Time Limit To Report A Minor Accident?

[joko]

a few weeks ago i was rear ended - minor damage but damage nonetheless, the man took full blame and was happy for me to claim etc - however i have been mad busy and then ill and havent called his insurance company yet.
i still dont want to - i cant think straight at the moment
is there a time limit for this? - i dont want there to be an issue as to why i have delayed it - as i say there is no contest, i just want to get well first as i know its going to be a bit of a hassle

thanks

[Cloverjo]

I don't know about a time limit, but I thought you were meant to tell your own insurance company and let them deal with it.

[EDDIE51]

You should have reported this to your insurers not to his insurers, it is up to him to contact his own insurers . I think you will have a problem now as a condition of all insurance policies is that you report all incidents regardless of 'blame' immediately or as soon as possible. A few weeks without reporting it is not 'as soon as possible' !

[joko]

i was told by the mechanic to just report it to his insurer... that i didnt even need to even involve mine ... since there was no contest

[woofgang]

well the mechanic is wrong, you tell YOUR insurance company and ASAP!

[gingejbee]

I agree...you should have no contact with his insurance company at all. Normally you would report this to your own company within hours of the event....and let them do the work. But, they DO need to be informed!

[woofgang]

on thinking about it, I am not even sure that his insurer would talk to you.

[EDDIE51]

You HAVE to inform your insurer even if you do not wish to claim through them, they have to know about any claim involving you. You could find that your insurance is void as you have not informed your insurer of an accident involving you.

[Hopkirk]

How do you know he won't contest it?

He won't be the first to say one thing and do another.

Report it tomorrow.

[EDDIE51]

After 'a few weeks' the other driver has probably thought you are not going to bother reporting it and assumes he has got away with it. He will probably now deny it happened at all and you will not be able to do anything about it!

[SpikeyBush]

I'm quoting from an old Eagle Star policy. "Please notify us of your accident as soon as possible. We will send you an accident report form which must be completed and returned to us as soon as possible (but no later than 30 days from the date of the accident)"

[joko]

there is not a lot of damage - it was just a minor bump - we were both stationary at a roundabout and he moved off because he thought i had, but a van came speeding round so i was edging out but didnt go.
however i have a towbar - and his car got stuck on it, it shoved the towbar out of alignment, loosened the exhaust and pushed the bumper forward.
there is no effect on the car working, and the bumper just looks a bit creased.
he was very nice and apologetic etc- i have photos of his car stuck to mine - it was almost amusing to be stuck at the edge of a massive roundabout at rush hour unable to move until he lifted his car up with jack...
no damage to his car really, it just pushed his grill out but it just popped back in.
no injuries or anything
wondering why my mechanic told me to ring his insurer and tell them i dont want to involve my own insurers ...

i will sort it and ring tomorrow.
thanks all

[SirOracle]

You may be fortunate joko if the TP has reported this accident to his Insurer,and his Insurer has been in touch with your Insurer.This is highly unlikely though.

Your Insurer would have a file opened in their claims department which would get round your tardy notification.

As already advised contact your Insurer immediately and explain that you have been unwell.

A moral is to learn that a motor mechanic is not at all qualified to give advice on insurance matters.

Good luck.

[Deskdiary]

You have been given a lot of advice on this thread most of which is nonsense.

1. For accidental damage only claims it is now quite common for the third party insurer to deal directly and arrange for the repairs to be done. So in this respect your mechanic is partly right.
2. You absolutely do have a duty to inform your insurer of the accident, however, all you need to do is inform them the damage is very minor and you have arranged for the repairs to be completed directly with the third party insurance company. Failing to do so will not avoid the policy.
3. for damage claims you have a period of 6 years in which to claim from the third party.