Earlier this year on a windy January afternoon I was side swiped swiped by a mini bus on a duel carriageway. I was overtaking the mini bus and as I came level with the bus the road bent to the right and it cut the corner
The Driver claimed she was pushed off course by a gust of wind
Now the insurance company wants me to accept that the bus driver was not to blame and to accept that I should be liable for the damage to my car - about £1200 to my RX8 - which will result in my loosing no claims discount of 20%.
Has anyone else have had weather related claims experience
Just to add while it was windy that day, it was not blowing gales
Edited by Pugugly on 29/08/2009 at 00:31
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Tell them to prove it? Otherwise everyone would blame the weather/wind.
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I parked a car next to a wall and over night there was a bad storm. The wall had partially collapsed onto the front of my car causing some dents/paint damage.
I tried to claim against the home owners house insurance and was told it was an 'act of god' due to the heavy storm and the owner of the wall was therefor not liable.
This was around 15 years ago. I don't know if this is an acceptable reason or maybe I was too young and naive to pursue it any further! It was a cheap first car as well.....
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An 'act of god' due to the heavy storm and the owner of the wall was therefore not liable.
Two years ago the wall separating us from the neighbours (a doctors practice) was blown down. Ownership was not certain, and each insurer's assessor decided the cause was inadequate maintenance by the other party. In the end we got 50% reimbursement, after threatening them sevaral times with the ombudsman. Acts of God didn't seem to be in the escape clause.
Motoring connection - the wall missed SWMBO's car by less than a foot. But in the case under discussion I don't see that a vehicle, allegedly under the control of a driver, should be deemed an act of God. The ins.co. is just trying the first of several standard evasion procedures.
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The minibus collided with your car. I can't see what difference it makes as to what initiated the collision.
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The other driver must have been going too fast for the conditions then - would be my reply to the insurer.
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Whose insurance company is 'the' insurance company?
The bus driver's I hope.
You could try :
www.mazda.co.uk/owning/Mazda-owner-benefits/Mazda-.../
They will do the fighting of the third party for you, (as they want the money).
Edited by Hamsafar on 29/08/2009 at 10:26
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They will do the fighting of the third party for you (as they want the money).
Unlikely - accident managment blood suckers are only interested if it's certain the other party was at fault.
Edited by Bill Payer on 29/08/2009 at 14:43
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I will try Mazda but whether they help is another matter, car is already repaired and not bought from Mazda.
I will phone them Monday and visit a solicitor too
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Oh yes PS 'THE' is my insurer, I have had no dealing with the other guys, yet
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For the mini bus driver to be liable you have to prove negligence on this part:
Negligence is failure to use a reasonable amount of care when such failure results in injury of damage to another
It is important to remember that not every accident necessarily involves a negligent party. An accident can be the result of an unforeseeable event with nobody liable.
Thus a sudden gust of wind could be seen as the cause of the accident and render the driver not liable. Counter arguments could include the fact that it was a wind day, such gusts were foreseeable and that the driver was driving too fast for the prevailing conditions. At the end of the day it would be necessary for a judge to decide on the facts of the case
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Met Office have detailed records of conditions. I've used them in the past re scaffold collapses to confirm the wind strength. Should be fairly easy to establish the possibility or otherwise of strong side wind. Sounds like a fairy tale though....
Edited by nortones2 on 29/08/2009 at 15:36
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Presumably if it wasn't a windy day the bus might have hit a pot hole with similar unfortunate results instead..the excuse is rubbish.
The driver is supposed to be in control of the vehicle, especially applicable to a professional carrying passengers, and countering such things as side winds is part of the job.
If you hopefully have a witness that the bus suddenly cut the corner into your lane then i can't see the insurers problem.
By the way PS did i misread your post above, are you claiming from your own insurance company, if so why?
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