My baby has been injured

[gregozedobe]

I ordered a headlight for my Transporter today (I'm upgrading from the single reflector to the better performing twin reflector version) and I was told they had 6 in stock in Sydney, and that is what I would expect (hope for ?) for commonly broken items like that.

[gregozedobe]

My Octy has joined the ranks of the walking wounded !!!

We were doing the grocery shopping this morning and the missus says "Quiet" - Over the PA system comes an announcement "Would the owners of ..... and Skoda Wagon rego Yxx 999 (ie our Octy) please return to your cars as soon as possible".

Hmm, thinks I, this isn't likely to be good. Get out to the car park and there's 4 cops milling about. eek!

Turns out a old (like 84 years old) biddy has mistakenly mashed the accelerator pedal instead of the brake as she is getting into her parking bay (she claimed that her brakes failed, but she hit much too hard for that). Her old Ford Corsair (badge engineered pintara ? ) had ridden up the little island meant to keep cars separate, mounted the front of the car in front of her and then bounced/slid off onto my front right mudguard.

It has pushed my mudguard in about 6 inches just above the front wheel (it is pretty flimsy, I pulled it back out with one hand with very little effort so it wouldn't cut the tyre). I suspect the mounting brackets for either the bumber or the (Xenon) headlight have also been distorted. The bumper has scuffing but no scratches. I'll also want the front end alignment checked. The tyre had no marks on it (just some paint), and the mag wheel looked untouched.

The other car (2 months old Corolla) had more damage at the front as it took most of the impact, while the "at-fault" drivers Ford only seems to have scratches and paint blemishes !

At least no-one was hurt, but the old biddy was very shaken up (I was very calm, just swapped details).

Given the circumstances (only 1 driver present, 2 parked cars damaged, police attendance) I don't think there will be any dispute over who was at fault.

I'm not sure whether to claim from my insurance company (not real keen as I'm sure it will result in higher premiums in the future, and I've never made a claim in over 38 years of driving), claim off her insurer (NRMA) or just pay to get it fixed and try to get the money off her. Any suggestions/comments about the best options ?

A new mudguard costs about $350 and Skoda have them in stock, so I'll make an appointment at Tony Ferrugia's at Fyshwick to get a quote to repair it. I'm told he is one of the best repairers in the ACT Region - does anyone else have personal recommendations ?

[VW Convert]

I'm not sure whether to claim from my insurance company (not real keen as I'm sure it will result in higher premiums in the future, and I've never made a claim in over 38 years of driving), claim off her insurer (NRMA) or just pay to get it fixed and try to get the money off her. Any suggestions/comments about the best options ?

A new mudguard costs about $350 and Skoda have them in stock, so I'll make an appointment at Tony Ferrugia's at Fyshwick to get a quote to repair it. I'm told he is one of the best repairers in the ACT Region - does anyone else have personal recommendations ?

Bad luck Greg, there seems to be a wave of accidents happening to us forum members lately!

There are Pro's and cons to this and no right or wrong answer, and it depends on who you are insured with and their method of processing claims.

When I had my accident back in December I took the option of claiming from the other party's insurance. This gave me the choice of repairer and more or less automatic provision of a replacement car the for the duration (almost 6 weeks now) whereas my insurance would only cover me for 2 weeks, but it did slow down process a little.

Theoretically there should be no black mark against your name as you are not at fault, but a claim is a claim and will be on your record!

Cheers

George

[woofy]

Under no circumstances organise it yourself and get money from the old lady, I know several people who have done just that and it's a world of pain. My landlord was hit by an old lady who offered $20 to fix it.

Go with whoever will let you have the repairer we wanted. Our car was hit by a person we know in a carpark who mashed the front up pretty bad. It was entirely his fault (our car was parked and we were inside!) so we organised it to be repaired with someone who AAMI (his insurer) were also happy with. We then informed RACV what had happened as you are supposed to. 6 mths later when our insurance was due, we found it was a lot more. Turns out RACVs definition of NCB/rating 1 for life is a sham. They did bugger all with the accident but still penalised us, even though we were not at fault, the other person admitted 100% their fault and AAMI did everything.

