Someone hit me

[davemercedes]

That's a very nasty prang...

You are insured to have the vehicle restored to "the condition it was in prior to the accident".
- That means that you should not be able to see/feel any difference in the repaired area of the car.
- If the feedback you've seen suggests the recommended repairer will not achieve this then call the insurance company.
- I would tell them that if you use their insurer you expect them to indemnify you against subsequent charges for damage when the vehicle is retired from lease.
- Have they specified a replacement door or skin panel?
You can as phils says insist that your car is repaired by an MB approved repairer and the insurer can't insist otherwise.

 

[SL63 Mark]

At least it's still drivable. When someone hit our Audi there were bits hanging off it.

 

[Lisadj]

Lisa,

Do you have a dash cam?

The thing to do here is claim direct from her insurance and not yours.

You will get a far better standard of treatment. You don’t have to claim through your insurance. I’ve done this before

You phone hers, tell them you wish to claim through them. You should be provided with a like for like hire car. You also stipulate you want it repaired at a Mercedes approved body repair centre.

The only thing then you need to do is tell your insurance about the incident and that you are pursuing the claim through her insurance not yours. This will then log the incident as a non fault accident with a claim against other party insurance. This then ‘shouldn’t’ affect your insurance. But insurance companies are a law unto themselves sometimes.

Bottom line here is claim direct from her insurance.

Right, contacted both insurers. Mine had taken over the claim (my wrong choice of wording when I phoned them; I'm blaming shock) so as soon as hers email us their admission of liability we can close my claim. Hers (direct line) say they'll go with our choice of repairer so we can go through Mercedes approved repairer. Can have a courtesy car by tomorrow. Child seat will be covered too.

 

[C350Carl]

All good then. It definitely pays to go through the other party insurance as you can specify who you want to do the repair.

I had similar with a previous car. It was reversed into whilst my wife was at work. I told the other woman’s insurance that I would not accept anything other than a manufacturer approved repair centre. I even got them to change the courtesy car for an estate as my car was an estate and they tried to give me a Hyundai i10!

Just make sure you get yours to remove your claim from them and record it as a claim from third party insurer with no claim from their side (or however they word it).

 

[Srdl]

What a shame for that to happen to your beautiful car. Why can't the idiots on the road concentrate on what they are doing!

At least you have got a good result with the insurers.

 

[Lisadj]

What a shame for that to happen to your beautiful car. Why can't the idiots on the road concentrate on what they are doing!

At least you have got a good result with the insurers.

I think she was late for work, that's all she was talking about on the roadside. My partner said "Don't worry about being late for work, worry about our little lad in the back. Worry about the fact that she's a teacher and she's going to have a class full of kids waiting for her"

He said if I hadn't swerved she would've gone into the side with more force and might've injured my son.

 

[Srdl]

I think she was late for work, that's all she was talking about on the roadside. My partner said "Don't worry about being late for work, worry about our little lad in the back. Worry about the fact that she's a teacher and she's going to have a class full of kids waiting for her"

He said if I hadn't swerved she would've gone into the side with more force and might've injured my son.

Well done you!

 

[davemercedes]

Well done you! I'm glad that's sorted. But it's only a car - a ton of metal etc - I know there's a personal attachment thing but although cars can be fixed, people are much more important and thank heavens you're all okay.

Best of luck with the repairs - I'm sure it will be okay with an MB approved repairer and Direct Line.

btw: You are still liable to either lose your NCB or have your premium increased just because you've been in an accident (it's the latest money grabbing thing) and it can result in a higher premium for 3-4 years. You should check with your insurers and if it will affect your premium in any way, going by the chat on the other post that's an uninsured loss that you should be able to claim from the other insurer like anything else e.g. hire car.

 

[AMGeed]

btw: You are still liable to either lose your NCB or have your premium increased just because you've been in an accident (it's the latest money grabbing thing) and it can result in a higher premium for 3-4 years. You should check with your insurers and if it will affect your premium in any way, going by the chat on the other post that's an uninsured loss that you should be able to claim from the other insurer like anything else e.g. hire car.

This must be down to individual insurance companies Dave. Like Carl I claimed through the third parties insurance (NFU) and they dealt totally with the claim and I had a courtesy car next day (An awful BMW X5 diseasle). All I had to do was inform my insurance company I had been involved in a non fault incident. They were happy to let the third party insrance deal with it too.

I lost none of my (protected) NCB and the premium didn't increase at all.
Just saying, its not automatically how you have described it although I don't doubt it can happen.

 

[Lisadj]

My no claims is protected, I'm at 9 years iirc.
Missed the chance to call back today as they closed at 6 for existing claims. Thought they were open until 8.

 

[Xtractorfan]

Yes give it to MB and let them deal with it, also tell them that you intend to have it checked by the AA/ RAC after the repair to ensure it is properly done..
You can take your car to where you want it repaired, the courtesy car will be supplied free of charge as you are not at fault.
Do not let anyone take it away until you have a like for like courtesy car supplied... and they have given you a complete rundown on the repairs, and make it clear that they will be claiming from the other drivers insurance and there will be no cost to you.
For your own records when you fill in the claim form to your own insurance company write along the top of the form
FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY...
If they say you must claim from your own insurance company...send them away.. it is your car and they only work on your instructions.

 

[Xtractorfan]

What a shame for that to happen to your beautiful car. Why can't the idiots on the road concentrate on what they are doing!

At least you have got a good result with the insurers.

Its what keeps guys like me in business.. so I cannot agree with your statement. Those idiots are a necessary part of the Body repair business, and long may they continue, with no one hurt.

 

[L John]

Its what keeps guys like me in business.. so I cannot agree with your statement. Those idiots are a necessary part of the Body repair business, and long may they continue, with no one hurt.

Ah, is that where you got your user name?
I thought you used to like tractors.

 

[Lisadj]

My courtesy car is a BMW.
Meh

 

[Xtractorfan]

They really do like to rub it in Lisa.

 

[davemercedes]

My courtesy car is a BMW.
Meh

That's okay... now you can also add a claim for uninsured damage ie.: mental cruelty.

I wouldn't worry really - while your "proper" car is in hospital, just for the hell of it you can drive without any manners!

 

[Frosty149]

Just for info:
AARC centers are owned by DLG - Direct Line Insurance.
They are very competent and adhere strictly to industry standards, but the insurers motivation is obviously claim cost minimisation.
They have been clients of mine in the construction trade over the past few years...
As above, be sure to keep your MB approved repair record intact!

 

[Lisadj]

That's okay... now you can also add a claim for uninsured damage ie.: mental cruelty.

I wouldn't worry really - while your "proper" car is in hospital, just for the hell of it you can drive without any manners!

I have already mentioned on fb that I'm probably confusing other drivers by using the indicators
May take it a drive up North to visit the mother in law,

 

[Lisadj]

Just for info:
AARC centers are owned by DLG - Direct Line Insurance.
They are very competent and adhere strictly to industry standards, but the insurers motivation is obviously claim cost minimisation.
They have been clients of mine in the construction trade over the past few years...
As above, be sure to keep your MB approved repair record intact!

I had a feeling this was the case, but the reviews my partner read were not very good.
The MB repair centre is walkable from my house so I can drop the car in and walk back

 

[Frosty149]

I'd be happy to have a repair via AARC undertaken, but my MB warranty is more important