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Tip in the Snow....

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  • 05-02-2010 2:22pm
    #1
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭


    I would love to get some feedback here as I am at a loss as to where/what to do next

    On the 6th of January I had to attend an emergency meeting Dublin. When I was returning to Leixlip on the Palmerstown Dual Carriageway during heavy snow blizzards I tipped the guy in front of me. He was driving a battered 1996 Fiat Cinquecento…. Now when I say tipped… I mean tipped. Garda on scene confirmed impact was at 4 miles per hour and put cause down to road conditions as opposed to bad driving. There is no way in hell that these two guys could have been injured. Even the ambulance refused to take them. My car was assessed by Axa and they confirmed no damage at all. The 2 Guys in the Cinquecento have put in personal injury claims aginst me..

    They Guy I tipped did not own the car and the garda also told me that he did not have a valid driving license. (it was out of date)

    This is the only incident I have had in a company vehicle in the 12 years that I have been driving. The Car is due to be handed back to the leasing company in the next few weeks and I hve to move to personal insurance

    Insurance Companies are hesitant to quote me and the best quotes I can get at the moment are 5 thousand per year… For a 05 Hyandai Santa fe 2 ltr Petrol

    WHat are your thoughts on this...

    Thanks..

    BeattyWeb


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Comments

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    #2
    Oryx
    Subscribers Posts: 19,425 ✭✭✭✭Oryx


    All you can do is fight this claim and hope its thrown out as vexatious. Get a solicitor onto it, talk to your current insurers too.

    As for your quotes, cant advise.


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    #3
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    It can take upwards of two years for this to be sorted I have been told. As for talking to my own insurers.... their the ones giving me the extortionate quotes...


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    #4
    ch750536
    Registered Users Posts: 3,736 ✭✭✭ch750536


    Insurance companies will take as much money off you as possible - TRUE

    You had an accident that was your fault, if the conditions were that bad you shouldn't have been driving. - TRUE

    You have an outstanding claim - TRUE

    Your best bet is to negotiate the best price you can for the insurance and have an agreement in writing for a different price if the claim against you is dropped, which it may be if the facts you state above are correct.

    Maybe you agree 4k for now but 500 if the claim is dropped. Don't know if this is possible but it is certainly the route I would go in your position.

    I've just finished a 2year battle with an insurance company, at no point do they play ball or attempt to help you unless it is in their own interest to do so. I would probably stay with your current insurer even if it cost a little more right now to see this out with them.

    Is a very grey and difficult area, they can quote what they like, you have the choice whether or not to pay of course.


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    #5
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    Problem is.. I can't afford that much for Insurance... as I said... these things can go on for years.. No Car..................no job


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    #6
    penexpers
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,038 ✭✭✭penexpers


    Would changing cars have any effect on the premium?


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    #7
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    nope... tried 3 differnt motors. what they do is front load it with risk


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    #8
    John_Mc
    Registered Users Posts: 2,791 ✭✭✭John_Mc


    Get a motor back or scooter. Not ideal but that's probably your only bet.

    I'd look into suing the other people who are claiming against you.


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    #9
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭tommy21


    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    I would love to get some feedback here as I am at a loss as to where/what to do next

    On the 6th of January I had to attend an emergency meeting Dublin. When I was returning to Leixlip on the Palmerstown Dual Carriageway during heavy snow blizzards I tipped the guy in front of me. He was driving a battered 1996 Fiat Cinquecento…. Now when I say tipped… I mean tipped. Garda on scene confirmed impact was at 4 miles per hour and put cause down to road conditions as opposed to bad driving. There is no way in hell that these two guys could have been injured. Even the ambulance refused to take them. My car was assessed by Axa and they confirmed no damage at all. The 2 Guys in the Cinquecento have put in personal injury claims aginst me..

    They Guy I tipped did not own the car and the garda also told me that he did not have a valid driving license. (it was out of date)

    This is the only incident I have had in a company vehicle in the 12 years that I have been driving. The Car is due to be handed back to the leasing company in the next few weeks and I hve to move to personal insurance

    Insurance Companies are hesitant to quote me and the best quotes I can get at the moment are 5 thousand per year… For a 05 Hyandai Santa fe 2 ltr Petrol

    WHat are your thoughts on this...

    Thanks..

    BeattyWeb

    Advice above is all you can do really. Awful situation, two chancers out to make money. Thing is you won't lose in my opinion in relation to personal injuries in the long-term. Its just you get screwed over in the short-term. Hope you can sort something with the insurance company. Are the Gardaí taking action do you in relation the lack of a driving licence that was valid?


