Are insurance companies happy to allow their legal dept to ensure liability is admitted by the third party before me paying the excess?

My excess is very high (more than the damage in fact) and am uneasy about the thought of paying excess and not recovering it at the end of the process. I would rather leave the damage as it is until the third party insurer foots the bill.

Is this an acceptable condition to put in place to allow legal team to go ahead, or will they not like this?

No one comes out of this with any credit. Don't know whether this is a minor constabulary or major force, but they all have professional standards departments. I am sure more could have been done and you are being fobbed off. Doubt if it is one of their priorities (what is these days?) Did they even advise you to ensure witness timed, signed and dated original note?

From what you describe, PNC check would have thrown up hire car but locate trace marker might have caused difficulties for a subsequent, and totally innocent hirer. If company rental/contract hire, may be harder to actual I/D driver if they don't play ball. You can bet the hirer will have been hit for the damage by the hire company unless the driver paid for the repairs to keep this quiet.

I must say, I thought we paid our insurance premiums for the professionals to use their resources and do the chasing. Good luck. At least you have kind neighbours.

I don't quite understand the problem.

On the criminal side it doesn't matter who owns the vehicle, the police need to issue a request for information and Notice of Intended Prosecution against the keeper on the grounds of failure to stop and report, and driving without due care and attention.

If that is a hire company tthen they should then identify the hirer. If the hirer is a company then the fleet manager (or the person responsible for their vehicles) is legally bound to identify the driver. If they cannot they are guilty of not keeping proper records and the company will be fined under S172 of the Road Traffic Act. Because there will be no points the fine (against the company who fails to identify) is usually much higher.

In respect of the civil case (the accident) - which is entirely separate for legal purposes but which can be assisted by the criminal case - the damage to your vehicle indicates that the accident happened and the independent witness provides a track to the responsible party,

There must have been insurance on the vehicle whether it was a hire or not and hence that insurance policy is legally required to settle your damage and it does not matter who was driving, they still have to indemnify. In fact even if the car had been stolen, they still would have had to indemnify you.

The claim should therefore be directly against the third party insurer as I indicated several months ago (with information as to how we could assist you to resolve it).

Two policies suggest insurance from the hire company and another policy to indemnify the hirer (often the case for fleet hirers).

What is the damage to your vehicle?

If the circumstances are as you say I am vertain we can help in recovering your damage.

I need your name, email address and a telephone number sent to me at asklucy@honestjohn.co.uk

We will then contact you with a view to arranging the repairs and recovering the cost of the same from the insurer of the at-fault vehicle.

Unfortunatley Lucy is no longer a part of this site as she's ventured over to the dark side so i would assume you wont receive a response.

Edited by jamie745 on 13/07/2011 at 17:44

Was reading some posts and thought she may have left us, but whatis the dark side lol?