I see you have no answers as yet and so I'm replying because it's frustrating otherwise.

My experience of insurance companies is they are not charities - however, I don't think think they want to put you through the mill either. I've never had any insurance company ask for details like alloys etc but the engineers report might include this. I don't think this will invalidate your insurance although I can see that the insurance company won't pay for alloys but standard wheels.

I can say every accident is unique because of the circumstances, etc. If you show contrition and remorse for what has happened then I have found people get treated more leniently.

The Police are obliged to caution you. Sometimes charges are brought and dropped, sometimes it goes to court. If the magistrates see that you are sorry and willing to put right your mistake (we all make mistakes) then you will be treated well. Your own personal circumstances are taken very much into consideration - your car, injuries, hardship, getting to work, etc. You might say that as a result of this experience you will put yourself through the PassPlus scheme to improve your driving skills. If you get fined you can negotiate to pay this over a period of time. If this happens you will need to declare it on your next insurance application.

I think it's pretty certain your next lot of premiums are going to be high and maybe so high you can't afford to drive for a while.

When I got rear-ended I thought I was okay and pretty bad whiplash kicked in later that night. I still get pains now after nearly a year, especially when I'm tired. Even though it wasn't my fault, it's changed my driving habits in that I'm much more slower and bigger gaps between cars. Getting to work 5 minutes later is way better than not at all. But you now that and your driving will mature as a result.

Get a friend or taxi to get your stuff out of the boot.

Lastly, it's natural to be stressed - but being stressed won't do you any good or make the situation any better. You are going to be on a roller-coaster ride for a while so you might as well make it as comfortable as you can. Things will be out of your control but asking questions will help you see where you're going and what to expect.

Good luck and try and get some peace.

Kevin, Paul, Tony & Duncan,

I just want to thank you guys immensely for taking the time to reply. It truly means a lot and really has put my mind at ease. Having never been in a situation like this, I was really very panicked. The ironic thing is that I sent off my application to the local RoADAR the day before all this happened! I hope no one minds if I keep posting updates here for advice....I don't want to be a nuisance, but you guys are such a fountain of knowledge.

I definitely wasn't speeding as I only just picked up speed about 200m from where it all happened...it was a narrow single carriageway. But Im not sure as if my attention managed to lapse enough not to realise the person in front braked, then what if I was going over 60? But then again, I really doubt that puny 68bhp engine could pick up that much speed in 200m.

I was under the impression all police reports end up going to the magistrates and the person at fault is always punished. I can only hope for the best, but if I have to face the magistrates I hope they realise how apologetic I am and determined to improve my skills so as not to let something like this happen again.

My current premium was FC £800...with an at fault accident it goes up to TPFT £1700 and with points its up to over £2000 (for similarly sized entry-level engines). I am kinda stuck now because I work part-time in between my studies at a hospital 70miles away (I used to work there before moving to this town to be nearer the uni and the manager there gives me a lot of flexibility as opposed to the hospitals nearby).

With regards to them paying the replacement value of the car, how does that work in conjunction with the excess for the policy? Autotrader prices are less than my total excess, so does that mean I would have to pay them the difference for the costs they've incurred?

I won't mention the alloys to the insurance people....I'm the 5th owner of the car and can't possibly be expected to know what previous owners did, right? It was just a humble little car without bodykits or any of that boyracer malarky, so I had no reason to suspect anything.

Thanks for the reminder on the tax disc...will do that. Would I be allowed to remove my stereo and parrot system? I also put in skoda speakers in the rear as this model didn't have any...am I allowed to remove them? Im guessing I have to say goodbye to the seats...the ones in the car were dirty so I got some clean ones from breakers to replace them. Sadly the dirty ones are still at home as I didn't list them on ebay yet.



Once again, thank you everyone for your input.