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    #10
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    Suing them for what though ?

    Frivolus Claim ? Prove it

    A scooter............ not practical in my line of work...


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    #11
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    Garda is Investigating this yes.

    I understand that the claimants are saying neck and back.

    I might put a Private investigator on them for a week or 2


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    #12
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,497 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    nope... tried 3 differnt motors. what they do is front load it with risk

    So say on a Toyota Yaris 1.1 they'd still charge you 5k?
    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    I might put a Private investigator on them for a week or 2

    If you got video/photo evidence of them doing stuff they shouldn't be then I'd hope the court would throw out the claim

    It might be worth your while


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    #13
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    Ford Fiesta 1.2 5,750
    Hyandai Santa FE 2ltr Petrol - €7335
    Renault Meganne SE 1.4 €6100


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    #14
    Cabaal
    Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators, Regional South East Moderators Posts: 28,497 Mod ✭✭✭✭Cabaal


    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    Ford Fiesta 1.2 5,750
    Hyandai Santa FE 2ltr Petrol - €7335
    Renault Meganne SE 1.4 €6100

    Those seem very high alright, what age bracket are you in?


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    #15
    tommy21
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,419 ✭✭✭tommy21


    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    Garda is Investigating this yes.

    I understand that the claimants are saying neck and back.

    I might put a Private investigator on them for a week or 2

    This is what I would do also. Price is an issue of course here, but it might be worth it just to get them. Can you find out what type of employment they are in?


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    #16
    Jet Black
    Registered Users Posts: 3,845 ✭✭✭Jet Black


    Just out of interest what did the gardai do with the driver? Considering he had no licence he was not insured to drive the car. How did the driver get home?

    Something similar happened to a friend of mine. She tipped another driver, he got out said it was ok. They just exchanged details no damage done. A year later the driver claimed for damages he was out of work since the incident. He had medical cert's. Its only going to court in 2 months.

    Your at a better advantage. Get the details of the gardai that attended. They can at least be used to say that the drivers of the other car were ok at the time. A PI would also be a good idea if you know who done it.


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    #17
    BeattyWeb
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭BeattyWeb


    Age Bracket - 40

    Have spoken to the Garda in question and he has said he will do what he can to assit in a positive manner to ensure that all the facts are presented. He spoke to the driver and passenger @ the time and they were fine... Ambulance said theu were fine..

    So So Frustrating.

    They will front load all quotes with risk until this has been sorted.


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    #18
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    Is the high quote as a result of the pending claim, or the fact that you have no no-claims bonus? As a company car driver, you were not on your own policy, so you are essentially starting from scratch. Now, €5k does seem excessive, and the most you should loose is the 50% bonus. This would imply that without the claim, your quote would be €2500. There have to be other factors.

    I know plenty of people who have had claims on motor insurance, myself included, and some have had personal injury claims against them too (falsely sometimes), and the quotes never went up excessively.

    Go to some of the insurance websites, enter in details but mention nothing about claims, also say you have 0 years NCB, and see what the estimates are like.


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    #19
    gimme5minutes
    Registered Users Posts: 387 ✭✭gimme5minutes


    Can these guys not be done for insurance fraud?


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    #20
    ejmaztec
    Registered Users Posts: 24,078 ✭✭✭✭ejmaztec


    Surely, as the driver had no valid licence, he shouldn't have been on the road to be nudged, therefore there must be something to nail him in that area?


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    #21
    dh0661
    Registered Users Posts: 2,630 ✭✭✭dh0661


    tommy21 wrote: »
    Can you find out what type of employment they are in?

    HA HA - you really don't need to/have to ask that question do you?

    OP good luck with this.


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    #22
    slimjimmc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,786 ✭✭✭slimjimmc


    Jet Black wrote: »
    Just out of interest what did the gardai do with the driver? Considering he had no licence he was not insured to drive the car.

    Incorrect. Insurance companies ask you if you hold or ever held a driving licence. The OP said the other driver had an expired license which means he is in compliance with his policy even if the licence expires during it's term.


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    #23
    eth0_
    Registered Users Posts: 10,846 ✭✭✭✭eth0_


    slimjimmc wrote: »
    Incorrect. Insurance companies ask you if you hold or ever held a driving licence. The OP said the other driver had an expired license which means he is in compliance with his policy even if the licence expires during it's term.

