How to deal with other party's insurance?

**bobsmith** · 17th October 2008, 04:09

Hi Guys,

So I was coming home yesterday and long story short I suddenly found my self thinking "Oh shit" and found my bike wedged under a car and myself on the tarmac going headbutting a car on the side.

Luckily I haven't hurt myself significantly (just heck a lot of bruises on one and I move around a lot in sleep so just woke myself up....) as I was riding full cordura gear (I can't emphasise enough how important it is to wear full gear especially on daily commute) and I was probably doing about 30km/hr before the crash.

Anyhow, the driver turned in front of me when I was going straight and it's a pretty straight forward case of other party being at fault and the officer that attended the scene agreed which is great since I hadn't gotten around to arranging insurance on the cbr400 yet.

Now I've never been in a crash where I didn't have insurance so how do I go about dealing with the other party's insurance company? (yep they do have insurance) Obviously I'll want them to pay for damages but do I talk to them first before I take the bike to the shop like I would with my own company or..... or... what I'm not sure...

Any ideas?

Thanks

**JimO** · 17th October 2008, 06:49

bad luck with the crash,,,now WTF you dont have insurance what if you t bone a new merc or bmw how are you going to pay for the damage, your lucky the other guy has insurance otherwise you would end up getting fuck all

**Number One** · 17th October 2008, 06:54

Glad you are ok, sounds as if you were lucky!

Good luck with the whole thing

sorry I can't help never been reliant on someone elses insurance company to fix my machine (thankfully, did run it pretty close to the wire for a while there)

**scracha** · 17th October 2008, 07:08

Write them a letter stating wot happened. Tell them they have 14 days to reply before you instigate legal action. Keep a record of ALL your expenses.

Last but not least.

Sell me the broken CBR for spares

**nodrog:Me** · 17th October 2008, 07:12

goodluck getting it sorted quickly. i had my 6 hour old XR8 ute rear ended before i had arranged the insurance, took me everyday on the phone for 2 weeks just to get the ball rolling, with stupid bullshit like "we cant start the claim until our client has payed the excess" or "we cant get hold of our client". in the end a threat to turn up at her house with a bat had her paying the excess pretty quick.

**bobsmith** · 17th October 2008, 07:28

Originally Posted by nodrog

goodluck getting it sorted quickly. i had my 6 hour old XR8 ute rear ended before i had arranged the insurance, took me everyday on the phone for 2 weeks just to get the ball rolling, with stupid bullshit like "we cant start the claim until our client has payed the excess" or "we cant get hold of our client". in the end a threat to turn up at her house with a bat had her paying the excess pretty quick.

Thanks for that input.

Now did you get your car fixed then billed the insurance company? or did you get the car fixed through their company?

I'm just wondering if I should get the bike to be looked at or wait for the insurance company.

**bobsmith** · 17th October 2008, 07:29

Originally Posted by scracha

Sell me the broken CBR for spares

I'm really really hoping it won't be a write off. Just the sheer amount of time I working on the bike is painful...

After looking at it I'm not so sure though.

**nodrog:Me** · 17th October 2008, 07:50

Originally Posted by bobsmith

Thanks for that input.

Now did you get your car fixed then billed the insurance company? or did you get the car fixed through their company?

I'm just wondering if I should get the bike to be looked at or wait for the insurance company.

i got it fixed through their company, if i had got it fixed myself it would have involved running around and getting 3 different quotes (at my expense, and loss of earnings etc) and getting them approved through her insurance company etc, and being out of pocket until the chick coughed up and payed her excess.

**Grub** · 17th October 2008, 08:00

Hmmm ... with no insurance comnpany on your side I'm thinking that means that YOU are your own insurer. Given that, you then have to act like an insurance company which I think is this.

- Your Insurer engages an assessor who files estimate
- Your Insurer then approaches the other party's insurer with claim
- If fault is disputed, Police report sought
- They stike a deal between them
- Your Insurer gets bike repaired, mostly you don't pay excess, that is part of the claim on the other company

So in your case I'm guessing that if they don't agree to fix it straight away, you need to be professional about it and get an Assessor. If you get one that all the companies use, then there's no disputing his estimates. You would then lodge that as a claim with the other party's insurer. If they start playing silly buggers then immediately lodge a Disputes Tribunal claim. Don't piss about if they haven't come to the party in 30days, stuff them.

