Calling for help....Budda

[Grey-Rolla]

Hey all i got a few question that needs to be answered, if anyone can help me i will aprreciate it (can u help me buddha since u work for the insurance company?) My dad had a car accident last night =(, heres the scenario: my dad took a right on a green arrow, the lady opposite ran the red and hit my dad in the front left corner, the police came and made a report. The thing is my dad only has 3rd party insurance, and now i was told that AAMI our insurer does not have anything to do with this situation, coz my dad is not at fault and says that it is up to us to chase them up? Unfortunately the other party wouldnt give us their ph: and we only have their address? now im just wondering what am i suppose to do? my dads car is damaged and he has a sore neck, shoulder and back :( Should there be legal action?

"i feel so bad" what is the process in this situation?? could someone please help me and give me some directions to find a solution for this situation it would be deeply appreciated....

Thank You and Cheers all :(

Grey- Rolla aka Voy

[Buddha]

First of all, sorry to hear about your Dad's bad luck, and is he OK? We all love our cars, but generally speaking, our loved ones come first! From my experience, as your Dad only has 3rd party, it could be an uphill battle for him, depending on how nice the other party and their insurer are (that's if they're insured themselves, of course).

One major positive is that Police attended and put a report together ... that is such a hard thing to get most of the time, because unless someone is injured or traffic is affected, the cops just don't want to know. I know of incidents where suspected drink driving and defective vehicles have been involved, but the Police wouldn't show.

Probably the first thing your Dad needs to do is find a phone no. for them (maybe he can match their address to a number in the phone book), otherwise send them a letter of demand direct ... all you need to do in the letter is remind them of the incident, advise that you hold them responsible, ask them to either forward the letter to their insurer or contact you to advise what they're doing and give them a timeframe (say, 14 days) with a gentle mention of possible further action.

Did the other party have much damage? If not, they may not feel like putting a claim in, so a letter of demand will prompt them either way. If/when they lodge a claim, they should contact your Dad and give him their claim details so he can then talk to their insurer direct.

You said your Dad had "third party" insurance, does that mean he has TPP (third party property, and/or fire & theft) or just CTP (the third party insurance that comes with your rego)? If your Dad has only CTP, then AAMI have nothing at all to do with the incident. If your Dad has TPP with AAMI, and the other party is uninsured (i.e. only CTP or less) then AAMI will actually cover your Dad for up to $3000 of repairs (according to their website). Most insurers have a little clause to that effect.

Unfortunately, however, if the other party get difficult and won't help you, then you'll need to take action through the Small Claims Tribunal or whatever the equivalent is in your state. As I said, that Police report is worth its weight in gold if it comes to that, but hopefully they'll go home, have a drink and ring their insurer to get the ball rolling. While most call centres are 24/7, not everyone realises that, so at least give them till Monday/Tuesday to do something, then take it from there.

I hope that helps, but good luck to your Dad!

[Grey-Rolla]

First of all, sorry to hear about your Dad's bad luck, and is he OK? We all love our cars, but generally speaking, our loved ones come first! From my experience, as your Dad only has 3rd party, it could be an uphill battle for him, depending on how nice the other party and their insurer are (that's if they're insured themselves, of course).

One major positive is that Police attended and put a report together ... that is such a hard thing to get most of the time, because unless someone is injured or traffic is affected, the cops just don't want to know. I know of incidents where suspected drink driving and defective vehicles have been involved, but the Police wouldn't show.

Probably the first thing your Dad needs to do is find a phone no. for them (maybe he can match their address to a number in the phone book), otherwise send them a letter of demand direct ... all you need to do in the letter is remind them of the incident, advise that you hold them responsible, ask them to either forward the letter to their insurer or contact you to advise what they're doing and give them a timeframe (say, 14 days) with a gentle mention of possible further action.

Did the other party have much damage? If not, they may not feel like putting a claim in, so a letter of demand will prompt them either way. If/when they lodge a claim, they should contact your Dad and give him their claim details so he can then talk to their insurer direct.

