My car was written off in August after another driver made a right turn in front of me, hitting the front and side of my Audi A4. I had owned this vehicle since new, it was in very good condition, low mileage for it’s age but with a low market value due to it’s age. I was fortunate in that there was a fire service vehicle passing shortly after the impact who made clear to the other driver that they were at fault. The police who attended also confirmed that the other driver was at fault. The other driver subsequently admitted fault and this has been treated by my insurers as a no fault claim. My insurers quickly settled the write off value of my vehicle, provided a hire car for a few days and passed me onto their legal partners to resolve my uninsured losses. This amounted to the value of my insurance excess and loss of pay for one day. I was travelling to work at the time of the accident, had banged my head, was in shock and had to sort out the contents of my vehicle, pick up hire car, and deal with the insurance company. My wife also left work to pick me up, collect the contents of the car and assist me with dealing with the aftermath as I had bumped my head during the impact and was quite dazed for a while. I was also in shock. We included her one day loss of pay in the claim. There were a couple of other sundry losses but these were less than about £50 and all was evidenced including letters from our employers. I was expecting the next communication with the insurers to be a settlement offer.

Out of the blue, I now find that I am now being asked to complete yet more documentation as my insurers have passed this to a legal firm who are now seeking to recover the market value of my vehicle from the other driver directly. It would appear that the other drivers insurers are refusing to settle the claim but no reason has been given as to why that is the case. I have the opportunity to add my uninsured loss to this. If I do not assist my insurers in recovering their costs this will go onto my insurance record as an at fault claim even though no one is disputing that the initial collision wasn’t my fault. I am now faced with another mountain of paperwork much of which duplicates what I have already provided. I am not finding my insurers legal team very helpful and it would appear that the other drivers insurers are being even less helpful.

My claim is a relatively small one, the car was worth more to me than the market value. My uninsured loss is considerable, but the sum that I have been advised that I can claim for is minor and I am not making any claim for personal injury. This leaves me to be very confused as to why I am now in this position. I would be very grateful if you could offer some insight as to why I am where I am with this and any advice would be appreciated. It is clear that I have to go along with this but unclear as to exactly what I am getting myself involved with.