**Nasty** · 17th October 2008, 08:03

Originally Posted by bobsmith

I'm really really hoping it won't be a write off. Just the sheer amount of time I working on the bike is painful...

After looking at it I'm not so sure though.

Sounds weird but contact Dave at Kiwibike (www.kiwibike.co.nz)... being in the industry and seeing that in future you will need insurance he may be willing to advise you.

**CookMySock** · 17th October 2008, 08:14

Good on ya.

Ok, you need to get him processed with the law so you have a paper trail to start with, so get a written admission from him first and THEN make a written complaint with the police - this will get him fined for it - the least of his worries.

Next take it up with his insurance company and if they give you ANY crap whatsoever, move directly to the small claims procedure.

It should be pretty easy.

Steve

**Oscar** · 17th October 2008, 08:19

Originally Posted by bobsmith

Hi Guys,

So I was coming home yesterday and long story short I suddenly found my self thinking "Oh shit" and found my bike wedged under a car and myself on the tarmac going headbutting a car on the side.

Luckily I haven't hurt myself significantly (just heck a lot of bruises on one and I move around a lot in sleep so just woke myself up....) as I was riding full cordura gear (I can't emphasise enough how important it is to wear full gear especially on daily commute) and I was probably doing about 30km/hr before the crash.

Anyhow, the driver turned in front of me when I was going straight and it's a pretty straight forward case of other party being at fault and the officer that attended the scene agreed which is great since I hadn't gotten around to arranging insurance on the cbr400 yet.

Now I've never been in a crash where I didn't have insurance so how do I go about dealing with the other party's insurance company? (yep they do have insurance) Obviously I'll want them to pay for damages but do I talk to them first before I take the bike to the shop like I would with my own company or..... or... what I'm not sure...

Any ideas?

Thanks

Do you have their insurance details?
If so, go straight to 2. Otherwise:

1.Contact the other party. Obtain insurance details.Ask them if they've made a claim and if they have, get claim numbers and the names of the assessor or staff involved.

2. Now put it in writing to them (the other driver). Politely but firmly summarise the accident, clearly stating the reason why they were at fault. Tell them that you are holding them responsible for the damage to your bike and that if they're insured they should pass this letter to their insurer. This is designed to put some pressure on the other guy, so that the he contacts his insurer (the insurer may ignore an uninsured third party, but not their own clients).

3. Now repeat the exercise with insurer, in writing. Most insurers will pick the ball up and run with it from there.

4. If you have the name of the Assessor involved, contact them and get them to look at your bike. If not, get the name from the insurer. You don't really want the insurer to be disputing costs after the bike's been fixed.

**Tank** · 17th October 2008, 08:37

Originally Posted by DangerousBastard

Next take it up with his insurance company and if they give you ANY crap whatsoever, move directly to the small claims procedure.

It should be pretty easy.

Steve

Not necessarily a good idea depending on the value of the bike (and I have no idea on the value of your bike).

There is a limit on the size of claims that the Tribunal can hear: it can hear claims up to $7,500, but this maximum is increased to $12,000 ONLY if both parties agree.

So if its a 15k bike going to small claims is a bad idea - there is no way they are going to agree to have the limit raised to 12k.

**bobsmith** · 17th October 2008, 08:57

Thanks for that info. My bike is a cbr400rr nc23 so won't be a problem with the value. I figure with the new chain, sprocket, tyres and the mint fairing that was on it it was worth about 3800 plus another 500 for my helmet and trousers which will need replacing.

Just waiting on word from the police offer with an official report so I have a piece of paper to back me up when I call them up.

**CookMySock** · 17th October 2008, 09:42

Originally Posted by Tank

There is a limit on the size of claims that the Tribunal can hear [....] So if its a 15k bike going to small claims is a bad idea - there is no way they are going to agree to have the limit raised to 12k.

Yup. Ur right. I missed that.

Steve