You said your Dad had "third party" insurance, does that mean he has TPP (third party property, and/or fire & theft) or just CTP (the third party insurance that comes with your rego)? If your Dad has only CTP, then AAMI have nothing at all to do with the incident. If your Dad has TPP with AAMI, and the other party is uninsured (i.e. only CTP or less) then AAMI will actually cover your Dad for up to $3000 of repairs (according to their website). Most insurers have a little clause to that effect.

Unfortunately, however, if the other party get difficult and won't help you, then you'll need to take action through the Small Claims Tribunal or whatever the equivalent is in your state. As I said, that Police report is worth its weight in gold if it comes to that, but hopefully they'll go home, have a drink and ring their insurer to get the ball rolling. While most call centres are 24/7, not everyone realises that, so at least give them till Monday/Tuesday to do something, then take it from there.

I hope that helps, but good luck to your Dad!

Thanks BUddha, my dad has TTP, i know about the $3000 of repair funds, but i just though AMII could help out since they are a large corporate business and that it would be more effective if they could help. So all i would do now is send a letter??? if so so i will mail away on monday. I just thought AMMI would help take action since they are our insurer. Thanks Buddha, situation like these are stresfull. Your help is greatly apprectiate, i will update you on the situation. Thanks Buddha.

[Mello]

i was also under the impression that even on 3rd party untill its proven that its your fault... they should fight the battle for you. However if thats the case O.O

i suggest you get in touch with a legal adviser or a family lawyer.

[Grey-Rolla]

i was also under the impression that even on 3rd party untill its proven that its your fault... they should fight the battle for you. However if thats the case O.O

i suggest you get in touch with a legal adviser or a family lawyer.

I will try sort this out ASAP... people...word of advice get full comprehensive insurance. ;)

cheers

[Buddha]

i was also under the impression that even on 3rd party untill its proven that its your fault... they should fight the battle for you. However if thats the case O.O

i suggest you get in touch with a legal adviser or a family lawyer.

From the contact I've had with other insurers (including mine) they only want to help TPP customers if they are at fault and only once the customer has paid their excess. I know one or two insurers here in Queensland will help with a letter of demand and give some other assistance, but because the customer has not paid for Comprehensive insurance, they are under no legal obligation to assist.

As I said to Grey Rolla, something they can do that is free and easy to get going is the letter of demand, unless the other party comes to the party, so to speak. Luckily for them, the vast majority of people in that situation have enough of the guilts to just jump in and sort it out.

Certainly, if they want to go the legal route straight up, that's their right to do so ... I can only give him a bit of an insight into the insurance side of things.

[kelvin33]

Sorry to hear about that mate!!

Is your Dad alright

[Grey-Rolla]

Okies thanks for the help, i guess its a waiting game now, hopefully i can get this sorted out before the new year which is not long to go. I really appreciate your help Buddha by the way Merry Christmas.

Cheers

Grey :D

[Conquest]

Unfortunately that happened to my old Seca twice, well three times if you count the guy who ran off

The first time I was going straight ahead on a green light when an elderly lady came around the corner in front of me doing a right-turn. We exchanged details & I called the police assistance line when I got into work to report the accident and give my version of events.

NRMA wouldn't help since I was only insured with third-party property insurance so the next step was to get a quote on the damage and send a copy of the quote along with a letter of demand to the owner of the other vehicle by registered post. I used registered post so that there was a record of receipt.

Anyway I got no response from the lady so I called her for the claim number and contacted her insurance company to see what was happening. Apparently they had rejected the claim since she told them a different version of events, so I then sent her a second final letter of demand threatening further legal action and followed that up straight away.

Finally her insurance company agreed to pay the for the damage (about $3,500 worth) but the whole process took about three months and caused alot of headaches, not to mention getting pulled over by the cops every week or so to explain the damage. I won't bore you with the other stories but that's the general process.

... I've edited in a few further details but if you have any questions then feel free to ask.

Edited December 20, 2005 by Conquest