Accident Compensation
Accident Management Companies (otherwise known as Ambulance Chasers) are companies that provide a service to people who have had accidents but are not at fault. They can arrange the repairs to your vehicle and provide you with a hire car and they will claim the costs back from the Insurers of the person that caused the accident, plus their fee for the service.
Most people’s expectations regarding road traffic accident liability are inaccurate, for this reason your Insurance company will advise you not to discuss liability with the other driver at the scene of an accident as you could possibly prejudice your own position and that of your Insurance company. Ie. You could accept fault for something that is not actually your fault in the eyes of the law, and now you have done it will be difficult to retract it further down the line.
Examples of liability:
ACCIDENTS WITH PARKED VEHICLES
Any accident involving a parked vehicle will find the moving vehicle at fault, regardless of the parked vehicles whereabouts.
Eg. Car A reverses off their drive and bumps into a Car B parked illegally on double yellow lines. Car A feels they are not at fault because Car B should not have been parked there.
Car B was parked illegally however it was parked and not moving, therefore it could not have caused the accident. Car A has the Duty of Care (the responsibility) to make sure they do not hit anything whilst reversing – Car B was there to be seen. If Car A did not see Car B then they could not have been looking behind them properly – Car A is 100% at fault for this accident. Nobody has the right to drive into a car just because it is parked illegally!!
Ok so you’ve had an accident and there is another vehicle involved. In insurance terms the owner of the other vehicle is known as the Third Party. Depending on how the accident occurred, either yourself or the Third Party will be seen to have caused the accident or in some cases you could both be at fault.
There are two main types of Insurance cover and you’ll be covered by one of these policies:
If you are at fault and you have Comprehensive cover
Your insurance company will pay for the damages to your vehicle and they will also pay for the damages to the Third Party vehicle. You will pay your policy excess – the excess is the amount that you agree to pay towards the cost of your repairs in the event of an accident.
If you are at fault and you have Third Party cover
Your Insurance company will pay for the damages to the other vehicle only.