Help Needed...insurance Claim

[sIIgtst]

Hi all

Ok long story short got a letter from an insurance company saying they are looking to me to recover thier costs from and accident ( of which me and the other driver couldn't figure out whom was in the wrong)

Unfortunatley i was not insured at the time due to changing insurance companies ( just really bad timing ) so thats not on my side

anyway the qoute sent with the letter has a number of things replaced/repaired that i stongly believe were not damaged in the accident and some which it was impossible for the accident to have damaged ( spoken to a few other repairers but they cant qoute without pictures of damage to be sure ).

So my question is can i ask the insurer for the pictures as proof of the damage. and can they be taken to another repairer for second/third opinions. and will an insurance company take these second/third oppinions into account?

What should i do??

Any info would be greatly appreciated..

Cheers,

Corey

[OnAhigh]

im pretty sure your entitled to get a second opinion

[sIIgtst]

Yeah i think i am but wasn't sure due to the fact the other party has already been repaired..

[msnismo]

This is why you should always take a photo at the time it happens! How long ago was the incident?? If it was quite a while ago then you can argue the damage repaired was not due to your incident... you would need to investigate more in relation to the time frame between the incident and when the person had the car assessed.

In hind sight.... the insurance company has deemed you at fault... Is this the case? Perhaps it's worth investigating whether you are liable at all for this damage. .. Who knows what the other person has told their insurer!!!

[D_I_F]

Ask them to send you proof of loss.

It's wouldny be up to the drivers to determin liability it's up to the insurance company whether they can prove who's at fault and if you are to challenge, that's when you will need to bring your legal representative in or just for some advice I would ring up the insurance ombudsman.

It's more than likely caused the damage from the accident because you never really know what had happened to the car untill you have pulled it apart.. An accident can put stress on other parts of the car..

[sIIgtst]

Thanks for the replies..

The accident was at about 5km/h max and all the was done was the very corner of my ute tray put a small "slice" for lack of a better word in the flat bonnet panel on the front of his tipper truck.. we both looked over the damage and agreed only the bonnet was damaged ( we couldnt work out who was at fualt) he also told me he was having some other work done to the truck so he would get another qoute to fix the bonnet from the same mob.. he showed me a qoute for parts a few days later i agree'd then a month or so later i get a letter from his insurer. i go over the letter and i suspect he has had all the other work put on me.. due to the qoute having headlights, light surrounds, grilles various clips etc.. an extra 1500 bux worth in parts alone..

can i just call and ask for proof of damage or will this make me at fualt.. or should i tell them to prove i was at fualt. or that i only want to pay for damage that was caused by the accident ??

I dont know whats the best route?

Cheers,

Corey

[D_I_F]

Thanks for the replies..

The accident was at about 5km/h max and all the was done was the very corner of my ute tray put a small "slice" for lack of a better word in the flat bonnet panel on the front of his tipper truck.. we both looked over the damage and agreed only the bonnet was damaged ( we couldnt work out who was at fualt) he also told me he was having some other work done to the truck so he would get another qoute to fix the bonnet from the same mob.. he showed me a qoute for parts a few days later i agree'd then a month or so later i get a letter from his insurer. i go over the letter and i suspect he has had all the other work put on me.. due to the qoute having headlights, light surrounds, grilles various clips etc.. an extra 1500 bux worth in parts alone..

can i just call and ask for proof of damage or will this make me at fualt.. or should i tell them to prove i was at fualt. or that i only want to pay for damage that was caused by the accident ??

I dont know whats the best route?

Cheers,

Corey

I would say the best way to go about it is to ring up there recovery department. Explain how you were going to settle outside the insurance claim from the start. The hard part will be proving that you had or were going to.

So if you had a copy of the original quote or any other documents that would help.

Mention that he told you that he was going to have additional private work done.

They will have to provide you with a proof of loss. It should have the assessment report included but just ask them. The assessment report would have to be consistant with both version of diagrams and accident description.

Have you done an accident descripton and diagram for them is the question.

From what it sounds from what you have said about the accident. If you were reversing out of a carspace or pretty much anywhere you have a duty of care so you would most likey be liable for damages.

As I said I think the best way to go about it is to ring up the Insurance ombudsman. They would be the best people as they are more qualified to give you advice on the situation and give you an idea wheather you would be held at fault or if you have a chance to challenge the situation.

[evil_weevil]

As I said I think the best way to go about it is to ring up the Insurance ombudsman. They would be the best people as they are more qualified to give you advice on the situation and give you an idea wheather you would be held at fault or if you have a chance to challenge the situation.

quoted for truth - and best option.

http://www.fos.org.au/centric/home_page.jsp

[QUICKY]

heres a story that may help you

a mate of mine got involved in a 3 vehicle accident. he was deemed at fault and their insurance companies have been chasing him for the money for over a year now. He refuses to pay saying he does not believe he was at fault and that their driver was at fault and he would like his car repaired. He then goes on to tell them regardless of what they may believe, he does not have the money to pay for the costs, so unless they want $20 a week to stop bothering him. each couple of months they call him and tell him to pay less and less just to end this and he still refuses and continues to say that he was not at fault and he wants them to fix his car lol.

this bloke obviously took advantage of ur little mishap to fix sum previous damage to his car, so why not f**k them around

[GTR-N1]

If you don't know who was at fault, and until as D_I_F says you get the Insurance Ombudsman to investigate, you should take the stand of DENY > DENY > DENY.

You should agree to nothing until you're deemed 'at fault'.

When you said that 'you agreed...', what did you agree to, may I ask?????

[D_I_F]

heres a story that may help you

a mate of mine got involved in a 3 vehicle accident. he was deemed at fault and their insurance companies have been chasing him for the money for over a year now. He refuses to pay saying he does not believe he was at fault and that their driver was at fault and he would like his car repaired. He then goes on to tell them regardless of what they may believe, he does not have the money to pay for the costs, so unless they want $20 a week to stop bothering him. each couple of months they call him and tell him to pay less and less just to end this and he still refuses and continues to say that he was not at fault and he wants them to fix his car lol.

this bloke obviously took advantage of ur little mishap to fix sum previous damage to his car, so why not f**k them around

Just to let you know on this one, If the insurance company is obviously trying to recover off your mate and if they actually have substancial evidence that he is at fault they have right to take legal action against him in court which could actually make him bankrupt.. It's not something that someone should get into at such a young age.

You're mate is an idiot. That's what insurance is for.

BTW every insurance accident circumstances would be different. I don't know why anyone would listen to anything people say on the forums as they may not be qualified to give you advice on these things.

That's why there are sectors as you like who are qualified professionals who can give you the right advice you need.

[sIIgtst]

Hey all thanks for the input..

a little update for your you.. i spkoke to the general insurance ombudsman and a mate whom works for law access and have been advised to put details of my series of events and that the damage qouted doesnt match damage caused and to ask for proof of damage to take to a 3rd party repairer for a second opinion.. i have done this and await a reply..

Cheers,

Corey

[OnAhigh]

would be interested to hear the outcome

[sIIgtst]

Hey all

Have sent the email to the insurance company and they replied with an acknowledgement and that they were investigating the new information i gave them with the other party ... still waiting to hear back.

I'll give you all an update as things happen for those whom care..

who knows my experience may help some fellow sau'ers out in the future..

Corey,

[runnin4life]

although i gont know all the information

from what i can tell you, you ran into him or he ran into you and both of you were at equal fault

If no person can be found to be guilty i was under the impression you fix it your self.