their phone number, address, driver’s
    licence number, or the registration number of their vehicle that was involved in
    the incident, we will waive payment of any excesses."

    The name and address you need is of the person at fault — ie: the rear vehicle. Youi is entirely correct. In future, you want a photo of car and drivers license of every vehicle involved.

    • MrFunSocks on 13/01/2022 - 16:00
      -1

      No, because the person who hit OP is the one who is "at fault" for the collision with OP, and they gave Youi those details.

      OP has nothing to do with the car 2 cars behin them in this situation. They may as well not exist for OPs claim.

      • factor on 13/01/2022 - 17:14
        -2

        The question is who would be found at fault in court — that's who Youi needs to contact. That driver is the one at the rear.

        • MrFunSocks on 13/01/2022 - 17:28
          -1

          Not how it works.

          I was rear ended by a car that was rear ended. I got details of both cars. My insurance only wanted the details of the car that hit me. They deal with that persons insurance company, who then work with the other persons insurance company. They did not want or care about the driver of the car at the very back that made first contact.

          • UFO on 15/01/2022 - 14:29

            @MrFunSocks: exactly this.

            They look at who caused the damage to the insured property. They then make enquiries with that person (their insurer) who absolve themselves of responsibility by providing the details of the car that hit THEIR property. Then both those insurers chase the third car, separately claiming damages from him.

            It's not up to the first car to get all the information from all the other cars up the daisy chain. They just need the details of the car that caused the damage to their car.

            Determining who's at fault in the collision IS NOT up to the driver at the front. That happens days/weeks/months later.

    • Hangryuman on 14/01/2022 - 11:03

      that's where insurance companies get you - and avoid payouts - using innocent-sounding keywords that remove their liability - 'completely'

  • baskinghobo on 13/01/2022 - 16:11

    I was always under the impression that insurance would cover your car even if you don't have the other parties details e.g. hit and run.

    • seajay on 13/01/2022 - 16:13
      +4

      They will, but you pay the excess. If you give them the avenue to recover costs, eg the party at fault, they will waive the excess as they can recover their money.

  • hasher22 on 13/01/2022 - 21:10
    +1

    Youi sucks…..

    When I got rear ended. Woolies insurance was surprisingly easy they said: no excess, not your fault, let's get it fixed, done.

    I gave the details of the other driver and the rep didn't need photos, he just trusted me and put through the claim.

    • john_conner on 14/01/2022 - 16:10

      They didn’t need to trust you.
      The repairer submitted all the photos and reports required.

      I would next time suggest dealing with the other insurer directly. That way you can choose your own repairer, rather than the cheapest one your insurer goes for. Unfortunately, now next time you apply for insurance you have to say you had a claim and your premium will go up!

  • Wayne7497 on 13/01/2022 - 22:27
    +3

    Car 3 is at total fault end of story, (37yrs in WAPOL)youi getting you to chase up police reports saves them money, it's a bluff they can get all details they want. But if it happens again get all other parties details.

  • Poor Ass on 13/01/2022 - 23:11

    I have to say from personal experience the post sales service of YOUI is as bad as it can get especially when you ask for your credit card to be remove they refuse

  • jerjergege on 14/01/2022 - 07:35
    -1

    Doesn't matter, Middle Car's fault for not leaving a safe distance between their car and your car.

    EDIT: Aparantly it is the First car to rear end someone's fault.

    When there is a pile-up of three or more vehicles, a car will still be at fault for rear-ending another vehicle unless it was also rear-ended from behind.

    So in the first scenario above, the first car that started the rear-end collision could be held liable for all cars in front of it that were impacted. Vehicles caught in the middle that lose control and are forced into the vehicle ahead due to a rear impact will not be at fault.

    In the second scenario, the middle car would be liable for the crash as it caused the first impact, although it was in turn rear-ended after the accident by a third vehicle.

