[Amylouise1991]

Hi
Apologies for the long post but I’m looking for abit of advice, in March 2023 I was involved in a minor bump on a roundabout, for backstory I was entering the roundabout and going straight on, checked right and went when safe to do so, a lady coming from the left intending to go left set off but noticed blue lights and abit of traffic so decided to drive straight across not checking her right which resulted in her hitting me as I was already over the roundabout, the fronts of our cars collided but neither of us was going fast and I managed to break quickly but our cars did scrape each other, damage to my car was some paint residue and a couple of chips to my paintwork on my passenger side bumper and the edge of my bonnet
She gave my her number at the scene and admitted fault but before taking any of my details drove off - I only managed to take her reg as she sped off
Long story short she since changed her story when I messaged her about sorting the problem out between us and she went to her insurance, I also informed my insurance after hearing all this but wasn’t too bothered at the time about claiming if she wasn’t claiming against me as I’d since cleaned off the residue paint and would rather without the hassle, we heard nothing from her insurance about her pursuing a claim despite asking her insurance several times and 6months later admiral closed the claim and sent me my no claims certificate.
On Friday over a year after the incident admiral have contacted me to say they have now been presented with costs and due to conflicting circumstances and lack of evidence they’ll be settling on a 50/50 basis.
I rang up immediately, was told you have 5 years to claim, despite arguing I had the right of way at the roundabout they are adamant it’s 50/50 and won’t budge on that despite her admitting in her statement she was distracted by the blue lights to her left and didn’t see me, however the shocking part is the third party is claiming her repairs have cost just short of 5k!
She has a black Citroen c3 c-series 2022 and I drive a cream Mini Cooper 2016, I did seek a quote to get a respray to both my bonnet and bumper and it was only about £300 without labour.
Admiral have said her insurance haven’t shared the invoice and they’ve requested that from them to check costs but does anyone else think this seems a massive con, 5k damage is obviously major repairs would you really wait 13months to claim for that amount of damage to your car, given the fact it was a roundabout crash, 5.30pm rush hour traffic you can’t exactly go speeding over a roundabout and given the damage to my car how can she claim her damage was worth that amount!
I have also since seen her car as we both live in a small town and there is no damage to her car at all, I’d have imagined a few scratches seeing as I had her paint on my car so she’s clearly had the work already done is this also ok ??
I never got photos of her car at the scene as she drove off before I had chance but I don’t remember seeing damage that could have been worth that amount
Any advice or opinions would be helpful

[Santa]

1. Since you aren't making a claim, there will be no cost to you, apart from a probable premium increase at renewal (which would have happened anyway).

2. This is a good example of what can go wrong, for the many people who post questions here about whether to settle privately or go through insurance. People who readily admit liability at the scene, often change their minds later. People who say "Send me the bill" change their minds when they see how expensive even a minor repair can be.

3. The law says that you should stop and exchange details. Simply handing over a phone number is not enough and in similar circumstances. any driver would be well advised to contact the police.

4. After a collision, regardless of fault, always take pictures - lots of pictures. Of the damage, the whole scene, the people involved, the roads any signs or traffic lights etc.

[TC1474]

Firstly, to clarify, statute of limitation in damage only crashes is 6 years from date of crash or date of knowledge whichever is the sooner. Hence the 5 year comment being made as you are now 1 year into the claim period.

Given the attitude of your insurers, it may be worth considering contacting the insurance ombudsman as it sounds like your insurers are going down the typical easy and lazy route which is quite common.

Some damage only crashes can take time to settle but usually for the reason I have just explained. You need to go back to them and make it clear that you are not happy and that you intend to go to the ombudsman Motor insurance (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) as a fine is usually imposed just for the complaint having been made.

[Rolebama]

FWIW: I contacted the Ombudsman a few years ago and was advised to request a set of the Terms and Conditions under which they payout third party claims. I phoned the relevant insurer and repeated the Ombudsman's advice. Within two hours they phoned me back advising me that they had closed the third party claim against me. I feel that the necessary adjustments to your position has to be worth trying.

[johnsa3]

@TC1474 If an insurance company shows a lack of cooperation or takes a lazy approach to settling the claim, what options does the claimant have?