Insurance / Legal Advice

[ninjapirate_]

I thought i'd ask on here to see what you guys opinion would be about this situation..

Basically back in january (with all the snow) my dad was was driving my mums KA, he had stopped at a junction and some guy in a hire car slid down the road and smashed into the back of the KA causing the rear bumper to crack and split and the boot to be slightly dented. The guy admitted fault there and then, gave my parents his details and told them that it was a hire car.

Anyway, he returned the car to the hire company and didnt tell them it had been involved in an accident (there was little / no damage done to the front of the hire car). My parents claimed off their insurance (fully comp) and it was booked into repairs and a hire car was provided for my parents. The hire car company contacted the driver and he admitted to them on the phone that he was at fault, Elephant meanwhile contacted my parents and asked them to provide a diagram of the accident etc.

Elephant told my parents that they were waiting for the insurance for the hire company to pay them and my parents heard nothing else til today. My mum got a letter through the post saying that the insurance for the hire company were refusing to pay out for the hire car that my parents had while their car was in for repairs :s and this letter stated that the only way to resolve it is to go to a small claims court and a load of stuff about the procedure for small claims etc.

How is it possible that the insurers can agree to pay out for repairs but not the hire car which my parents have as an option on their insurance? And what do you reckon is the next step for my parents, contact a solicitor?

Sorry for the essay lol.

Thunder

 

[theduck]

Your parents insurers should therefore pay for the hire car, other side has no obligation to pay for it, regardless of what options your parents took on their insurance.

Basically they have written to your parents as the claim remains unsettled, so they have to update them, but it doesnt affect them in anyway.

 

[Craigus]

Contact your parents insurance, they can chase the other insurance company and they will make them pay it.

 

[ninjapirate_]

Your parents insurers should therefore pay for the hire car, other side has no obligation to pay for it, regardless of what options your parents took on their insurance.

Basically they have written to your parents as the claim remains unsettled, so they have to update them, but it doesnt affect them in anyway.

ahh, so they're only writing to say that they are taking it to a small claims court? Because the way they've written the letter it sounds like they want my parents to arrange for the small claims to be made. They've also asked my parents to provide all correspondence of the small claims to a solicitor

 

[mace¬]

Thats why your parents will haved legal cover on their insurance. To deal with things like this.

 

[Pearcy]

Someone crashed into my one of my dads cars a while back, the insurance company rang and asked if he wanted a hire car, he said yes and they posted the keys to a brand new e-class Merc through the letterbox. We've had the car about 3 months now and neither the hire company or the insurers have asked for it back yet, the bill for the car that was crashed into was sent 2 months ago and paid for. :S Idiots...

 

[Gumby]

Credit hire claims are a very litigious area; the other side is always going to argue that "you should have a 1.2 as that's the equivalent, therefore I'm only paying £X" kind of thing.

Good article here