NSW- At fault car accident - No insurance

I know i may get the flak for this. Have been a safe driver and had been delaying getting my car insurance due to lack of time and abundant tasks at hand…. However i learnt the lesson today. I was involved in 3 car accident in wet slippery road. Guy in front of me was a Red P .

Long story short the Red P in front of me braked hard, i braked hard but skid through and hit his car and his car hit the one at front(he had a tow bar hence tow entered through the grill of the Red P car, so had to call Towing.

I understand i would naturally be at fault however i only have CTP AND NO other insurance. What are my options to cover all our cars without going through big bill from their insurance to me. Can immediately get an insurance that can cover me instantly. I have learnt my lesson but i really don't have the cash to fix all these cars especially if there are write offs. Please help urgently.

Comments

  • +1

    NOTE to myself to not let my kids drive unless they are fully insured.

  • +1

    To be honest, not much you can do, i'd probably just take it as a life lesson at this point. Unfortunately an expensive one, but at least no one got hurt too. You should just try to recover from bill, I couldnt tell you how much it might be, but hopefully they might give you permission for installments maybe? And then obviously… get insurance.

  • got any dashcam footage?

    • +15

      OP has been a safe driver and had been delaying getting a dashcam due to lack of time and abundant tasks at hand.

  • +11

    Not sure what the reference to the Red P plate means but if you are implying that YOU crashed because they were somehow responsible then you need more than a big bill lesson - doesn't sound like you have any sense of accountability. Get some help with that while you're at it.

    • +6

      I believe it is an admission to show how poor and unsafe a driver the OP is, he knew he was behind a Red P in bad weather with no insurance yet still decided to drive at an unsafe distance ensuring he could not stop in time.

  • Prepare to get a 2nd job to help pay off the hefty bill.. the best you can do is negotiate with the insurer repairing the other cars for a fair price.. you may have to sell some expensive personal items to help pay the debt off.. good luck.

  • Buy a lottery ticket and hope miracle will occur?

  • +3

    Can immediately get an insurance that can cover me instantly

    this imaginary insurance company wouldn't be in business very long because all they would do is be paying out peoples claims all the time

  • +3

    u hit baba

    • +6

      That's definitely not how insurance works. I don't take out comprehensive insurance so the at-fault can pay $600 excess fee for $3000 of damage.

    • +2

      The first part of your statement is 100% incorrect. The second part may be true, but if OP decides not to pay, I'm pretty sure the insurance company of the victims will be taking them to court

  • +2

    Have been a safe driver

    Everyone is a 'safe driver' until they crash.

    As you can see, sympathy is not what you'll get here.

  • +1

    TPP should be made compulsory and CTP be optional. The rules had it the other way around

    • +1

      I half agree

      CTP should be compulsory as injury to a person can easily run into hundreds of thousands even millions with severe injuries if long term care is needed

      But I do agree that at least third person property should be compulsory too. It should promoted that if you can’t afford TPP then you cant afford to be on the road… like they suggest if you can’t afford travel insurance, you can’t afford to travel

      • yeah well thats what I actually thought CTP was cover for the other cars. In New Zealand Third party is compulsory. It should be the same here.

    • both should be mandatory insurance

      what you said there is…property > a person, which is a very American thing for you to say

      are you American?

  • +11

    I've heard there is an insurance company that will backdate your policy prior to your last accident.

    I believe their other services include giving you the lotto numbers prior to the draw.

    • +1

      Oh yeah, and you have to prepay their fees in iTunes gift cards, or bitcoin only /s

  • +4

    OP there is really no excuse here - if you can't afford TPP insurance you can't afford to be driving, safe driver or not everyone slips up eventually. Nothing you can do but try negotiate a payment plan with the insurance companies. Hope the cars were not too nice.

    • +1 exactly this

      And you can guarantee that anyone who can’t afford TPP, definitely can’t afford to repair someone else’s car if they are in an accident

  • You're completely buggered, cross your fingers and hope the repair bill isn't too expensive

  • +2

    OP's username checks out

  • +1

    I love that the worst case has lhas happened and the shit has hit the fan and OP is still making excuses in the post (safe driver, too busy, guy in front broke too hard)

    • +1

      "braked".

  • +1

    We should stop these kind of questions from coming through. Insurance or don't drive, end of story.

    • It won't stop them sadly, it's no different to people who are driving without a license which they've lost due to fines or just being a terrible driver.

