Bingle with truck - Whinge/Need insurance advice...

[HOLEIN1]

as the title states, i had a bit of a bingle with a truck the other day - was driving through an intersection with a semi trailer next to me which ended up clipping me on the rear drivers side wheel arch!

caused the car to slide out a bit, but managed to get off the trucks bumper before it turned me, the gf, and my car into a pancake...

anyway i stopped, and he slowed down, but then drove off

i filed a police report giving them the trucking company's name and licence plate, however im a little worried about my insurance company being able to recover the cost from the truck company...

spoke to them on the phone (Just Car Insurance), and they said that they may need to wait up to six weeks for the police report to be released, and then may be taken to court if the other party argues that they were not at fault

i argue that if i was in front of the truck minding my own business and it clips me on the rear corner of my car, its their fault... i remember staying well away from it as i always do, no one is going to play chicken with a freaking truck are they?

if in this situation my insurance company says that it was no ones fault, which they have said is apossibility, what are my legal rights to following this up? if it was my fault i would be fine with paying for the damage, but in this case i was happily driving along one minute, and the next theres a kenworth with a bad attitude on my ass...

happened on portrush road, and for those who are lucky enough to live in 'RADelaide', you will agree that its full of cowboy truckies who drive their road trains through peak hour traffic as if it were a barina with a 'little miss bitch' sticker on the back window

heres some pics, doesnt look like much, but apparently theres some work there to get that panel straight again as its sort of kinked almost up to the fuel door....

been quoted in the vacinity of $1,400-$1,700 to fix including a new tail light...

oh an excuse the dirty pics, weve actally had some rain here in SA for once...















any comments much appreciated

[h100vw]

That's a downer mate, will I ever get to flash your car

knock for knock claims like this as we called them in the UK can be hard work. That truckie will be hoping you didn't have a bit of paper and a pen.

If it were me, I'd be making a call to the truck company if you haven't already. Try and get a name out of them, they must have a roster and know who was driving where and when. That would be the law, so that they can put forward a name if there was a speeding ticket or something.

I would think there would be tachograph evidence too.

Point out that the driver left the scene of an accident, would he have stopped had he driven over the back of your car? Being late for a drop or finishing a shift is no excuse for running off. You will get caught these days.

Best of luck and keep on at the Police too.

Gavin

[HOLEIN1]

I would think there would be tachograph evidence too.

hmm i didint know trucking companies etc still used these?

hoping that it will sort itself out as ive done a police report, taken down the plate etc etc

my only concern is that just car didint sound 100% confident on the phone...

[h100vw]

hmm i didint know trucking companies etc still used these?

hoping that it will sort itself out as ive done a police report, taken down the plate etc etc

my only concern is that just car didint sound 100% confident on the phone...

If they don't use a tacho graph, they must have something else instead, they couldn't track drivers hours otherwise.

I think a call to the trucking company would be worthwhile. Unlucky on the truckie if he gets in bother, he left the scene. If he had stopped, maybe he could have sorted it out, without involving the insurance and Police, now he is fcuked.

You might have got the newbie at Just CAr who doesn't know the system. If you are fully comp, then you can get the car sorted and pay the excess. Leave Just Car to get their money back.

You'll have a claim against you but you have told them now anyway, so there'll be no going back on that point.

Gavin

[Mr ©harisma]

Any decent insurance company should make you pay the excess, fix your car and if it is determinded that it was the third parties fault, give you your excess back. We that is what we would do.

The problem is that no driver has been determinded to be at fault at the moment.

Personally I would make 2 calls. As h100vw said, call the truck company and I would call back JCI and elavate your call to the claims supervisor / manager. If you are not happy with their response, you can call the IOS ( Insurance Ombudsman Service ) and seek some advise.

[The_Hawk]

As Mr ©harisma assuming you have comprehensive coverage, your insured against damage. Period. Your policy says there is an excess that someone has to pay.

Depending on the circumstances the insurer may process the claim with no excess paid by you if they know they will be getting it back, like when the other party is insured with them or one of the companies they have a deal with.

Others make you pay upfront and refund if and when they get the other party to cough up.

I suppose it comes down to what your excess is and if you really want it fixed or not. Considering we are not talking damage that makes your car undriveable I suppose it can wait a few weeks if you want to go down that path and not be out of pocket.