I was driving at night along the M27 west of Southampton and became aware of several cars parked on the hard shoulder some 500m ahead. The motorway is unlit at that point. I lifted off to assess the situation. My attention was focussed on the stationary cars when suddenly I noticed a luggage top-box in the middle of lane 2 (the one I was driving in) and I had no time to react. I collided with at around 50mph and there was a noisy collision but did not get a sense of a violent collision.

I braked gently and tried the steering several times (nothing violent as I was worried about a puncture) and kept going to the next junction so I could safely stop and assess the damage. Basically the front skirt/bumper was damaged and the inner plastic wheel arch destroyed - and an important looking box of electronic gubbins (Engine Management System I think) was hanging free as its waterproof box was previously clipped to the inside of the wheel arch.

The Police were called and they have provided the details of the driver including his insurance details. The Police have decided to prosecute the driver and wonder if that will have any effect on the situation.

I contacted LV, my insurer, giving them those details (I forwarded the e-mail from the police) and asked about repairs. Their response was that I’d need to pay the £250 excess whatever and that may well not be recoverable.

I am reluctant to do that as I suspect it would be difficult to get that back, despite the fact it was clearly not my fault, as it would involve effort from them for no benefit to LV. I do however understand that they will need to make the claim to see if it will be accepted by the other insurers.

My question is can I make a claim directly to the insurers of the vehicle that lost the top box (Direct Line) rather than through mine to avoid the lengthy series of correspondence that would occur. That way I would not need to pay the excess up front and avoid the scar of making a claim against my insurance policy.

I reported my damage to the police and my insurance company shortly after it happened.