Not my week!!

[TAZMAN]

My accident was found to be blame free on my part so I was able to get the £300 excess back in full, but make sure to ask if you are entitled cos I'm not sure if all Ins co's re-imburse excess and I mine didnt offer it, I had to ask. I'm with NIG through Lifesure. Good luck Ken.

[Flannelmeister]

I used to work for an insurance company some years ago (gawd, its over 20 yrs now!) but what I learned has stood me in good stead.

ALWAYS write immediately to the other party's insurance company to claim your "uninsured losses". These can range from any policy excess you may have to car hire costs etc. Once they pay up - and with a bit of hassling they will - then your own insurance company will restore your no claims bonus (if you haven't got it protected) as the admission of liability means that it is easy for them to recover their outlay from the other party's insurer.

Doing this has helped me stop my insurers from settling "knock for knock" with other party's insurers and has let me retain my no claims bonus.

If you insured via an insurance broker, go light a fire under him, he should be doing all this for you, it is what he earned his commission for in the first place.

[whitehawk]

Have now got the insurers doing the donkey work - should be going in the bodyshop in the next few days, if they can get parts. Went to the insurers preferred repairers, told them parts were available from Milners but they said the insurers would only accept main dealer parts. Let`s just hope the local dealers aren`t going to go all pathetic and deny import knowledge.
Wot is it all about when you have a decent motor? Since my mishap someone in tescos has pushed my back bumper in on one side and have now seen today that some little b**tard has been down the undamaged side with a knife or suchlike. At least when i had my old battered defender, nobody bothered with it.
Maybe the answer is to take the surf laning and get it beaten up a bit? Don`t tell the other half i said that - she`se hardly speaking to me as it is.

Regards, Heartbroken from Kent!!

[RobD]

Have now got the insurers doing the donkey work - should be going in the bodyshop in the next few days, if they can get parts. Went to the insurers preferred repairers, told them parts were available from Milners but they said the insurers would only accept main dealer parts. Let`s just hope the local dealers aren`t going to go all pathetic and deny import knowledge.
Wot is it all about when you have a decent motor? Since my mishap someone in tescos has pushed my back bumper in on one side and have now seen today that some little b**tard has been down the undamaged side with a knife or suchlike. At least when i had my old battered defender, nobody bothered with it.
Maybe the answer is to take the surf laning and get it beaten up a bit? Don`t tell the other half i said that - she`se hardly speaking to me as it is.

Regards, Heartbroken from Kent!!

Agree with you on that one m8,used to run old wrecks of 4x4s no damage whatsoever,bought myself a decent Surf,damaged twice in a year,BOTH no fault of my own!!!Makes you think don't it?

[whitehawk]

Just got the surf back from the repairers today, what a buzz to get it back in pristine condition again. They gave me a courtesy car while mine was being done but although grateful for wheels, a Yaris ain`t no replacement for a surf. I kept looking in the rearview mirrors and wondering where the rest of it had gone. The only part not sorted yet is the side decals. Photos have been taken but as an exact match cannot be achieved (something to do with the amount of holes that give it that pearlescant look), both sides have got to be done and I am waiting to hear from the graphics people when they are ready to do it.
Really grateful to all who gave advice re: insurance etc. All is now sorted and I should even get my excess back in a week or two.

Ken