  • Wonder why would be the final bill for the OP to repair three cars including his. It doesn't matter how safe a driver you're sometimes you just can't avoid accidents.

  • +4

    "Please help urgently."

    you are fuked moite

    "delaying getting my car insurance due to lack of time and abundant tasks at hand"

    yer right, takes about 10min to get car insurance. you could even do it while you were taking a shit. third party property is cheap as shit, I wouldn't even shop around if you were so time poor.

    I hope the cars you crashed into were 1970 Datsun's and not 2022 Ferraris and Bentleys

    • For the OP's sake, hope it wasn't a Maserati or a semi-trailer.

    • Well, the good thing for OP is that he crashed into a red P plater so can assume (hope) their car is not too expensive. Red P plater will have to pay out for hitting the car in front.

    • I hope the cars you crashed into were 1970 Datsun's and not 2022 Ferraris and Bentleys

      Some 1970's Datsun's are not so cheap anymore

  • Is bankruptcy an option?

  • I can sell you my DeLorean OP.
    Should take you back a year or two where you can buy insurance

  • Is this a troll post?

  • Look the hidden agenda in this post is that OP is looking for a panel beater that they can organise to do the work at a cheaper price. Did someone say cash only? So if anyone knows some panel beaters who work cheaply to fix 3 cars and offer an instalment plan, please post their details for OP. Hey it’s Christmas in July.

  • Can immediately get an insurance that can cover me instantly.
    Yes only if your dad own the insurance company.
    Never drive without insurance. It a time bomb.

  • +1

    What were the makes and models of the two other cars?

    • Doubt the OP is going to answer that question

  • +1

    Very expensive lesson in time management, ouch! If OPs version checks out, then you can't get insurance for an accident you've already had!

    Here's 'the thing ' with this story though. Safe drivers get crashed into by unsafe drivers, so, you know, insurance. Also, safe drivers take account of road conditions and p platers and leave them mucho roomo to stuff up in the wet. So, not that safe.

    Insurance takes about 5 minutes online, so how busy is 'too busy'? Easy to forget to reinsure but they send a million reminders because $$$.

    Total pain OP but this will cost you, just make sure you don't need to learn this lesson twice at this cost, hope you didn't hit someone who 'suddenly develops' a back injury etc. And it's repairable for a few grand each (not a porche?!).

    • hope you didn't hit someone who 'suddenly develops' a back injury etc.

      CTP would cover that. Unless OP was also driving unregistered as well …

      • In nsw The ctp claim will usually be given to a nominal defendant in the case of the at fault driver not having ctp insurance, thankfully… basically a ctp insurer will foot the bill. These claims will be allocated to ctp insurers proportionally to the amount of nsw drivers they insure.

        • Same in all states. How'd you like to be the poor public servant whose job title was "Nominal Defendant"? Imagine what your driving record would look like!

  • +1

    I had an accident like this, I was in the position of the red p plater in front of you. I was found to be liable for the damage to the car in front, even though I only hit them because I was rear ended. Something to keep in mind that might reduce your liability.

    • If you were stationary, I don't see how you wore this. Was your insurance company the same as the rear ender's?

      • +1

        Same as OP, first car braked sharply from 60kph. I was slowing and was not going to hit them (but was close, might have stopped 2-3m behind them) but the shunt from behind was enough to cause me to hit them. Front car only had very minor bumper damage, just needed a new plastic bumper ($1200).

        Insurance basically told me I was too close to the car in front, and from research I did, it's very hard to prove your not liable for rear ending in that situation unless you have video evidence. Kind of makes sense, since I wouldn't have hit them if I'd driven further behind.

        • +2

          I guess that’s probably one of those situations where it’s cheaper and less hassle not to fight it but that sounds like BS from the insurance company

          You left a safe braking distance. You were then pushed into the other car.

          If the logic that if there was more distance you wouldn’t have been pushed into the other car is accepted, one could argue, every incident is the drivers fault cos if they weren’t on the road at all, the accident wouldn’t have happened

          I’d have have been tempted to fight that one and take it to the ombudsman

          • @parsimonious one: Yes, possibly could have tried to fight it. But I had no evidence besides my own testimony as to what happened, and both front and rear driver weren't being very helpful. Not sure why their insurer came after me instead of the guy at the back (who had insurance and paid for repairs to the rear of my vehicle).

