my stationary car was hit by a supermarket truck this morning. Car was parked and empty at the time luckily. The truck company has taken my details and said will pass onto their insurer. I have 3rd party insurance. When I have spoken with my insurer(tower) they have said i have to deal with the companies insurance company(zurich). The car cannot be moved due to damage but is no immediate danger to others and I am awaiting their response.
Would you know what the process is from here? I will call them back about 3 if no joy.
Many thanks in advance
tony9,
Jan 18, 4:48pm
Has the other party admitted liability, in writing?
If not, the other party will likely deny liability until it is proved via court.
Likely you will have to arrange to move the car yourself and attempt to recover tow fees from the other party.
mrfxit,
Jan 18, 4:53pm
Because the car was stationary at the time of the "accident", the offender has to carry the liability for damages.
Because you have 3rd part insurance, it's mostly up to you to argue the point.
mrfxit,
Jan 18, 4:55pm
PHOTO"S . ASAP . get the hint ;-)
Get plenty of photo's of the car / damaged area's AND location of the car. Also include any damage on the truck & or paint marks from where the truck hit your car.
jason18,
Jan 18, 4:56pm
Well it's not all doom and gloom and I don't see why you will be going to court. I would ring the trucking company and ask to talk to someone dealing with it as you need the car taken away from the car park. Don't arrange to move it yourself or anything until you have heard from there insurance company. I would probably ask tower if they can act on your behalf to get it sorted as that's why you pay insurance
mrfxit,
Jan 18, 4:58pm
PHOTO"S NOW.
Nag them to get a result but don't be stupid about it & go overboard. Call in personally to a few car yards with the ABOVE requested PHOTO'S of your car & get at least 3 written "pre accident value" quotes from different places.
The same can be done with panel beaters for estimates of the damage cost.
cleanbreak,
Jan 18, 5:25pm
was on road not at a supermarket.The driver admitted was his fault. Car stopped in front of him . He had nowhere to stop so took the truck left rather than plough into it Unfortunately that was where my car was parked.
Will take photos and talk to wreckers.
Because am now off the road. Would I be able to claim a basic rental car and on pass charges?
mad_signtist,
Jan 18, 7:10pm
Depends if the insurance will cover it. You will have to talk to the insurance company before doing that. Usually a panel beater will have a courtesy car
msigg,
Jan 18, 7:25pm
Sounds like they will cover it all. Talk to them(trucking conpany) or their insurance. Just start ringing around to get your answers. Things like this happen all the time.
lookoutas,
Jan 18, 11:11pm
Get all the details and go back to Tower, Even though you are third party, they should still handle your claim by talking to the other Insurance Co. They are all interbred, so Peter pays Paul.
As for shifting your car - tell them it could be vandalised if left there, and you won't be responsible for that.
Don't expect a rental car - if it's that important to you, you should be covering yourself for that scenario. Even if - there is usually a 7 day stand down before they will pay for one. If it's going to be a write-off, forget a courtesy car.
rbd,
Jan 19, 4:08am
My experience when a Smith and Davies' truck performed an illegal lane change and hit my wife's car on the motorway, spinning her into the median barrier and leaving her traumatized and lucky to be alive.
Firstly the South African ex-Police truck driver will lie through his teeth to the attending officers, who still charge him with unsafe lane change for exiting from the motorway from the centre lane, despite the car beside him in the slow lane.
Then expect to be ignored by the company with no response to your written communication. You'll only get their insurance details after threatening them after which you will hear nothing from them ever again.
You will not get a rental car unless you pay for it. You'll be told they will be paid for your wife to take the bus for a week, if you provide all receipts. Their insurer will then drag their heals until finally making you an offer after you front up at their office demanding an answer. A month after the accident you may get a token payment. You don't have much position to negotiate.
NZ's lack of being able to force responsibility for court action has a lot to answer for. My wife was not physically injured (car slammed into median barrier backwards and following car stopped 6 inches from her front bumper) and therefore ACC does not apply. While the US system is FAR from perfect at least there individuals and companies take some responsibility for their actions. Here they can legally ignore you even though they almost just killed you.
_peas,
Jan 19, 11:14am
Small claims court was the only thing that got my dispute resolved. actually it was just the threat of it. I had patched my car up so it was drivable though and didn't look too bad. Best advice is to keep on them, call them a couple of times a week to keep it on their radar. Sounds like you need to change insurers too. most companies, even with 3rd party policies will act on your behalf if you can provide details of the other party like name, DL number, contact numbers etc.
pico42,
Jan 19, 1:46pm
The driver admitting fault does is not the same as admitting liability.
mike1345,
Jan 19, 2:01pm
If a car stopped in front of him and he had nowhere to go, then he was obviously following too close, therefore it's his fault.
mopsy3,
Jan 19, 3:01pm
How do you deny liability when you hit a parked car?
mopsy3,
Jan 19, 3:04pm
He hit you, it's his insurance that pays. Nothing to do with your insurance. Why don't you just ring your insurance company and get it straight from them? Far easier than getting 100 different opinions on here.
stusowry,
Jan 19, 3:15pm
Get in touch with their insurance co.
cleanbreak,
Jan 19, 4:00pm
All Tower said was deal with Zurich. Zurich couldn't answer any questions as no claim was lodged. Claim was lodged yesterday at 4 as the truck company needed an assessment . Panelbeaters have looked at the car this morning and said basically a write off. Which will bring its own challenges i'm sure.
Thanks to all. Sure I will post about what to do next if they don't get back to me.
billyfieldman,
Jan 19, 5:20pm
Which insurers are known to help their 3rd party customers to sort things out with the other insurer?
tillsbury,
Jan 19, 5:41pm
You deny it was you. OP will need to prove it was that truck, usually with photos.
ianab,
Jan 19, 6:01pm
Bit hard to do when they have lodged their own insurance claim for damage to the truck, at the same time and place?
Not to say the OP wont have to keep on the Insurance co's case to get things settled, but they don't really have a case to deny compensation.
richardmayes,
Jan 19, 6:24pm
Remember the truck owner is not absolved from his liability because you only have 3rtd party insurance.
The truck's insurer will have some sort process with hoops for you to jump through, in to make a claim as an uninsured 3rd party to an incident where their client (the insured truck driver) was at fault.
It will probably involve filling in their claim form, with valuations, signing a declaration in front of a GP swearing that you will never go after them for any further money, after they pay you out.
And then you have to chase and chase and chase them for weeks until the payment comes through.
When I did it, my phone calls were ignored and/or buried in call centre hold queues for so long, I eventually went to their head office and asked in front of everyone present when I could expect my claim to be paid. I left with a cheque in my hand.
Good luck.
lookoutas,
Jan 20, 12:18am
All Insurance Co's we deal with will look after their 3rd party client. OP needs to tell them they're concerned about getting no-where when contacting the other Co.
cleanbreak,
Jan 20, 1:11am
Will do. Have been told twice by tower - not their issue. Will be changing provider for the next car. its only when you need them that you find out if they are good or not. And seems they are not.
bazfan,
Jan 20, 2:12am
I found AA and MAS insurance very good to deal with on these fronts
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