slight motor car accident this morning

BillN_33

BillN_33

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but still it's a new wing

but I checked the insurance database and got this message for the other car

"This vehicle is NOT showing as insured on the Motor Insurance Database today"


I gave the guy my insurance details but he did not give me his .....
 
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Are you in the UK, Bill? Maybe best to report it to your insurer & police.
 
OldCarlos said:
Are you in the UK, Bill? Maybe best to report it to your insurer & police.
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Yes back in the UK till next week Carl .......... so French Insurer as i drive a French Car ...........

are these databases correct
 
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BillN_33 said:
are these databases correct
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I'd imagine so, but obviously any system isn't infallible. I'm sure your insurer will be able to check.

Edit to add. Did you get a pic of any damage? Not unknown for claims to be `bumped up` later.
 
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OldCarlos said:
I'd imagine so, but obviously any system isn't infallible. I'm sure your insurer will be able to check.
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Thanks - it was quite an old car - over 20 years old ...... damage done to my car much less than the damage on his ......... doesn't look to me like the damage to his car was all caused by the accident

If it is as it is, i.e. no insurance, I am not sure if I will hear from him as I said, "let the insurance cos sort it out" but considering the age and condition of his vehicle it will probably be an "insurance write off" whilst I only have damage to my wheel arch

....... I have the maximum NCB in France, (insurance in France is expensive) so I do not want to lose that if the cost of the repair to mine is less than the NCB loss

I was quite "stunned" by the accident as it came out of no-where
 
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Might be worth giving the police a ring to let them know, though. (y)

The main thing is no one was injured (presumably) & hopefully the other driver doesn't try claiming at all & certainly not `trying it on` later.

Were there any witnesses?
 
BillN_33 said:
......... doesn't look to me like the damage to his car was all caused by the accident
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My missus had a guy trying to claim several hundreds of £'s for damage to his car when all there was, was a broken bracket on his bumper. He actually caused the `bump` in the first place & our car didn't even have the dirt on the bumper disturbed.

Luckily she remembered to take a couple of phone pics & also got details from a witness. :cool:
 
i would report that to the police asap .if it helps to take another a******e off the road the sooner the better
 
the black fox said:
i would report that to the police asap .if it helps to take another a******e off the road the sooner the better
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Jeff, I want to be sure that the MID database is correct before I do anything _ I have asked him for his details_ at the end of the day, no matter what both sides say, the insurance companies will dealt with the matter in their usual way.

EDIT: the guys says that he is insured, has named the company but I have asked for details, policy number, date of renewal, etc. (i.e. the info that I have given him)
 
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You should not have left until you had his insurance details, if he refused to give them then I would call the police there and then. Did you take pictures? Did you at least take name and contact details? If not then you have no evidence of anyone else being involved and no insurance details for any other vehicle being involved either.

If you have no details whatsoever for the other person I would try and avoid letting your insurance company know, they take everything you tell them and record it. More than likely to cause your premiums to go up.
 
My stepdad had an uninsured driver hit him years ago! Driver admitted it and it went to court and my stepdad lost! Cos the other driver couldn't afford to pay up !!!!!!
 
Rhyswh said:
You should not have left until you had his insurance details, if he refused to give them then I would call the police there and then. Did you take pictures? Did you at least take name and contact details? If not then you have no evidence of anyone else being involved and no insurance details for any other vehicle being involved either.

If you have no details whatsoever for the other person I would try and avoid letting your insurance company know, they take everything you tell them and record it. More than likely to cause your premiums to go up.
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Thanks

I got his name and card, mobile number and email address plus I took a few photos of the damage ...... I felt that he was a reasonable guy and we are now exchanging emails.

If he has insurance and either of us claim the other's insurance co will be notified, even though mine is a French one ...... and they will probably deal with it on the old "knock for knock" basis

If he does not have insurance he is most likely "stuffed" and my situation will be dealt with by me either paying for the repairs or going through my insurance company

I just feel that I need to give it a couple of days so that I can assess the situation, as I said his car is not insured according to the askMID database ...... but that could be incorrect.

I agree with you, if I log the claim, my insurance will increase and as I have a 50% NCB in France, where motor insurance is 50% to 100% higher than the UK, it is not something that I want to loose

Not a happy man
 
It's good that he's still in touch, that surely is a good sign. An uninsured driver would more than likely give you false contact details and you'd never see them again.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
Rhyswh said:
It's good that he's still in touch, that surely is a good sign. An uninsured driver would more than likely give you false contact details and you'd never see them again.

Hope you get it sorted.
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Thanks, that's what I thought - accidents are accidents - and that's really what the majority are in the yes of the insurance companies ........ not too much damage to my car - just a crumpled wheel arch - a proper job would be a new wing etc, but I think that it can be fixed in situ - it is only the wheel arch, (I would almost prefer that) - but it will be hundreds of £'s.

Unfortunately his car may be a write off because of the age and it's general state ....... I cannot see that it would be worth repairing and I am sure the damage inflicted in the accident, (I have a Yeti), is only part of the problem ........ but it is not at all pleasant for anyone .. and the hassle will be just a "bugger"
 
Rhyswh said:
You should not have left until you had his insurance details, if he refused to give them then I would call the police there and then. Did you take pictures? Did you at least take name and contact details? If not then you have no evidence of anyone else being involved and no insurance details for any other vehicle being involved either.

