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Thread: Vehicle insurance claim question - anyone familiar with the fine details?

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    Default Vehicle insurance claim question - anyone familiar with the fine details?

    Hey Guys,

    Just looking for some input here, I was rear-ended last week in my turbo sports car which caused the whole exhaust system to get bent like a banana, it needs replacing from the turbo back to the very tip.

    The car has a lot of after market performance mods which are listed on my policy, except however for my bloody exhaust system! It's a $2700 exhaust which I stupidly forgot about. My insurance company has come back telling me to get stuffed as it is not listed, however since I am not at fault don't they claim it back from the 3rd party anyway?

    A few years a go when I did not have full insurance on my own vehicle, and I was in a not-at-fault accident the at-fault company paid for the exact same parts I already had, shouldn't that happen in this circumstance too?

    Do I have a leg to argue this on?

    Cheers!



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    It is a simple matter of money here.
    For a modded car you basically have to list every nut and bolt that is not genuine to be on the safe side.
    Insurance claims in AU are a funny thing as being right does not always mean you will get your rights.

    Few examples:
    1. Driver causing the accident has no insurance and refuses to pay - Insurance company might try to recover some costs but if they think they can't they will cut your claim short wherever possible.
    2. Driver causing the accident has insurance but files a claim against you, or refuses his insurance to accept the claim - Unless the insurer has watertight evidence they will go with what the client tells them.
    You would have to proove your innocence (not to hard being rear-ended) and provide pictures showing the full extend of the damages. Insurer will then either send you to a repairer or accept the quotes you submitted to your insurance comapany.
    3. Both driver are insured with the same insurer - With a lot of cheap companies either owned or at least backed up by a big player, like Wesfarmers, you chance are high to be in trouble.
    No insurer like to pay for damages, if both companies are part of one the same giant or backed by the same you will have a hard time to make them pay for anything that is not clearly specified in your policy.

    I even had the case where only my dashcam saved me from a claim made by the guy that hit me from behind.
    I had not much damage, the other car was a write off.
    The guy claimed straight away to be unemployed and that he won't be able to pay for any damages as he now has to see for a replacement car first - WTF??
    Anyway I sucked it up, straightend my rear corner and replaced a light.
    Few weeks later I get letter from an insurance company claiming I caused a damage of over 8000$ to a car - the one that hit me from behind.
    The guy not only claimed a massive whiplash but also that I reversed into him and left the scene.
    I saved the footage on my PC just in case and was happy I did so.
    It showed me standing behind a small hatch, lights turn green but the little one did not move.
    Some nice shaking and little jump forward, the crash, right after the little car takes off and I get out of the car to check.
    No evidence of me reversing at any time and GPS and accelerometer showed I was stationary.
    Submitted all with a statement to the insurance, made sure the statement is signed by a cop.
    Within a week I got a letter back saying their client watched the video in their office.
    After that he admitted to have though we all already moved as the light were green, hitting me at a flat 60k's...
    Insurer also stated that thanks to my support their client now faces a claim of insurance fraud.
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    I see your point, however the other bloke has admitted to insurance, and in a police report that he was playing on his phone!

    From my previous experience, when I personally did not have full comprehensive and claimed directly against the 3rd parties company, they quoted like-for-like parts without argument, on my modified vehicle.

    However this time I have full comprehensive, I pay more for the pleasure yet I don't list 1 component and they try to ream me big time! From past experience if I ignored my own company and called the 3rd party directly myself I'd get better results, this isn't why I pay for full comprehensive.

    I understand that I didn't list the exhaust, this is 100% my fault, and if it comes down to it I'll accept that fact, however I'm paying a substantial amount to my own company because of the mods I do have listed, I am NOT at fault in this case and I feel like if I had no insurance at all I'd be in a financially better place! judging from past experiences.
    Last edited by nic55; 02-12-14 at 12:18 AM.

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    How i do it (when not at fault)....

    I have a panel beater whom i just hand the vehicle over to, he hands me a form to fill out with the details of the accident, he hands it to his lawyer, lawyer chases the person who hit you insurance company, i dont report it to my insurance.

    It does not matter what was modded on your vehicle, point is you were hit, you need to be reimbursed for all the damage caused regardless of mods and your not going through insurance as you dont need to if the other guy is covered, the other party needs to pay as you were not at fault.

    As a example that i went through a year or 2 ago, my company ute was hit/sideswiped ($8000 damage) while parked by a council contractors truck.

    Saw my panel beater, he handed me the forms, filled them out, his lawyer contacted the truck owner, got their insurance details and my ute was repaired.

    Now heres the crunch or irony....the truck was insured with the same company as my vehicle, i didnt need to go through my insurance, my panel beaters lawyer got my insurance that covered both our vehicles to pay out on mine, i didnt make a claim on mine, the panel beaters lawyer chased the trucks insurance which just happened to be who i was also insured with, from the insurance companies side they just saw a lawyer chasing them for money for a vehicle which they also covered but didnt want to make a claim through them.

    My insurance did call me once to ask if i wanted to go through them, i said no im going through my panel beaters lawyer, its all in their hands. (knowing id get a new quarter and exhaust VS a bogged up guard and knock back on the exhaust)

    Tell you what though they were spewing and couldnt do a damn thing, by law regardless of what mods you have, you were not at fault so you dont need to go through your insurance, go through a panel beater with a lawyer, their lawyer will get you your car fixed and dont go through insurance as it will leave a mark on your name even if your not at fault.

