Bad news and a bit of good news

[Dickybeau]

My wife parked up in a local street while she went knitting. I got a notification that the car alarm had been triggered. At first she couldn’t see anything but on leaving her club and returning to the car a crease in the drivers door is visible.

Thank heavens for sentry mode. I have a lovely clear picture of the rear of a silver a Toyota Corolla, complete with number plate, hitting the car at a lick. The driver was parked on the opposite side of the street nose in and reversed straight out using the drivers door as a warning they had gone too far. They straightened up, reversed back alongside and checked my car. They drove ahead and parked in front of the next car to ours and got out to take a look. Despite flashing lights and noise from my alarm, they drove off.

we have phoned the police and they will take a statement tomorrow night 24 hours after the event. Presumably they will then pay the owner/driver a visit.

it’s very clear that this wasn’t a gentle hit. All the cameras show the moment of impact and the car rocking. I’m annoyed about the inconvenience but it won’t be my insurance that takes the hit. I’m not sure what the penalties are for not reporting an accident. I take it that the cat o’nine tails is no longer in use?

 

[NewbieT]

Failure to stop at the scene of an accident. If they don’t report it to the police themselves within 24h with a good reason why they didn’t stop then it might be treated as a criminal matter. IMO Their insurers will fold pretty quickly with your footage.

Failing To Stop After An Accident & Report | Solicitors

 

[OfficialMark_H]

Pleased you got the culprit, hope it gets sorted.

 

[Mark_T]

I’m not sure what the penalties are for not reporting an accident. I take it that the cat o’nine tails is no longer in use?

Given there were no injuries and the driver of the car was not present, the other driver has 24 hours to report the accident to the police, hence the delay in taking your statement until the 24 hours are up.

Penalty is likely to be a few points and a short driving ban at most.

 

[vitesse]

Sadly even with no-fault cases like this, your premium will go up

 

[Mark_T]

Sadly even with no-fault cases like this, your premium will go up

Yep, their logic is that you obviously park in areas where this happens so you are a higher risk...

 

[vitesse]

Yep, their logic is that you obviously park in areas where this happens so you are a higher risk...

I think it's s bit more fundamental than this. If you are involved in an incident that is not your fault, statistically you are more likely to be involved in another. I think it's an insurance cop-out, personally.

 

[Mark_T]

I think it's s bit more fundamental than this. If you are involved in an incident that is not your fault, statistically you are more likely to be involved in another. I think it's an insurance cop-out, personally.

Same root though, whatever you are doing that exposed you to the first claim is part of a pattern that is likely to expose you to other incidents. Irritating as it may be, the statistics do probably support this position, but I still feel it should be mitigated by the recovery from the 3rd party.

Now if you have a track-record of unrecoverable 3rd party fault incidents that would be different...

 

[Cowpring]

Honestly insurance is such a con.

All that talk of 'We protect your no claims if you're in an accident that's not your fault' is such a load of sales-hype nonsesne. Your premium will still go up regardles and any money they would have given you off relating to no claims bonuses they just dump back into the premium.

Another annoyance of insurace I found out recently, is that if someone is added to your policy on a car, and they have an accident, you are still effected, even if you wern't involved.

In my old car that I got before the Model 3, I had my wife insured on the same policy as me. She crashed it into a truck. Did zero damage to the truck but completely destroyed the rear boot door which was made of glass. It had nothing to do with me - I was not in the car at the time and had no involvement in the accident but lost 8 years of no claims, had to pay out excess on the policy and the quote for my Tesla that I was getting at the time doubled! What a joke.

So annoying for you, there's absolutely nothing you could have done about this, the car was parked at the time but yet your premium will still go up.

 

[navt]

the statistics do probably support this position

The irony of statistics is that it support all positions. You just need to pick the right sample.

 

[CertLive]

Sorry to read about this. Sentry mode is the car security gold standard.

 

[fumusic]

Insurance in the UK is such a scam. I hope the Tesla insurance they have in the states will be available here soon.

 

[CertLive]

Insurance in the UK is such a scam. I hope the Tesla insurance they have in the states will be available here soon.

Yes the price I was charged for insurance does not replicate the fact its the safest car in the world. More the fact its in demand. Though sports car launch speeds probably add a little, such old metrics they base it on.

 

[MrBadger]

Potentially very expensive to repair is a large part of the costs

 

[IanB]

Had a claim recently on my car insurance, next doors ridge tiles came off in bad weather, damaged the whole side of my car as they fell to the ground, as all the tiles ended up on my driveway and car, As he kept his house in good repair he couldn't be held at fault, nor could his home insurance, so not only did my policy go up due a claim, even thought I have protected no claims I also had to pay the excess, oh and all this happened 2 weeks before Christmas when my bank account was pretty empty .

 

[Russinating]

Best case scenario for both parties is they settle without going through their insurers, then nobody's premium goes up. Is it fixable or you looking at a new door?

 

[Mark_T]

Best case scenario for both parties is they settle without going through their insurers, then nobody's premium goes up. Is it fixable or you looking at a new door?

You are still obliged to report it to your insurance company though, even if not claiming....

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Given the number of people driving around with dash cameras, plus the level of CCTV coverage we have, I'm surprised that anyone thought they could get away with driving off without reporting this, or leaving a note with their contact details on.

Last year I spotted a similar incident, a car backing out of a parking space and bashing into a parked Mercedes. This was in a supermarket car park, and I was sat in the car waiting for my wife, listening to the radio. The driver stopped, got out and checked the damage, then drove off, so I wrote down his registration and left a note under the screen of the damaged Mercedes with my details on. When I got home I remembered that the dash cam had probably been running, so pulled the card and sure enough the whole thing was captured on video.

I sent the video to the owner of the Mercedes, and to the police who investigated, filled in a witness statement and later found that the driver who drove off had been given a caution and either he, or his insurer paid for the damage caused to the Mercedes.

There was a surprising amount of police paperwork involved, and I did wonder just how much police time this incident absorbed, although it was dealt with by a PCSO, so probably didn't have much impact on policing overall.

 

[Cwmwd]

After an accident both parties get a hike in their premiums so, over time, everybody ends up paying more regardless. The only way the price inflation slows is when there are no more accidents (but you'd still have damage from falling trees, amorous elephants or golf ball sized hailstones etc.etc). Roll on active sentry mode, enforced autonomy and transport-as-a-service...

 

[Rogue Synapse]

Insurance in the UK is such a scam. I hope the Tesla insurance they have in the states will be available here soon.

I merely hope the Tesla insurance they have in the 1 state (California) will be available in the other 49 soon.