3rd party insurance advice

[GrahamS2]

It’s not uncommon for direct players to try this. Don’t give in. If he admitted to being at fault you must be compensated.

This. They are just testing the waters. Standard practice, so see it as the start of a negotiation. Mention possible legal action and he might put pressure on them to settle in full. 

 

Make it clear to the driver that legally, he is liable for the loss and any shortfall, and any legal action will be against him personally. His insurers decision to not cover his liability in full  is not your problem to resolve with them, it's his.

[Patchelicious]

This. They are just testing the waters. Standard practice, so see it as the start of a negotiation. Mention possible legal action and he might put pressure on them to settle in full.

 

Make it clear to the driver that legally, he is liable for the loss and any shortfall, and any legal action will be against him personally. His insurers decision to not cover his liability in full is not your problem to resolve with them, it's his.

Absolutely, another direct insurer tried this with my wife once. Fortunately I know a little about the insurance industry, so after I climbed into them the not only did they paid but apologized too.

 

Unfortuantely I am not a KI so I can’t give formal advice here.

[Rudi Pollard]

Can anyone put me in contact with someone to check if the driver was using his cellphone at the time of the accident? I have the exact date and time of the accident as well as his cellphone number.

[Mongoose!]

Can anyone put me in contact with someone to check if the driver was using his cellphone at the time of the accident? I have the exact date and time of the accident as well as his cellphone number.

 

Clever !

comparing your Strava / Garmin "crash time" with the driver's cell phone report.

[stefmeister]

Their proposal is covering 10-15% of my total costs, depending where the medical bill ends up. So way way below what it will cost me to replace or repair everything

AFAIK, you can't claim any medical expenses from insurance/3rd party. That's why there is a road accident fund.

I got taken out by a car in 2014, but the 3rd party insurer was Santam - which helped I suppose. At first I just claimed for my bicycle, but then got pissed off and added every accessory that got even a minor scratch (even added the tubeless conversion costs) when they came back to me and said that some parts are salvageable and wanted to deduct some amount.

 

Maybe start by sending the driver a formal letter that you're going to recover the full costs directly from him.

Part of the claim process with 3rd party stuff is that they make you sign a form that states you'll not institute any further claims against their client. 

Therefore, he'll be forced to take it up with them do get his ass covered. 

 

If the excess amount is small enough you can resort to the small claims court.Which should be less painful than full on litigation. 

[Rudi Pollard]

AFAIK, you can't claim any medical expenses from insurance/3rd party. That's why there is a road accident fund.

 

Maybe start by sending the driver a formal letter that you're going to recover the full costs directly from him.

Part of the claim process with 3rd party stuff is that they make you sign a form that states you'll not institute any further claims against their client. 

Therefore, he'll be forced to take it up with them do get his ass covered. 

 

If the excess amount is small enough you can resort to the small claims court.Which should be less painful than full on litigation. 

Yip, 3rd party does not cover medical cost. You can claim through the road accident fund, but it is also only worth it if your medical bill gets rather large, which mine is not. It is currently at around R6500. I have spoken to a lawyer regarding this and he said it is not worth the hassle for anything under R10k, as it costs R1500 to lodge the application and then the lawyers take a % of the payout. So under 10K you basically lose your entire claim. 

 

Dial direct sent me the form which I refused to sign. My lawyer will be sending him that letter hopefully today with all the amounts for the bike as well as medical.

 

The claim is to big to go to the small claims court unfortunately.

[Reg Lizard]

I had a similar issue years back. In my case the insurance company kept delaying payment. At the advice of a friend who is an attorney, I sent the driver a letter giving him 7 days to make payment.

 

 

Within a day I got a letter from his insurance stating they would cover the costs. It took 2 weeks after that and payment was made

Exactly the same happened in my case...so serve summons and give them 7 days to pay

[Reg Lizard]

My payment was made into my account within 3 days

 

BTW they wanted me to admit to 10% guilt which would have resulted in me having to pay in on the combi that I hit and me getting nothing- damage to the vehicle was alot more than the damage to the bike I had at that stage. They bank on you being uninformed and take you for a sucker

[Rudi Pollard]

My payment was made into my account within 3 days

 

BTW they wanted me to admit to 10% guilt which would have resulted in me having to pay in on the combi that I hit and me getting nothing- damage to the vehicle was alot more than the damage to the bike I had at that stage. They bank on you being uninformed and take you for a sucker

Lawyers letter is imminent, so lets hope for the best.

