Back in May I was hit by a breakdown truck while stationery in a line of traffic.

The solicitor dealing with my claim for uninsured losses (Alongside those of my insurer) is not getting a response from the third party insurer. As recently as a month ago the 3rd party insurer requested a statement from me - so the sol forwarded to them my and my wife's statements, and photos I took at the scene showing the trucks skid marks and the pile of debris (car was written off).

My own insurer has no issues, and has dealt with the claim efficiently, its being recorded as "No Fault".

This having dragged on for a while for various reasons, the solicitor  informs me that "Unfortunately we are still awaiting a response from the third party insurer. We have sent multiple emails and attempted to call. However, due to the time of year they are not taking calls from third parties at the moment."

She futher states "the next steps will be to build a liability review and discuss the claim with our solicitors."

It isn't my excess which is at stake (this was waived), but we were on holiday in Scotland at the time, on a busy weeked holiday near Oban, and have accomodation, travel - and an outstanding invoice for transport costs to get our caravan back to Birmingham!

Can someone enlighten me as to what on earth is going on, in layman's terms, and why a "liabilty Review" is needed now, so late in the process?

Should I be worried?

Should I pay the invoice for the caravan repatriation in case the whole thing drags on? I must admit, I'm at my wits end on this one. (It doesn't help that a few weeks later, having the replaced the car, some idiot collided with our caravan while we were towing it a few weeks later!)

 

Interested in this one (just in case)...

I would always be guided by your solicitor and assume (don't, ask!) that they will have to start building a case to go to Court rather than dealing solicitor to insurance company as this isn't working due to lack of communication (pathetic insurance company who will have to pay more and pass the cost on to us!)?

Regarding the outstanding bills, the suppliers should (IMHO) be paid as they have done their job?

I think all legal costs, expenses and compensation claims will need to be documented (including interest on any amounts?)

However, my first point of taking the advice of your solicitor stands.

Thanks Shearers - all the detailed doumentation has of course been prepared and sent off some time ago - right down to a claim for 1/2 tank of Adblu and a full tank of fuel!

I have asked the advice of the solicitor re the invoice, when I get the response I will bring up the subject of interest.

I have also asked if the third party is disputing the facts, though it all sounds straightforward to me - although it is being dealt with under Scottish law so maybe there are some peculiarities there.

Re-reading her email of this morning, the phrase about preparing a liability review is associated with the comment that my insurer has submitted theier claim alongside mine - a claim which will be for a much bigger sum of course (including several weeks car hire and recovery of the vehicle from Oban to Redditch)!

Sounds like it's a matter of you (with solicitor) and your insurer getting the totals agreed and making sure no duplication etc so that they have no trouble when going to Court?

We had a similar incident where claim handlers (never again) let garage keep our car for over 2 weeks (for a 1 day job and it was driveable) and then charged for a Volvo estate auto which we had but didn't want. That bill was silly and obviously contributes to increased insurance rates.

3 hours ago, Shearers said:

Sounds like it's a matter of you (with solicitor) and your insurer getting the totals agreed and making sure no duplication etc so that they have no trouble when going to Court?

We had a similar incident where claim handlers (never again) let garage keep our car for over 2 weeks (for a 1 day job and it was driveable) and then charged for a Volvo estate auto which we had but didn't want. That bill was silly and obviously contributes to increased insurance rates.

Yup, we accidentally got involved with claim handlers (long story) before I realised and got my insurer involved, who took over the claim. Their fraud team got in touch, and between us we found I'd been invoiced for something the insurer had had to pay to release the car. After some interesting research my insurer (on my behalf) found evidence to report the claim handler "chain" to the FCA ...

However, this shouldn't affect the facts around liability - unless the claim handler is associated with the 3rd party insurer, which could get interesting ...

In practice, the solicitor has now explained "Currently the Third Party Insurer are not offering anything. They have made no comment on liability - which is what I have been chasing. The lack of communication is what has pushed me to the next steps of a liability review."

So it seems she is preparing for a court appearance. Thank goodness I took out the optional legal cover ...

 

I was involved in an accident in June 2022, where a lorry hit the back of my car on a roundabout (failed to give precedence).

It finally got settled in May 2024, after much back & forth between the insurance companies (it was a Hungarian lorry, and a Hungarian insurance company, so I expected problems).

It was settled in my favour, and didn't affect my NCD, and I also got my excess refunded.

So, good luck with your claim, but I suspect you may have some time to wait yet!

I wouldn't pay out for anything unless you feel you are being backed into a corner and are being faced with extra costs for delayed payment or a court summons.

IF the supplier is pressurising you, my first response would be "My insurer and/or third party insurer are dealing with the claim. These are their contact details....". 

Let them sort it out. 

On 12/17/2024 at 12:51 AM, alanfp said:

I wouldn't pay out for anything unless you feel you are being backed into a corner and are being faced with extra costs for delayed payment or a court summons.

IF the supplier is pressurising you, my first response would be "My insurer and/or third party insurer are dealing with the claim. These are their contact details....". 

Let them sort it out. 

Thanks Alan - this has been my stance up to now, and it has not been an issue because the time to pay is within quite a long time from the date of invoice! The status now is that the 3rd party insurance co. are still not communicating with my solicitor, so the preps are being made both for my claim and for my insurer's attempt to recover theier costs. Interest can be charged (and I will be claiming it) from the date the claim goes to court or somesuch.

I've now set in motion payment for the one invoice that is not in dispute (and revoked the instruction to my solicitor to pay it out of reclaimed funds), so the claims handling company at least will be out of my hair. I'm also told by my solicitor that "In adding the outlays (Insurer Losses) to the claim [my insurer] have now taken on the burden of payment for our legal cost. This means that the losses you are looking to recover will be added onto the claim by [my insurer] ."

Its a sign of age I suppose - this sort of issue, both personally and professionaly - I used to deal with as "Business as Usual" without getting too worried about it - but not any more. Ho hum.

Edited January 8, 20251 yr by RMurphy195
Name of 3rd party insurer removed