    Lawyer fees are added inside the claim put forward so they are not extra for you, the more stuffing around for the lawyer, the more the other parties insurance pays as his time costs money to recover the costs.

    In my case the whole rear quarter was damaged, my panel beater looked at it and said, we could fix it for $1200 however its not your fault so how about we replace it by unpicking all the welds and put you a whole brand new quarter for $8000?

    This is how its handled by modded car owners, all aftermarket parts that were damaged need to be replaced and the car brought back to exactly how it was before it was hit.

    If your in Melbourne PM me, my guy specializes in modded and show cars....im even wearing his workshops T Shirt as i type this....

    I have repaired both my ute and my sons S2000 which had a car back into it in a car park this way, both times not at fault, both times i didnt contact my insurance, both cars modded (ute had a aftermarket exhaust and S2000 had a aftermarket rear bar that were not declared in the insurance policy) and i let my panel beater and his lawyer handle it.
    Last edited by Godzilla; 02-12-14 at 03:48 AM.

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    Your insurance policy covers the extent of what your insurer will repair, regardless of fault. If your policy does not list an item then it won't be repaired.

    Many people incorrectly assume that if they are not at fault and they put a claim through their insurance that the other driver has to repair ALL damage. All your insurance company will do is repair the car according to your policy, generally no more.

    As Godzilla suggested, the only way around this (if not at fault) is to organise the repairs yourself and then request payment from the other party (or their insurance) through a solicitor. This can be a costly and lengthy process if the accident is not 'clear cut' or there is no witnesses/video evidence etc, but will mean your car is repaired completely.

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    Hey Nick, saw your post over at SAU, didn't know you were a member there.

    We get the panel beater to quote the repair (to our level of satisfaction or in other words exactly as it was before the damage without shortcuts), the vehicle is not touched until the other parties insurance assessor has seen the car and the repair is approved.

    Obviously the other parties claim details and witnesses play a part in the other persons insurance company playing ball, if you were hit in the rear its pretty much a done deal and they wont have much to argue about.
    Last edited by Godzilla; 02-12-14 at 06:05 AM.

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    Many years ago my vehicle was rear ended by an uninsured driver who was intoxicated.

    My vehicle had a substantial towbar that trashed his car (poetic justice), however, because the towbar was not mentioned on the policy, and was damaged, it was not going to be repaired/replaced.

    I engaged a lawyer to write a letter to the driver, claiming the cost of getting this sorted, and surprise!, the driver paid up. Guess I was lucky with that.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Godzilla View Post
    Hey Nick, saw your post over at SAU, didn't know you were a member there.
    Didn't know you were either!

    Your recommendation is pretty much what I followed last time, just without the lawyer as I followed up the 3rd party myself. My own company has already approved the panel repairs and parts were ordered yesterday so it's a bit late to back out and go that route.

    I guess I might be able to chase up the 3rd party insurance for the cost of the exhaust, we are both with the same insurer though so that should be fun.

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    I'd be seriously talking to a solicitor and getting his opinion. If you are a member of the NRMA, RACQ, or similar, they offer free legal advice to members.

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    The other party is insured to cover the cost of damage to whoever he hits. That could be a clapped out VW or a Lambourghini - it matters not. The insurance companies try to get away with this crap by using their " I'll cover my customer & you cover yours" mutual agreement that they have with each other. Unfortunately it may take a solicitor or other legal action to get a result.

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    Have one final go at talking to your insurer. Point out that even if the exhaust is not covered by your policy you will be suing the other driver for this if necessary and they will ultimately have to pay anyway, but after far greater trouble and expense.

    If they don't come to the party get a couple of quotes and send them to the other driver demanding payment. Send a copy also to the insurance company. Then, if it is in NSW, go to the local court and see the Chamber Magistrate who will assist you in lodging a claim in the Small Claims Division, You would have to do it yourself but it is a very informal process. It is rarely worthwhile to pay a Solicitor. Based on your description of the accident it is likely the insurance company will give in at some stage before it goes to Court in any event.

    Good luck.

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    Thanks for all the advice guys it seems I have a good case here, I'll pop in a quick update.

    So far I've spent over 2.5hrs on the phone and gotten absolutely no where. After the first hour I lodged a complaint with the insurers internal complaints department. From this I was told I can definitely put the claim in directly against the at-fault party and see what happens and that I would receive a call back to assist with this. After not receive a call back from them I spent the remaining 1.5hrs being bounced between departments only to find that that a call is indeed scheduled in their system but it was scheduled for the next business day, which is why I yet have not heard anything, I'll wait until close of business today to see where that leads.

    Failing that my next step will be to lodge another complaint with the insurer and perhaps even contact the ombudsmen.

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    You might actually just lodge your claim with the other insurer, in the proper way with a proper qoute.
    If possible make sure the repairer has good relations to that insurer.
    Many companies don't really care if they get the quote from a repairer or the other persons insurance company.
    A quick phone call to them might give you the answers you seek and faster help than running in circles with your company.
    Whow knows, they might just say "No worries, hand it in we will take care of it!"
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    Yesterday morning I was finally able to get put through to the right team to provide me with the procedure for submitting a quote, by the end of the day they had approved the quote and given notice to the repairer =D

    Thanks for all the input guys, definitely got given the run around but good outcome in the end!

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