            In the end my TPP forked out for the car in front and I repaired my own front bumper, which had basically no damage besides a scratch or two.

            • @nigel deborah: Ah, I see, the insurance company was disputing whether you were pushed, is that it?

              That would make a bit more sense, as without dashcam footage it’s be hard to prove you didn’t just rear end the guy in front and the guy who hit you has an incentive to say you rear ended the front guy then he hit you

              • @parsimonious one: Yes that was the logic. I hit the car in front first, then hit from behind. I assumed at the time that this was the default approach taken unless someone can provide some evidence to the contrary.

                Probably there would have been some evidence on the road, like marks where my tyres slid after being hit (vs abs marks) but didn't think to capture it, was a bit shaken at the time.

        • Did the police attend?

          • @trapper: No. I thought it was cut and dry so didn't think to call them. Other drivers seemed nice too.

            That, and not having a dashcam were both valuable lessons learned :)

      • Typically in a multi pile up each driver makes a claim upon the driver behind them (that hit them).

        The red P plater would make a claim against the OP for the rear damage. And the front damage (but that might be harder to prove).

        The car in front of the red P plater would claim against the red P plater. The red P plater would need to prove it wasn’t his fault.

  • Can't wait for someone to post,

    Hey I forgot to lock in my mortgage rates at 2.00% for the next 3 years 6 months ago. I know I'm abit slow but can someone help me get a fixed rate for 2.00%

    • That's me… Can you help or not? 😛

      Your comparison is not great because mortgage rates are volatile and demand people to make an informed decision, including the likelihood of IR increasing or not in an unstable scenario.

      Car insurance shouldn't require anything more than 3 quotes and a decision BEFORE you start driving the car.

  • Series answer. Call your old insurer, be honest with them, in some cases if it is just past your renewal they will still cover you if you pay the premium asap.

    • Bold of you to assume that OP actually had insurance in the past.

  • +1

    Ok where are you op?

    • I think op is now spending time to sort this mess. Hopefully will get some updates.

  • Which is a more risky investment? Driving a car without comprehensive insurance or buying crypto today?

    • Crypto definitely, more risky unless you're holding it for atleast the next 10 years then definitely buy Crypto.

    • +8

      Driving a car without insurance

      If you have invested in crypto the worst that can happen is you lose your investment

      If you drive without insurance you could be bankrupted

      • Agree. Unless you're shorting something, the maximum loss is the amount you put in.

        If you're uninsured you can theoretically damage an unlimited number of high-end vehicles.

      • I agree, the question should have been. Person has $1000. Person has the option to invest the $1000 in crypto or buy comprehensive insurance. Clearly not buying insurance will be more risky than spending $1000 on crypto as potentially you can lose more than $1000 without insurance compare to losing only $1000 in crypto.

        Although when I first pose the question, I was thinking about an average bitcoin investor spending a large sum, probably 30k or 100k on crypto.

  • -2

    Where do you buy tpp?
    I thought only option was getting comprehensive with high excess. T

    • +1

      From an insurance company ….

  • +1

    Just wanted to clarify. Did you forget getting a brand new insurance or missed renewing the existing one?
    Because some insurers have a short grace period when you delay the renewals / payments.

  • +1

    Red P?

    Red Performance?

    Regardless OP, no way out of this. Only solution is to post up. May be here a loan.

    Wondering if you get time to eat and sh*t? As insurance can be bought within few mins using a mobile phone.

  • Troll post or bait post?

  • -3

    When the insurance companies call, tell them it wasn't your fault, don't answer their calls, don't respond, tell them you have no money.
    They'll eventually disappear if you're lucky, worked for me.

    • +2

      As horrible as this advice is, I can see it working for smaller incidents (doubt in op case). If it's not cost effective for the insurer to try and recover money they won't do it.

  • A friend of mine was in similar situation refusing to pay $200 a year (back 20 years ago) Third party insurance until he hit 2 other cars and ended up paying 160 years worth of insurance premiums in damages. There is no other way, you will need to pay for the damage in installments over many years.

  • +1

    Change your name to Ben Dover - big bill is incoming!

  • I thought crypto was bad. This would hurt more.

  • +1

    "is there any existing damage to the vehicle?"
    "Have you been in any accidents in the past 5 years?"

    You'd have to answer no to both those questions.
    Then a few days later lodge a claim.

    Yeah, the insurance company is going to find out very quickly you lied to them, which is against the duty of disclosure.
    Instant cancellation of policy and claim, and blacklisted by the insurance company.

