Question about a minor car collision (fender bender)
Good evening,
This happened at the mall. I have a full insurance and it's at my fault and the car has a minor scratch. I can do a touch up on this so no need to go to a garage to fix.
Opponent driver doesn't have insurance and his got a dented front bumper. How can he make a claim against me if he doesn't have an insurance provider?
differentthings,
Jan 22, 6:49pm
yes you can touch up your own car. He will just ring up your insurance and make a claim on your insurance and you will have to pay the excess. Depends on your excess and the damage done sometimes it's easier to give him a couple of hundred dollars and not worry about making a claim
annie17111,
Jan 22, 6:58pm
If you have full insurance and they don't it's still on you as you were at fault
ronaldo8,
Jan 22, 7:21pm
Simple, he bills you for the cost of repairs, he doesn't need insurance to claim costs from you.
nzmax,
Jan 23, 6:31am
When I had third party insurance and someone side swiped me while changing lanes, they made a claim with their insurance company and gave me the claim number, which I then used to get my car fixed.
tamarillo,
Jan 23, 8:05am
As above maybe best keep it private. You get low cost dent remover to do his bumper and pay for it. Likely less than excess.
sw20,
Jan 23, 10:23am
Lucky that worked out well for you. Many times it doesn’t, because the other company just ignores you.
sw20,
Jan 23, 10:23am
OPs insurance company will tell him to get lost. They do not have a contract with the other party.
differentthings,
Jan 23, 10:27am
no they won't. Do you not know anything about insurance?.
msigg,
Jan 23, 10:31am
Talk to them, get a quote for repairs from them, pay him/her cash keep a reciept, all sorted.
cjohnw,
Jan 23, 10:47am
If you wish your insurance company to be involved you would need to make a claim and let the other party know the claim number. The insurance company would then deal with everything and you would only need to pay whatever excess is required as per your policy. If you do not wish to involve your insurance company in a minor claim then ask the other driver to obtain a quote for the repairs and you settle that. If you do nothing (I am not suggesting that you do this) they will need to take you to a small claims court, and you would be ordered to pay for the repairs. Your choice, but you did admit liability.
sw20,
Jan 23, 10:54am
The OP needs to make the claim, not the uninsured.
rhys12,
Jan 23, 11:12am
Your full insurance also covers third party damage, so if they have no insurance, you will need to lodge a claim and your Insurer will liaise with the other party to repair their car. If you are not claiming any damage on your vehicle, you will not need to pay an excess (you would only pay an excess if you had Third Party/Third Party Fire & Theft cover only). It will affect your No Claims Discount come next renewal time however.
Your other alternative is to pay the cost directly to the Third Party and not go through insurance, however a replacement bumper can often end up quite costly, so I wouldn't tell him to go ahead then want to lodge a claim when you get a higher than anticipated repair bill. Easiest option is to just lodge a claim and tell the other party to deal with your Insurer.
ronaldo8,
Jan 23, 11:50am
There are three legal entities here the op, his insurance company and the victim. The Op has a legal obligation to the victim. The victim has no legal connection to the op insurance company. That is solely the op concern.
The victim is not required to use the insurance companies repair agents, that is an obligation that exists between the op and his insurance company. Again, the victim has no legal obligation to the ops insurance company, as no contract exists between them. The victim can have the repairs done where they elect, it is the ops problem how that gets paid for, but he is obligated to pay.
s_nz,
Jan 23, 12:08pm
Other car owner can invoice you for the damage to their property. They can also invoice you for things like a rental car while their car is off the road getting fixed.
You then have the following options: - pay the demands - pass the demands to your insurance company, who will (assuming damage is covered in your policy) pay on your behalf (less excess). - Refuse to pay, in which case the other party can take you to court, where you can be ordered to pay.
Depending on your excess, it could well be in your best interest to resolve this privately. Ask the owner of the car you damaged to get two quotes for the repair and send them to you. Chose the cheaper repairer and pay them directly for the repair.
A recent at fault claim will spike your insurance costs for the next few years, so it can be worth paying $1000 odd privately to avoid this.
nzmax,
Jan 23, 2:16pm
Believe me, it was a battle, the insurance company didnt ignore me, but certainly gave me the run around. It is the reason why I no longer have third party on any of my vehicles, as the few extra dollars it literally costs per month to have a comprehensive policy far outweighs the hassle of dealing with someone elses insurance company.
sw20,
Jan 23, 2:23pm
I can imagine. They won't make it easy as they know you don't have the backing of another insurer to go into bat for you.
serf407,
Jan 23, 3:12pm
What would you recommend old Auntie Ethel does when she backs into the local standover guy's car at the supermarket?
https://www.disputestribunal.govt.nz/ Could be a bit of a ongoing problem if you start making 'private settlements' to the wrong person. MTA (probably won't want to exchange personal details with the wrong person - their details are very likely to be false if driving a car they are not authorised (or don't have permission) to drive etc) "Look for the other driver’s licence plate number and make and model of vehicle that they are driving. Exchange personal information, such as name, address, phone numbers, insurance company and policy number, with all drivers involved in the incident. If the driver doesn’t own the vehicle, be sure to get the owner’s details as well. This information will be very helpful for insurance purposes after the initial shock of the accident."
Yep, really depends. As the other party didn't have insurance, I am assuming the car is not a higher end model. With bumpers, the panel beater I used don't fix them, a brand new one is ordered then painted. With the increase in freight, this could be special order from overseas and easily cost in the thousands just in the bumper alone.
Then you also have bracing, beam and polystyrene behind the bumper which are all $$ if they were damaged too.
kazbanz,
Jan 23, 9:53pm
In our experience the insured put in a claim on their insurance and our car was fixed by their insurer. A “customer” accidentally reversed into one of our cars.
andrewcg53,
Jan 23, 10:13pm
It happened in a mall car park the insurance company is not going to accept his clam they class it as private property so will not accept any liability
socram,
Jan 23, 10:16pm
I hope you have a photograph of the other car's damage you caused? We agreed to not use our insurance (virtually no damage to our car - minor car park ding) and said we'd pay their bill for a dented wing. Cheaper than our excess. I knew they'd fit a second-hand wing,
They tried to claim (through their insurance) for all sorts of damage that their assessor claimed was our fault, but no way in the world was most of it our fault.
A long drawn out dispute and I offered what I thought it was worth, but they turned it down and threatened legal action, convinced their assessor was correct. Told them to go ahead and I'd prove in court that the assessor was an idiot.
Heard nothing since.
tygertung,
Jan 24, 7:33am
Mall car parks are classified as public roads for the purposes of road rules.
martin11,
Jan 24, 9:04am
Wrong they are a public space for insurance claims . If you have a dent on private property caused by an accident most insurance companies still cover you .
cjohnw,
Jan 24, 9:46am
Wrong, wrong and wrong.
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