Home | Finance | Insurance
It's not unusual to have trouble believing that they might be to blame for an accident. This is especially true of more mature drivers who have not had an accident in 30 years of driving or those holders of advanced driving certificates. I remember to this day an accident claim form which stated ' I am not to blame for this accident - I am an advanced driver and the vehicle in front should not have stopped in front of me!' (This driver had just hit a stationary car.) The actual truth is that even the most careful of drivers can suffer a moment of insanity. And of course there are those with an aggressive or exceptionally timid style of driving which is just asking for trouble on today's overcrowded highways. When you send a claim form to your insurance company, give them all of the facts! It is OK to tell your insurance company that you were to blame. They will not thank you if you bend the truth to attempt to make out it was not your fault as they might try and defend claims made against you, lose and ultimately increase their costs. They would much prefer that you reported simply and clearly what happened than invent a story that will probably make you feel better but will involve them on a protracted and expensive dispute they can't win. e.g. ' I drove out of the minor road without looking and was hit by the oncoming vehicle' is much better than ' I stopped at the intersection and looked both ways, there was nothing coming so I started to cross when he hit me. He must have been driving well above the speed limit and it was all his fault' By being honest, admitting your guilt and telling your insurers precisely what happened, you provide them a much better chance of coming to the correct decisions about how to deal with any third party claim from the incident. If they know that they will have to pay the other drivers claim, they might be able to invoke procedures to limit and control the amount of damages they have to pay out. You will probably receive heaps of letters from the other drivers insurance company, his brokers, his legal expense insurers or his solicitors, maybe his employers (if using a company car) and so on. Just send them all off to your insurer, unanswered. They will handle this for you. Certain solicitors in particular can seem to be very intimidating and threatening with the wording of the letters they use. They use phrases such as 'you are required to give us the name and address and policy number of your insurers or you will be in breach of the Road Traffic Act and we will report you for a criminal offence' or 'You must admit liability in writing within 7 days or we will issue a summons against you' and so on. Just ignore such letters! Don't let them upset you. Let your insurance company deal with it. I have had numerous telephone calls from my friends and customers who have become very frightened by this type of letter. There are a number of extremely aggressive solicitors out there today who have found a niche by doing this sort of work. Following the implementation of the Woolf Report in the spring of 1999, the legal profession should now use a standard 'letter of claim' but this is still somewhat intimidating and I would urge the authorities to tone it down a little further. You could also receive a Summons through the post. There are two variations of summons you might receive (for my dear readers in Scotland, this part describes English Law but similar action happens in Scottish Law - A summons to defend a criminal case e.g. careless or dangerous driving in the magistrates court (or Crown Court if the charge is extremely serious such as causing death by dangerous driving) - A county court 'claim form' (or maybe a writ from the high court) seeking recompense in a civil action. In both of these cases, send this to your insurance company immediately. They will read it to see what claims are made in the summons and decide what action they are willing to take. They might instruct a solicitor to defend you or if it is a civil matter, they might just decide to admit guilt and to pay up rather than take the case through the courts with the possibility of considerable costs being awarded against them should they lose the case. If you feel the need to talk to your insurer, please do so but do not let it stop you forwarding the Summons. That would be the worst thing you can do. There are strict time limits in which action must be taken.
Article Source: http://www.SponsorDirectory.com/Free-Content
This article on the procedure for dealing with your insurers following a road accident where you were at fault was written by Terry Cod. He has many years of experience working as a claims adjuster with a number of UK insurance companies. His website www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers Caravan Insurance with online quotes and secure online payment.
Please Rate this Article
5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5
Not yet Rated
