Car bumped by taxi - how should I proceed?

MattBanshee

Cash up front for the damage 100%, with the clear insistence that you will phone your insurance the nano-second they start fucking around.

Bidley

Motorhate said:

hotpot said:

@ menamestom Even non fault accidents can put your premiums up as they may deem you more likely to be in an accident in the future.


This has happened twice to my daughter, she was run into twice whilst stationary & both times her premium was upped by hundreds of pounds, It absolutely stinks what they get away with.

The trouble is, (not having a dig) people never question things like this or haggle with insurance companies and just accept what they say as gospel.

I had this with an insurance company for my bikes. I ride a 2000cc Kawasaki, an 883 Harley and a 650 Kawasaki which are all on the one policy. I have them garaged and have 6 years no claims. Come renewal time, they tried to up it by £150. When I questioned it they said it's just the way it is - (absolute crap) so I took them to task on it. I told them I had 6 years no claims with them, how do they justify that hike. They said in so many words, because you haven't had an accident in six years, you're due one.  More bullshit I thought so I told them to shove it. Immediately, they knocked £100 off. Convinced now, that this was a game, I haggled and really brow beat them into offering me a better discount. They wouldn't so I said shove it.
An hour later, the phone rings and they've knocked another £85 off. I told them I'd got a better offer which was £210 cheaper than what they'd originally quoted me. They matched it and I got a significant discount without the aggro of changing companies. I have nothing but contempt for them now, but speaking to other people, this is an accepted practice with brokers (I don't think this applies if you apply directly to insurance companies) so its always worth trying. Remember, there are always other companies out there willing to take your custom. 

That's pretty impressive, but I much prefer telling the insurer to shove their price hike, and go and find another, cheaper, insurer. Which takes all of 40 seconds.

I don't think there's much difference between brokers and straight up companies, having dealt with both. They're all crooks and can legally extort you.

Motorhate

Very true. Word of advice to anyone using "Go Compare". DO NOT give them your real phone number. You will be hounded constantly by brokers looking to make a sale.
Also of note, any accidents that get reported to the insurer, almost all, pass your number on to ambulance chasing lawyers who will pester you to the point where you threaten violence against them if they ring again.

skunkwerx

Matters not if its your fault or not.  

I had a guy caught on my rear facing dashcam hit me up the rear end last year. 
Even recorded his apologies and admittance to fault. 

What did I get for my 9 years no claims and pass plus courses? Insurance premiums went through the roof. 

Im 28, drive a diesel megane and have never had a claim, 9 years driving experience and the same for ncb. (Which by the way has never discounted me because year on year the costs go up and the 'discount' is then not a discount). 

Why did my premiums go up for a non fault accident then? 

The exact words of my insurer were 'Because our statistics show youre now more likely to have an 'at fault accident', and this non fault claim still counts as a claim.. so you now have to declare that for the next 5 years' 

Brilliant! 

My premiums were never south of £1100 a year, now theyre higher. Because some idiot was tailgating and then hit me! 

I guess any ok paid job would alleviate some of this but for us on nmw thats too much. Especially as I followed the rules and got penalised for it. 

I simply cannot afford it anymore, and its doubly gutting because not only do I rely on driving to enable me to get to me old mams and work, but I love cars and I love driving. 

But make no mistake, if you dont notify your insurance you'll get raped even harder! 

N remember, ALWAYS swap details at the scene. If you dont (for whatever reason) then you MUST notify the police within 24 (iirc) hours to keep yourself the good side of the law. 

Last thing you want is those guys on your back as well as theiving insurers! 

strtdv

Really? Either you're with the wrong insurers or live in a high crime postcode.

When I got my BMW 125d 2 years ago I had 3 points for speeding and made a claim 4 years previous for writing off a car (hit a tree), and I live in Northern Ireland which has generally more expensive car insurance, and my premium was only about £650.
I now drive a Golf GTD and plan to get my wife a Golf GTI in the summer, and insurance on both cars for both of us should be around £1000 in total.

£1100 on a diesel Megane seems ridiculous with 9 years NCB.

paulnb57

Regrdless of NCB Protection or fault your premium will increase.....I'd have risked a cash settlement....

BenSirAmos

Nikko said:

Motorhate said:

^^ Yep seen this a few times, especially with bikers - and I hate to say it mate, but I think you're going to get arse-raped by your insurance company for not reporting it.

Bit harsh.They just used to penalise people financially. Well it is 2017 I suppose.

Neither has happened - yet. But I have added a few points since my last renewal so I am expecting the worst

olafgarten

Motorhate said:

Very true. Word of advice to anyone using "Go Compare". DO NOT give them your real phone number. You will be hounded constantly by brokers looking to make a sale.
Also of note, any accidents that get reported to the insurer, almost all, pass your number on to ambulance chasing lawyers who will pester you to the point where you threaten violence against them if they ring again.

If they call you you just say the words 'do not call me again' and hang up. Then if they call you,  you can report them for harassment. 

strtdv

@BenSirAmos it depends on how many and what for. My insurance premium hardly went up at all when I got 3 points for speeding. They seem to care more about careless or dangerous driving offences, or using a mobile phone.