 

They wanted me to admit to 40% guilt which is ridiculous!!!

[ChrisF]

Rudolph it seems many of us have gone through this at some point or another ....

 

 

My experiences with this :

 

- speak to your broker, they may assist you ... even if only with advise.  (mine did help a lot with the one case)

 

- Standard practice to "low ball" you ....

 

- next they may well TRY to scare you into admitting some guilt ....

 

- Auto and General went as far as flat out lieing on the phone, their legal department no less !!  I call their Century city office, indicated that I was on my way to the police to lay a claim "fraud" due to their blatant lie .... phone was BUSY for the next 30 minutes !!  Got paid soon after that ...

 

- next step is to offer some 70% .... no legal team will assist you to try and recover the last few rands .... down right criminal the way they operate !!

 

- with one case (motorcycle with 1 000 km on the clock, day after the first service) they offered my 70% ... I declined, then lost my cool and threatened "legal action" ... man did they LOVE that !!  .... "Okay sir, we will transfer this to our legal team ...."  THAT was the start of a long drawn out process .... think I ended up with 71% .....  As much as it IRKS me - if you get an offer close to 70%, take your money and run !!!

 

- DONT threaten them with legal action ... see previous

 

- Step ONE - Registered letter to the OWNER of the vehicle (do you know if the driver is also the owner?  this is another mess in its own ...)  Provide him with a quote for your damages, and indicate that payment is to be made in 7 days.  It is HIS fight to deal with his insurer !!

 

 

 

HOPE you get sorted !!!!!  and hope it is not dragged out over many months ....

[Mongoose!]

 It is HIS fight to deal with his insurer !!

 

 

 

Yes, Why are you dealing with his insurer?

Tell the driver if his insurer does not pay out the full amount, you will keep him accountable for the balance... and legal action will be against him in person 

[thisismyotherbike]

Any news on your interaction with the driver?

[thisismyotherbike]

Yip, 3rd party does not cover medical cost. 

 

So 3rd party doesn't cover medical costs, but what about the driver himself?  Do you have to claim from the RAF?  Isn't it possible to claim medical from the guilty party directly?

[ChrisF]

So 3rd party doesn't cover medical costs, but what about the driver himself?  Do you have to claim from the RAF?  Isn't it possible to claim medical from the guilty party directly?

 

MEDICAL claims are against the RAF.

 

Some medical aids, such as Discovery INSIST you institute a RAF claim .... They cover your medical bills as per your plan, and then recoup some of their costs from the RAF claim.

 

 

Loss/damage of property - this you claim from the OWNER of the vehicle (NOT the driver).  The owner gave permission to the driver, and is thus responsible .... jip .... until the owner pulls out a few joker cards ... only then do you go after the driver ....

 

 

Know of such a driver that got the fright of his life after a strongly worded letter from an insurance company .... in his state of shock he agreed to their terms ..... meanwhile this was a scare-tactic letter ... they were never going to incur legal costs for a R12k claim !!  Their own words to me, thankfully he buckled and paid up, so I got my co-payment back ...

 

 

MAN, these things can get drawn out ....

[Pieter-za]

Yes, Why are you dealing with his insurer?

Tell the driver if his insurer does not pay out the full amount, you will keep him accountable for the balance... and legal action will be against him in person 

Wouldn't this come down to intimidation or threatening?  

Maybe get a lawyer to do this by the book rather.

[Pieter-za]

MAN, these things can get drawn out ....

Indeed, when my son got rear ended a couple of years ago the driver (and owner's insurance) also tried all these delaying and apportioning tactics.  In the end our insurance's lawyers had to send them THE LETTER as a final resort and we got our money - 13 months approx of to and fro.