Hit and run question (UK)

joe384

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Dash Cam
2 x DR590W-2CH, Cellink B
In the case of a hit and run (after informing the police) should I contact the offenders insurance company and send them proof of the accident or should I get my own insurance company to chase them on my behalf? Are they obliged to do this?

I don't want to make a claim on my policy, but I don't want to get caught up in legal proceedings as I think there is a chance they may deny liability and push back as they'd have to admit the other driver didn't report it..
 
I am not an expert, but what I would expect, assuming you have comprehensive insurance, is:

Normally you would get your insurance to sort it all out, if you have good evidence and a police report then it should be straightforward.

Although you could go direct to their insurance, remember that you have to declare any claims to your insurance, and your insurance renewal will then be affected anyway. Their insurance is far more likely to fight you in the hope of you eventually giving up than it is to fight your insurer, some insurers may even force you to start a court case.

If you don't have good evidence then maybe forget about any claim, then your renewal will not be affected.
Are they obliged to do this?
They are obliged to sort the damage, it is up to them if they choose to chase the other insurance or not, but if there is good evidence then they will.

If the other person needs prosecuting, that is a police matter, not an insurance matter, insurance is only about making good the damage.
 
In the case of a hit and run (after informing the police) should I contact the offenders insurance company and send them proof of the accident or should I get my own insurance company to chase them on my behalf? Are they obliged to do this?

I don't want to make a claim on my policy, but I don't want to get caught up in legal proceedings as I think there is a chance they may deny liability and push back as they'd have to admit the other driver didn't report it..

Was the accident caught on Dash Cam? I would hope so if you're posting in a Dash Cam Forum. Did you have the person's plate on camera, if your dash cam was running? Or can you not make out the plates?
 
Reg plate and sound was caught on dashcam, actual point of impact was not.

I believe I can prove from the footage the registration of the car that did it, but there is a doubt the other insurance company will launch a CSI style investigation to prove me wrong. Since no one was injured, I doubt the CPS will prosecute in the criminal courts because "It's not in the public interest"
If I want to take it to the courts myself I believe I would have to pay fees (even though our taxes pay for this!)

I have Comprehensive cover (not sure if this is applicable as I am not making the claim) I also have legal cover (would I be able to use this to cover costs in pursuing the insurer?)
 
Reg plate and sound was caught on dashcam, actual point of impact was not.

I believe I can prove from the footage the registration of the car that did it, but there is a doubt the other insurance company will launch a CSI style investigation to prove me wrong. Since no one was injured, I doubt the CPS will prosecute in the criminal courts because "It's not in the public interest"
If I want to take it to the courts myself I believe I would have to pay fees (even though our taxes pay for this!)

I have Comprehensive cover (not sure if this is applicable as I am not making the claim) I also have legal cover (would I be able to use this to cover costs in pursuing the insurer?)
The audio is probably not enough for a prosecution, but CPS/police do not prosecute people for accidents because accidents are not illegal, only thing they could go for is not reporting it to you or the police within 24 hours, and unless someone was injured or the damage is very serious, that is highly unlikely to happen.

You could go to their insurer and if not successful use the small claims court and probably win easily at no cost because they wouldn't turn up to defend themselves, it would not be worth their cost of turning up to avoid your claim. You would still need to inform your insurer of the claim though, otherwise your insurance would become invalid, and of course the other insurer would put you on the list of people who have made claims, so your insurer would find out if they checked because you make another claim or a claim is made against you.

Your legal cover probably does cover the costs of chasing the claim, but you would normally use that by going through your insurer, let them deal with it, and the legal cover would pay any costs. Sounds like they wouldn't have to fight the case anyway, but having legal cover will make it easier to convince your insurer to fight it rather than settle for 50/50, without the legal cover I think it is their choice not to bother, with legal cover I think it is probably your choice, I'm not sure on that bit
I believe I can prove from the footage the registration of the car that did it,
The plate does need to be clear, but presumably the police have already confirmed it if they have given you the owner's insurance details?


I have Comprehensive cover (not sure if this is applicable as I am not making the claim)
How much damage is there?

I think you are making a claim. If you have a decent insurance broker then you should be able to ask their advice, including about using the legal cover you bought through them, remember that most UK insurance is not bought direct from the insurer even if it appears that way.
 
Yeah, it looks like if I get my insurance company to chase it, it will be a claim regardless, if they can recover the cost it will be a non-fault claim and won't affect my NCB, if they can't it will be fault claim and my NCB will be affected.

If I just report it to my insurance company, and contact the other insurer, I don't pay my excess and I am not making a claim but if they fight back it could cause me issues.

The damage would properly cost more than my excess to be repaired properly (door needs a respray)
 
Reg plate and sound was caught on dashcam, actual point of impact was not.

I believe I can prove from the footage the registration of the car that did it, but there is a doubt the other insurance company will launch a CSI style investigation to prove me wrong. Since no one was injured, I doubt the CPS will prosecute in the criminal courts because "It's not in the public interest"
If I want to take it to the courts myself I believe I would have to pay fees (even though our taxes pay for this!)

I have Comprehensive cover (not sure if this is applicable as I am not making the claim) I also have legal cover (would I be able to use this to cover costs in pursuing the insurer?)

By the sound of your description, I presume you have a front facing dash cam only, and he rear ended up or side swiped you?
 
Yeah, it looks like if I get my insurance company to chase it, it will be a claim regardless, if they can recover the cost it will be a non-fault claim and won't affect my NCB, if they can't it will be fault claim and my NCB will be affected.

If I just report it to my insurance company, and contact the other insurer, I don't pay my excess and I am not making a claim but if they fight back it could cause me issues.

The damage would properly cost more than my excess to be repaired properly (door needs a respray)
Since you have legal cover, and assuming that your evidence is good, if you go through your insurance then your excess will be paid by the other insurer (more accurately they pay for everything), it is only if your insurance ends up paying that you have an excess to pay.

If you have only had this one incident in the last 5 years then your NCB should not be hugely affected, they will still want to keep you as a customer, more than one incident in 5 years and they would prefer you to go elsewhere!

Your main issue with going through your insurance is in making sure that they do make the effort to claim against the other insurance, some will try to get out of doing so, just because time is expensive for them.

Your next premium will increase a bit whichever insurance you claim from, since you will be classed as a higher risk than before. You can't do much about that other than not to make any claims, that is just how the system works.

Sounds like claiming against the other insurer, resorting to the small claims court, and then organising the repairs yourself might be the cheapest way, but it's probably worth paying a little extra insurance to have it all sorted for you!
 
I would let my insurance company do the work, thats also part of what i pay them for.
If it is a problem they can call me into court to testify, but generally that is not needed here.
 
I would let my insurance company do the work, thats also part of what i pay them for.
If it is a problem they can call me into court to testify, but generally that is not needed here.

Yep. Turn over all evidence, let them decide what to do about it and how to handle claim.
 
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