Monday, August 23, 2010

Car crash! Have you any good advice for dealing with insurance companies?

My Husband crashed my car today - thankfully although very sore he is ok. He hit a bollard on a round about at approx 25miles an hour. There was an oil spill on the road and the car just glided. Thankfully we have a witness and the Police were very helpful. The highways guys were there within 15 minutes to clean the road. Apparently there had already been 4 crashes there this week!The insurance company are asking my husband to accept responsibility! I have told him not to. Have you been in a similar situation? Advice welcome. ThanksCar crash! Have you any good advice for dealing with insurance companies?
If the road has been subject to 4 accidents due to this spill and you can prove this with Police back up - then it is down to the local council and/or Highways Dept to accept responsibility - although they will always deny it!





Advise your insurance company to reclaim costs from local council/Highways Dept.





If however, the oil spill cannot be attributed to negligence by the council/Highways - then your husband may have to assume responsibility.Car crash! Have you any good advice for dealing with insurance companies?
No you in no way should accept responsibility,in this situation its up to the company to prove that your husband was responsible,you already have sustainable evidence of the cause and witness accounts from the highways people this is negligence caused by the council who should have had the spill cleaned up and have failed in their duty of care,i had the same situation when my car hit a pot hole which caused it to veer and i collided with a tree and my company tried to get me to admit liability,stick to your guns and if you belong to a motoring association then consult them for support.
If the insurance company will not accept the claim based upon what you stated then seek the government body that regulates the insurance companies in your area/state/province/whatever (i.e. insurance commission..etc.). Remember, always go to the top...the '; middle man '; is paid to give you the run-a-round.
You could go on a massivecrusade to prove that someone else is negligent, ultimatly you will probably waste alot of time, as you will only lose your excess normally 拢100 you will also lose no claims bonus if you dont have it protected, if it is protected you will just lose one of your ';lives';. If i were you i would pay the money and save yourself alot of grief and put the incident down to bad luck.
Don't admit liability to them, its the reason they need to not pay out the claim. stick to your guns and claim against the policy, if you have fully comp insurance you will be fine. if not you have to pursue it on the grounds of unavoidable circumstances, the oil. try and get paperwork from the police if poss.





stick to your guns but expect to wait as insurance companies can drag their heels
You need to find someone to blame it on first. The person who you talked to wanted you to accept responsibility because its easier for them. Go down fighting. Its likley you will loose but try everything you can.
Get a lawyer! They will be VERY helpful. My husband was also in a wreck last year (he too was okay, thankfully). His lawyer did all of the dealing with the insurance company. I would also have the lawyer find out if that oil spill had been reported prior to his wreck. Slim chance, but if it had been, then liability may fall to who's responsible for cleanup.
Sorry to tell you, your hubby's at fault. Oil spill or not, that doesn't alleviate him of his duty to pay attention and drive according to the road conditions, which in this case, there's oil on the roadway and 25mph is way too fast.....
Go to your local council highway department and ask if they will give you a report on the time and place that they cleaned the oil spillage up ,and for what reason ,for it should correspond with your statement ,but it is the council you should be calming off .
if you have no fault insurance it does not matter. If you have regular insurance then do not except get a lawyer if necessary

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