Enough to say we aren't with RACV anymore....RACV btw is also NRMA elsewhere.

BTW I got both faulty headlights replaced within a fortnight, so they definitely have some lurking in stock.

[mrgolf]

Who are you with? When my MkII got damaged by someone (similar incident to woofy, but on a roundabout with the monger exiting the in the left lane from the right lane...) I claimed through my insurer and they chased the other party... Isnt this the way things just work???

[gerhard]

A truck backed into the mudguard of my Jackaroo a few years ago. It was parked, and I was inside a warehouse. I heard the crunch, but didn't see it, although the storeman saw it all.

I got the truck driver details, and he pleaded with me not to go through insurance because of his claims history, etc, etc.

I thought about his request a bit, then totally rejected and banished the thought of trying to deal direct and extracting $1100 from a stupid truck driver who lived 50ks away across town.

I got a witness statement from the storeman, contacted AAMI and sent all the paperwork to them.

They assessed all the info, and sent me a form

"How your claim affects your Policy"
Policy Excess - You were the innocent party and were able to identify the driver at fault so no excess applies.

No Claim Bonus - From the information provided, you were not at fault and your no claim bonus will continue as if no claim was lodged.

I got my repairer to do the repair and all was good.

From conversations with them, it appeared the driver of the truck had lied about what happened and tried to blame me, and the witness statement I had was the evidence I needed to make it "not his word against mine".

Seems you have a Police statement/report available so your situation is, from a technical sense, almost identical to mine in that the guilty driver was identified irrefutably.

My advice is to claim through your Ins co, but confirm with them first in case there are surprises in the fine print.

[brad]

They assessed all the info, and sent me a form

"How your claim affects your Policy"
Policy Excess - You were the innocent party and were able to identify the driver at fault so no excess applies.

No Claim Bonus - From the information provided, you were not at fault and your no claim bonus will continue as if no claim was lodged.
t.

But what about the yearly policy cost? Was that affected?

I had a policy with AAMI in the early days with a protected NCB, etc and a not-at-fault/other driver identified claim put my renewal up by 20%. AAMI claimed this was because of other factors but getting my girlfriend to get a quote using the same details as mine (but no claims) had the price back to where it was pre-claim.


I agree though - easier to let your insurer be the bully

[gregozedobe]

Who are you with? When my MkII got damaged by someone (similar incident to woofy, but on a roundabout with the monger exiting the in the left lane from the right lane...) I claimed through my insurer and they chased the other party... Isnt this the way things just work???

I'm with Allianz, and have a $1,000 excess. They have told me verbally that I can claim through them and they will chase NRMA (insurer of the at fault driver) for payment and that it won't affect me at all. I'm not totally convinced this will be the case, as once I make a claim I suspect this will affect my premium for the next 5 years ! (based on the questions they ask you when you are applying for insurance cover). This has certainly been the experience of some others. Even if it is not your fault it is still a claim, and goes on your insurance record.

Seems you have a Police statement/report available so your situation is, from a technical sense, almost identical to mine in that the guilty driver was identified irrefutably.

My advice is to claim through your Ins co, but confirm with them first in case there are surprises in the fine print.

Yes, no problem apportioning blame in my case, but I need to work through the fine print and decide what is best for me in the long term. I need to consider the long term results, not just what is cheaper this year. If I am slugged a higher premium for each of the next 5 years then it may be cheaper in the long run to pay for the repairs myself.

If it is better for me to pay up front for the repairs (ie not making a claim on my insurance) whether I can get any money from the other driver or not then that is what I'll do. I'll get my car assessed first, once I know how much repairs will cost I'll have a better idea which is the best way for me to go.

I wonder how the corolla's driver reacted ? They would have come out to their pranged (two month old) car with just a note from the police under the wiper.

[gerhard]

But what about the yearly policy cost? Was that affected?

No. Premium remained at $480 after the claim.

[gerhard]

I wonder how the corolla's driver reacted ?

On a lighter note, the husband probably paid out on his missus " I told you we should have got the 4WD with steel bullbar."