Making Uninsured Third Party Claim

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#1261035 17-Mar-2015 13:37

Just having a law doesn't make it happen.

"In the United Kingdom where vehicle insurance is compulsory, about six percent of all motorists are estimated to be uninsured."

The % without any form of insurance here is estimated at 7.6%.

BTR

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#1261152 17-Mar-2015 16:01

Small claims court is your answer. I would never take the risk of not having insurance, minor damage to an expensive sports car would be enough to bankrupt most people.

Kyanar

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#1264861 22-Mar-2015 10:36

Geektastic:

Compulsory Third Party - or Third Party, Fire & Theft - can be whatever the legislation making it compulsory says it should be.

There is no reason why we can't simply pass a law making it illegal to drive without third party insurance. In NZ, since ACC picks up the injury part of that, the insurers would just write policies to cover material damage to other people's cars, walls, houses and so on. The State should also be filing claims where road furniture is damaged.

Terrible idea. Australia's system demonstrates quite effectively that if you pass a law stating that everyone must legally acquire a "thing" from a private company, prices increase. A LOT. Unless you regulate a maximum price, in which case all players fix their prices at - you guessed it - the maximum. The only fair way to offer a service that legally must be purchased by an entire class of people is for the government to operate it as a public good. And considering how you suck up to the corporates, I very much doubt you'd be in favour of that.

sidefx

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#1264897 22-Mar-2015 11:53

I was in a similar position many years ago when someone rear-ended me in a fairly major crash, but I only had limited 3rd party insurance at the time. It was definitely the other parties fault, and the police determined this on the night, though didn't actually tell me at all. The 3rd party stopped responding to any communication and their insurance company refused to deal with me without their clients go ahead.

At someones advice I made a request to see the police report and though I can't recall the exact process, I do remember going into offices where the police reports were kept and being given some time to read through and I think even make a copy of the report. It basically laid out the full findings of the police on the night and that they had charged the other party with reckless driving or something similar. So with that in hand I wrote a stiff letter to the 3rd party indicating that I had read the police report and wanted to resolve the matter before taking it further. Lo-and-behold a couple of days later her insurance company contacted me and they ended up cover the car in full.

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TonyR1973

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#1272650 29-Mar-2015 00:20

You simply lodge a claim against the insured at the Disputes Tribunal to determine liability.

LennonNZ:
You can look at http://www.iombudsman.org.nz/ and see if they will look into whatever complaint you have with the Insurance company (excessive time/rejection or whatever)

The Insurance Ombudsman only deals with disputes between insurers and their customers - not third parties.

TonyR1973

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#1272652 29-Mar-2015 00:25

jarledb: I really don't get how its allowed to be uninsured in NZ.

Perhaps because we don't wish to be under the thumb of insurers. Just look at the cost of insurance in the UK and US.

jarledb: If you had insurance you would have your insurance company deal with all this.

It's not difficult to do yourself. And you save a small fortune in premiums.

jarledb: Now, what are you going to do if you are in a big crash and its all your fault? Must mean that bankrupcy is next, surely?

There's a thing you can do to virtually mitigate that problem: it's called paying attention when driving.

TonyR1973

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#1272654 29-Mar-2015 00:28

BTR: Small claims court is your answer. I would never take the risk of not having insurance, minor damage to an expensive sports car would be enough to bankrupt most people.

It's exactly that sort of fearmongering that the insurance companies use to sell the insurance. Obviously at population level they don't think it's particularly likely to occur or the premiums would reflect it.

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bazzer

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#1274150 31-Mar-2015 11:35

TonyR1973:
BTR: Small claims court is your answer. I would never take the risk of not having insurance, minor damage to an expensive sports car would be enough to bankrupt most people.

It's exactly that sort of fearmongering that the insurance companies use to sell the insurance. Obviously at population level they don't think it's particularly likely to occur or the premiums would reflect it.

I wouldn't call it fearmongering. It's all about risk mitigation and how risk averse you are. It's a fact that some drivers cause minor damage to expensive sports cars. It only matters what you perceive the chances are of it being you and how happy/able you are to pay for those damages yourself.