    As a matter of interest, what would happen if you were banned from driving yet continued to drive your car and had an accident? Surely the insurer would not be obliged to honour any claim except for those arising from a 3rd party being injured/their vehicle damaged by said unlicensed driver?


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    #24
    slimjimmc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,786 ✭✭✭slimjimmc


    I'm not sure. The 'upmost good faith' clause requires you to declare anything that might materially affect your policy so if you didn't tell them about the ban they could have a get out.


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    #25
    dellas1979
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,128 ✭✭✭dellas1979


    Modern Ireland eh?

    I hate to say this, but how ironic. That fecker you crashed into didnt have insurance and nothing has happened him (yet anyways) and you are getting nailed to the wall trying to be an honest, upstanding citizen.


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    #26
    slimjimmc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,786 ✭✭✭slimjimmc


    BeattyWeb wrote: »
    Ford Fiesta 1.2 5,750
    Hyandai Santa FE 2ltr Petrol - €7335
    Renault Meganne SE 1.4 €6100

    They seem very high so I tried an online quote with http://www.123.ie/ and got waaay different figures. Are you hiding something from us?

    Driver:
    Male, 40yrs, married, , living Leixlip.
    full Irish license over 9yrs
    Annual mileage 25000km-40000km
    No previous insurance
    No additional named drivers
    No penalty points

    Car:
    2005 Renault megane 1.6 1.4 saloon, manual petrol.
    insured for €9000 (too much)
    no security (left out alarm/immobiliser)

    Insurance:
    Social, domestic and pleasure use.
    1 recent claim for €15,000. (I marked this as settled otherwise I couldn't get a quote)
    Stepback NCB protection

    Quoted figures
    3rd party € 940
    3rd party, fire & theft €1025
    comprehensive € 1270


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    #27
    slimjimmc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,786 ✭✭✭slimjimmc


    BirdieNumNums wrote: »
    Modern Ireland eh?

    I hate to say this, but how ironic. That fecker you crashed into didnt have insurance and nothing has happened him (yet anyways) and you are getting nailed to the wall trying to be an honest, upstanding citizen.

    Where did the OP say the other driver was uninsured? He was unlicenced because his driving licence had expired. The OP is getting 'nailed' because he has been driving on company insurance and therefore hasn't built up on his own insurance history. In their eyes he is one step above a first time driver.
    But yes, uninsured drivers do result in higher premiums for the rest of us.


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    #28
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    eth0_ wrote: »
    As a matter of interest, what would happen if you were banned from driving yet continued to drive your car and had an accident? Surely the insurer would not be obliged to honour any claim except for those arising from a 3rd party being injured/their vehicle damaged by said unlicensed driver?

    As far as I know, the insurer will pay out on the 3rd party claim, but then go after the insured (banned driver) for the costs of that claim.

    There is also a fund (government backed) for claims from uninsured drivers. Not sure how easy it is to make a claim for money from that fund though.


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    #29
    looksee
    Registered Users Posts: 28,542 ✭✭✭✭looksee


    How can it be legal for an insurance company to assume that a case will be proved, and charge on that basis?


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    #30
    ch750536
    Registered Users Posts: 3,736 ✭✭✭ch750536


    looksee wrote: »
    How can it be legal for an insurance company to assume that a case will be proved, and charge on that basis?

    Because they all do.


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    #31
    jimmycrackcorm
    Registered Users Posts: 14,339 ✭✭✭✭jimmycrackcorm


    slimjimmc wrote: »
    They seem very high so I tried an online quote with http://www.123.ie/ and got waaay different figures. Are you hiding something from us?

    Driver:
    Male, 40yrs, married, , living Leixlip.
    full Irish license over 9yrs
    Annual mileage 25000km-40000km
    No previous insurance
    No additional named drivers
    No penalty points

    Car:
    2005 Renault megane 1.6 1.4 saloon, manual petrol.
    insured for €9000 (too much)
    no security (left out alarm/immobiliser)

    Insurance:
    Social, domestic and pleasure use.
    1 recent claim for €15,000. (I marked this as settled otherwise I couldn't get a quote)
    Stepback NCB protection

    Quoted figures
    3rd party € 940
    3rd party, fire & theft €1025
    comprehensive € 1270

    Actually most insurers will give a discount for having driven a company car for a number of years. In my case I got a full no-claims bonus as an introductory offer. At this point there are no actual claims paid out either.


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