    In the third scenario, it could be defined as a blameless accident as the accident was out of the driver’s control. Note that with changes to the Motor Accident Law in NSW from 1st December 2017, compensation can be obtained in blameless accidents.

    Source:https://www.taylorandscott.com.au/motor-accidents-motor-vehicle-claims/liable-multi-car-pile/

  • dtoovey on 14/01/2022 - 11:10
    +2

    I'd add a cautionary note. I got rear-ended and did nothing about it because it looked just a scratch on an already scratched bumper. Later I noticed a small dent in the rear hatch. Then, getting some other damage repaired, the repairer got under the car and pointed out that my subframe was badly bent and had lost integrity. If we get rear ended again, the car could crumple.

    Point being, OP is saying just a bumper. I couldn't believe how little external damage there was compared to that subframe. So make sure you get it checked and claim for a repair.

    Also, I was rear ended and in a similar fashion it's all about the last car that hits and shunts everyone else. I only had the details of the car behind me. Seems impractical to get everyone's details if you had 5+ cars along with possible injuries and distress.

  • Tuftsdude on 14/01/2022 - 12:31
    +2

    While we're talking about Youi lets address how ridiculous it is getting a car insurance quote from them. You put in all your details online except for contact info, they proceed to ask for a verification code they sent to you (complete bs to get your number), once you key it in, they call you and ask 100 other questions. Told the lady on the phone I have 5 minutes, call ran for 30 mins. Even if they were the cheapest/best option, I'd avoid them after that experience.

    Spoiler: they're quite expensive.

  • pistachio on 14/01/2022 - 13:14

    Why do you have to pay excess fee when you are not at fault?

  • hunter123 on 14/01/2022 - 15:24
    +2

    Been in a similar position, was in the last car that bumped into the rest. Police told me I only needed the details of the car in front as all the ones ahead of that were not my responsibility. (I had asked them for the details of the other cars). Relative is a car mechanic who confirmed that in his experience it's the car you hit, the rest of the chain is due to each car not leaving a long enough gap.

    And it is 100% the insurer's job to sort it out with the other cars.

    If it doesn't get resolved with youi suggest you go to AFCA

    • tight-ass on 15/01/2022 - 01:26

      Still doesn't sound right….so how far is far enough when leaving a gap when stationary at an intersection?

      You could piss everyone off & leave a gap of 2-3 car lengths and still hit the car in front of you if you're hit from behind by someone doing high speed.

      • [Deactivated] on 25/08/2022 - 08:35
        -1

        RACT driving instructors teach that if you can see their back wheels touching the asphalt, that is the minimum distance. the problem is that some people are taller than others and can see the wheels earlier (happened to me in my test, got a neg for it)

  • UFO on 14/01/2022 - 20:59
    +2

    Front vehicle isn't responsible for determining how the entire accident occurred, and get details of all drivers involved… what a ludicrous proposition. That's not his job at all.

    His job is to GET THE DETAILS OF THE PERSON WHO CAUSED DAMAGE TO HIS CAR. That person is the cause of the collision between his car and the car behind him. How that occurred (because someone hit the 2nd car in a daisy chain collision), isn't the concern of the front car at all.

    The insurer then contacts the insurer of the 2nd car, and then the 2nd car insurer says "not my fault, as our client was hit by [insert name]".

    This continues until the person who's deemed at fault is held responsible, and is worked out between the parties days, weeks, or months after the accident.

    It is not up to the front car to try and determine who caused the accident at the time. I can't believe that's the advice trying to be sold here by some people.

    INSURERS DETERMINE FAULT LATER, NOT THE DRIVER ON THE DAY.

    • MrFunSocks on 15/01/2022 - 12:06
      +1

      It's amazing how many people are arguing that this is wrong all throughout this thread.

      So many confidently incorrect people.

      • UFO on 15/01/2022 - 14:22

        I know for a fact as its part of my work… yet clearly there's a lot of 'professionals' here that know better.

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