Same with having your house burn to the ground. Chances are slim (low likelihood) but the cost is huge (high severity). Is it worth the risk? Depends who you ask. The guy that saved up all his would-be insurance premiums into a savings vehicle and at age 65 has a nice little nest egg, or the family that just had all their belongings burn to the ground. Pretty obvious what their answers would be.

MikeAqua

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#1274243 31-Mar-2015 12:27

My cynicism is based on 4 years working at a rental car company dealing with other parties insurers.

You don't have to deal with the other party's insurer at all. Get some quotes including the cost of a courtesy car, initiate proceedings against the other driver, and/or tell the insurer you will do so and take it from there. Any expenses you incur/envisage as a result of not having the use of your car, get a receipt/estimate for and add to the claim. if you normally charge for you time or have to take leave to deal with this, add that to the bill too.

This almost always works. The other person will be annoyed their insurance company isn't protecting them. That is your lever to use against the insurance company. Hardball works. Just be sure to keep copies of the correspondence where you tried to be reasonable, record phone calls (disclose that you are recording), and do go into a branch (take a friend as witness). Keep your cool but be staunch.

Don't agree to withdraw proceedings until you have received a settlement you are happy with. Never let the insurer choose the repairer or negotiate price with them - they will cut corners to save money.

Mike

jarledb

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#1274586 31-Mar-2015 16:35

TonyR1973:
jarledb: Now, what are you going to do if you are in a big crash and its all your fault? Must mean that bankrupcy is next, surely?

There's a thing you can do to virtually mitigate that problem: it's called paying attention when driving.

Famous last words.

You can be as vigilant as you want, if someone is stupid on the road - that won't matter one bit.

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TonyR1973

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#1275253 1-Apr-2015 13:33

bazzer:
TonyR1973:
BTR: Small claims court is your answer. I would never take the risk of not having insurance, minor damage to an expensive sports car would be enough to bankrupt most people.

It's exactly that sort of fearmongering that the insurance companies use to sell the insurance. Obviously at population level they don't think it's particularly likely to occur or the premiums would reflect it.

I wouldn't call it fearmongering. It's all about risk mitigation and how risk averse you are. It's a fact that some drivers cause minor damage to expensive sports cars. It only matters what you perceive the chances are of it being you and how happy/able you are to pay for those damages yourself.

Same with having your house burn to the ground. Chances are slim (low likelihood) but the cost is huge (high severity). Is it worth the risk? Depends who you ask. The guy that saved up all his would-be insurance premiums into a savings vehicle and at age 65 has a nice little nest egg, or the family that just had all their belongings burn to the ground. Pretty obvious what their answers would be.

Correct. It's best you objectively assess your own risk factors first and measure that against your ability to cover that risk. For many, having insurance seems to lead to carelessness and negligence.

TonyR1973

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#1275257 1-Apr-2015 13:36

jarledb:
TonyR1973:
jarledb: Now, what are you going to do if you are in a big crash and its all your fault? Must mean that bankrupcy is next, surely?

There's a thing you can do to virtually mitigate that problem: it's called paying attention when driving.

Famous last words.

You can be as vigilant as you want, if someone is stupid on the road - that won't matter one bit.

How long do you think I need to wait for your prophecy to fulfil itself before this "just around the corner" incident, that's completely out of my control, occurs? I'm in my 40s now...

surfisup1000

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#1275307 1-Apr-2015 14:07

BTR: Small claims court is your answer. I would never take the risk of not having insurance, minor damage to an expensive sports car would be enough to bankrupt most people.

Yes, but I think super expensive cars should have upper limits for claims and owners of those cars should pay to insure anything above that.

they are rolling bankrupting machines.

jarledb

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#1275446 1-Apr-2015 15:36

TonyR1973:
How long do you think I need to wait for your prophecy to fulfil itself before this "just around the corner" incident, that's completely out of my control, occurs? I'm in my 40s now...

If Murphys law in any way affects this, it should be right around the corner.

Mind, you don't usually insure yourself for things you know are going to happen, do you?

Any accident with a fellow uninsured is bound to be a hoot. Especially if that fellow is someone who don't have anything of value that can help you out.

andrewNZ

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#1279184 8-Apr-2015 17:45

For people saying insurance is a scam/unnecessary, I'll bet my left one this chap was happy to have it.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11429543

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