In some senses insurance companies are amoral. They don't care if you've got penalty points, only if you having points makes it more likely that you will make a claim. It's based on statistics, not a moral judgement.

BenSirAmos

strtdv said:

@BenSirAmos it depends on how many and what for. My insurance premium hardly went up at all when I got 3 points for speeding. They seem to care more about careless or dangerous driving offences, or using a mobile phone.

In some senses insurance companies are amoral. They don't care if you've got penalty points, only if you having points makes it more likely that you will make a claim. It's based on statistics, not a moral judgement.

Six points for going a bit too fast.

When I got my car renewal, it went up by £200 but when I checked I saw they had put 9 points on. I got three points removed and that meant the increase was only £70.

My bike insurance isn't due till June - so I will try to keep my stats clean until then - and my morals can go to hell. 

skunkwerx

strtdv said:

Really? Either you're with the wrong insurers or live in a high crime postcode.

When I got my BMW 125d 2 years ago I had 3 points for speeding and made a claim 4 years previous for writing off a car (hit a tree), and I live in Northern Ireland which has generally more expensive car insurance, and my premium was only about £650.
I now drive a Golf GTD and plan to get my wife a Golf GTI in the summer, and insurance on both cars for both of us should be around £1000 in total.

£1100 on a diesel Megane seems ridiculous with 9 years NCB.

Aye the postcode does make a difference here, even though its kept on a driveway over night, only used for commuting to one place of work etc.

a friend who had an Audi s5 who lived in the next town on had his license revoked for a year for speeding. 

Still had cheaper insurance than me! 
Same age etc. Only real difference between us was the motors and the postcode, but the postcode was still Rm for both of us.. 

I could get it slightly cheaper if I raise my voluntary excess to £500... but thats over half a months wages so thats not happening! Some will only insure If I have a black box fitted etc.. 

Tried different insurers, different cars (a £500 autotrader 1.2ltr job, up to a 1.6 hatchback, focus or similar), hell it must just be my name or something... nothing else seems to bring it down! 

I've entered allsorts of made up details on the comparison websites such as a million years ncb, jobs and what the cars used for etc just to see if I can pinpoint what it is thats causing it to remain so high. 

its just frustrating, I remember always being told it drops after you turn 25, but that was 4 years ago and its only ever gone up. 

Each year I change insurers normally, as their renewal prices come in about 50% higher than what I've just been paying.. this year however the renewal price was the exact same so just stuck with em. 

I dunno. Pay all this money and in the event of a non fault accident, you still get penalised by higher premiums... 

Who regulates these firms?!? 

Electro_Ham

Update. Met taxi man and garage man today. Everything appears super cool. I said I was a bit nervous about the whole thing. Taxi man says he knows the cost and he's fine with paying it, he'll even pick up the new light cluster himself from a dealer. Insurance woman called to ask if everything is ok. I asked if she would shaft me - if not now, perhaps later? She said she didn't think so.....that wasn't really what I wanted to hear...but, hey...it's a recorded call and maybe she was careful with her words.
So, sounds like the car will be fine, but, whether I get hike in premium is yet to be seen.

Brad

A friend had a bump a few years ago that wasn't his fault. It wasn't too serious, but it was late at night. It seemed a bit shady as the other driver offered him a relatively tidy amount of money, but he took it anyway cos the other driver was in the wrong.

He's glad he did, because upon reporting it to the insurance company he was told because there were no cameras on that stretch of motorway where the collision happened and there were no witnesses, it would be his word against the other driver and it would just get thrown out.

If there were witnesses/any evidence that it wasn't your fault that may go in your favour, but it sounds like you're sorting it out anyway.

Now by just reporting the incident his premium went up by a ridiculous amount. My mate challenged this and was told he had to wait a certain amount of time (perhaps 3 months) to see if the other guy comes forward to report the incident. He didn't and my mate got a refund on the extra they charged him.

So be aware of that because all he did was report it, not make a claim (which he couldn't because he accepted cash at the scene anyway), they hiked his price and would have stayed like that had he not challenged it.

ToneControl

Motorhate said:

Always, go through the insurance company. That's what you pay them for. Its a non-fault claim so you won't be penalised and it'll safeguard you against matey backing out and leaving you high and dry.

If you go via your insurer, what happens is, for the next 5 years when you get new insurance quotes, you then have to tick "yes I've had an accident" - and your insurance costs 10% or 20% extra for  all those 5 years

Electro_Ham

Car has been fixed at no expense to me. I will certainly challenge any increase the insurers make with either me or my wife. Thanks for all the advice. I'll try to remember to report on any difference to my insurance renewal, although that is later in the year.

Motorhate

ToneControl said:

If you go via your insurer, what happens is, for the next 5 years when you get new insurance quotes, you then have to tick "yes I've had an accident" - and your insurance costs 10% or 20% extra for  all those 5 years

If you don't and it eventually comes to their attention that you've not reported an accident, believe me, you will be looking at more than a 20% hike and you could have your insurance cancelled. If you've ever got a quote, one thing they always ask you is if you've ever had insurance cancelled by the insurer. Believe me, if the answer is yes to that, you'll get a lot of companies who won't touch you and if they do, then they'll charge an extortionate amount. Even for just third party insurance.