    Good luck with your deception.

  • +2

    Third-party insurance should be mandatory!

  • He says he has CTP, so he only has to fix his own car right?

    • +5

      Well, the morally right thing would be to fix the two cars he damaged. He doesn't have to fix his own car at all. Do you think CTP covers damages to cars? Because it doesn't.

    • +7

      Ctp only covers injury to people not property

    • +2

      CTP - "Compulsory Third Party" insurance.
      Provides for compensation for people injured or killed when your vehicle is involved in an accident

      there is zero cover for property damage

    • Edit: sorry, thought it was car third party. My bad.

      • +1

        Not sure why you are being negged

        It seems to be a common misconception, that is best clarified before rather than after an accident

  • No time to get car insurance but will then spend 2-3x more typing out this post when it all goes wrong. Learn from this and never drive a car without insurance again. Doesn't matter how good you are / think you are, a momentary lapse in concentration and you're finished.

    • +1

      Never drive a car again.
      Lesson learned. Catch the bus and uber is safer.

  • Everyone is a safe driver until they aren’t. With that decision making, it is safer for everyone if you don’t drive.

  • Hey OP, you are only liable for the car you hit in front of you. Be thankful you didn’t hit any property as that would be even more expensive.

    Option zero is pay nothing if you can prove the car in front slammed on brakes for no good reason. Like if you had a dash cam or something.

    Option one is to offer the owner of the car some cash to not go through insurance if this persons car is old. Scrap that they will have to go through insurance to fix the car they hit in front of them.

    Option two is to declare bankrupt and you don’t have to pay a thing.

    Option three is to sell your damaged car to pay for the others car damage.

    Option four is to get a personal loan from bank to pay for damage.

    Option five is to start gofundme or onlyfans to start selling your sad story/ass.

    Good luck!

  • TPP cost me $290 this year. It is such a small price to pay for peace of mind. I don’t understand why this isn’t compulsory and/or built into CTP insurance.

    • -3

      $290? Are you insuring a potato? There's different types though, there's compulsory third party insurance and there's third party insurance which is different. You probably got the later which doesn't cover death, or injuries.

      • +1

        As I said TPP. I am aware of the differences.

  • +1

    Block-quote Can immediately get an insurance that can cover me instantly. I have learnt my lesson but i really don't have the cash to fix all these cars especially if there are write offs. Please help urgently.

    OP doubles down from civil to civil+criminal (fraud)

    Perhaps, you are seeking more lessons grasshopper

  • +1

    From my experience, red's are generally more careful because they just got their licence and the rules are fresh in their mind.

    Those loud dangerous ones would show the same behaviours even if they were greens or full.

  • time to get a good lawyer / barrister, and mitigate those incoming bills and hire car charges….

    • Na, would just waste more money. OP got no hope. Lawyer or not. They wouldn't touch it on speculate no-win no fee - first meeting they'd be like… err, try somewhere else

  • I understand i would naturally be at fault however i only have CTP AND NO other insurance. What are my options to cover all our cars without going through big bill from their insurance to me. Can immediately get an insurance that can cover me instantly. I have learnt my lesson but i really don't have the cash to fix all these cars especially if there are write offs. Please help urgently.

    If you do not have the money to pay up, you will be bankrupt. Good luck getting a credit card or a home loan over the next 10 years if you do declare bankruptcy. If I were you, I would start saving up pretty quickly.

    If you can't afford to pay up, you should have gotten insurance. If you can't be bothered getting insurance, catch the bus.

  • It is unlikely that you are liable for the very first car at the front, only the P plater who you hit. That will at least help your costs

    • +1

      I wouldn't bet on that..

      • There are others in this thread saying they were the middle car and found it practically impossible to not be pinned for hitting the car in front of them as well. It's more likely than unlikely.

        • If the middle car smashed in to the front car first and then OP smashed in to the middle car, then he wouldn't be liable for the front car.

          From what I have heard in the OPs situation the back car is usually found liable for both cars. But maybe I am wrong. I thankfully haven't been in that situation.

          Hopefully OP updates us, but seems unlikely he will.

          • @Aureus: You would think that would be the case based on what is 'fair', but in actual fact the back car is not liable for both cars at all, unless the middle car can prove they were hit with such tremendous force that they would have hit the car in front regardless of how much space they left. This is based on NSW.

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