If you have no details whatsoever for the other person I would try and avoid letting your insurance company know, they take everything you tell them and record it. More than likely to cause your premiums to go up.
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You just have to swap details, which OP did. I wouldn't know my insurance details off hand, do you know your policy number by heart? At best most people would know insurance company but with swapping around each year...?
 
BillN_33 said:
Thanks, really useful

Car just been taxed, from Ist Jan and MOT due in 2 weeks, car is 1974 ......... that would lead me to believe that the insurance DB may be incorrect
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It takes days to update every time there's a renewal.

This I know because a mate at work once shouted across the room 'Phil your cars not insured'. I was spitting feathers till I realised I'd only just renewed ( without lifting a finger so it hadn't registered with me immediately)
 
Hopefully you'll be OK and it's the DB that's wrong. To tax a vehicle, it only needs to be insured on the tax's start date so it's possible the insurance ran out in the meantime. A car that age is also exempt from car tax - well, has a zero tariff for it anyway! It does need the MOT though. https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles
 
Nod said:
Hopefully you'll be OK and it's the DB that's wrong. To tax a vehicle, it only needs to be insured on the tax's start date so it's possible the insurance ran out in the meantime. A car that age is also exempt from car tax - well, has a zero tariff for it anyway! It does need the MOT though. https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles
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That's interesting, car's age ....... do they issue the car tax emption without checking if the car is insured? .............. they always check insurance when you renew your car tax

In situations like this I would rather just pay for my own damage ..... up to a certain level and not involve the assurance co........ at the end of the day, fault in the majority of cases is never agreed and you end up loosing something

It's almost "good business" for the insurance cos
 
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When I had an exempt vehicle, It had to be insured and MOTed to get the tax, just like a newer car but without any exchange of funds. IIRC, I took the relevant documents to the PO and did it over the counter (but it was about 15 years ago so I may well not RC!!!)
 
Nod said:
When I had an exempt vehicle, It had to be insured and MOTed to get the tax, just like a newer car but without any exchange of funds. IIRC, I took the relevant documents to the PO and did it over the counter (but it was about 15 years ago so I may well not RC!!!)
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My mistake - it is a 1994 car
 
Byker28i said:
You just have to swap details, which OP did. I wouldn't know my insurance details off hand, do you know your policy number by heart? At best most people would know insurance company but with swapping around each year...?
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OP hadn't said that he got the contact details before my post. And I don't know my policy details off by heart but this day and age you get policy documents by email so I always have them on my phone. Sounds promising if the other guy is in contact.
 
when you tax a car online, does the tax database check if you are insured, I know that it checks if the vehicle has an MOT ... but does it check insurance ......... presumably it cannot as suppose you insure a car that day and tax the car 30 mins later

all good stuff this
 
BillN_33 said:
when you tax a car online, does the tax database check if you are insured, I know that it checks if the vehicle has an MOT ... but does it check insurance ......... presumably it cannot as suppose you insure a car that day and tax the car 30 mins later

all good stuff this
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I believe it does an insurance check.

However as you say, I believe the dvla says to allow 2 days for mot records to update. I'd imagine insurance records could be the same.

Personally in your case I'd have notified the police before now as he didn't give you his details and all sounds a bit shadey. Technically you're supposed to notify them of any rti anyway.
 
BillN_33 said:
when you tax a car online, does the tax database check if you are insured, I know that it checks if the vehicle has an MOT ... but does it check insurance ......... presumably it cannot as suppose you insure a car that day and tax the car 30 mins later

all good stuff this
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Yes. I actually went in the DVLA site today and payed for a new licence from the V11. It's a good job they sent a reminder as I wouldn't have remembered. Anyway, when you pay online on the DVLA web site there is a mandatory box "I consent to have my vehicle insurance checked'
 
the mystery thickens .. this morning at the time of the accident the MID database returned that the vehicle was not insured .... the same at 1700 hrs

I have now just checked and the vehicle is shown as being insured ................... I will see how the situation develops

are you suppose to report all road traffic accidents to the police
 
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you don't tell the police of every accident what a load of horse hockey.
they are only involved if they need to be, like if there is anyone hurt or a danger to other road users etc.
 
neil_g said:
Sketchy..

He does realise that insurance won't cover him retrospectively surely..
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I have asked for a copy of his insurance certificate .... at 1600 hrs and then at 1800hrs ..... he as yet to come back to me

surly he cannot be that stupid to insure after an accident

or did he insure a few days ago and it has only just got onto the MID database this evening
 
If there is only slight damage, as in my case a short time ago, my insurance company said not to bother, but if you feel all could be not in order I most certainly would.
Remember to take all of your documents as a few years ago when I had an accident, totally the other persons fault, and went to report it to the police I did not take any documentation and was given a police caution
for not bringing it with me. Policeman seemed almost embarrassed to do so.
 
KEV145 said:
If there is only slight damage, as in my case a short time ago, my insurance company said not to bother, but if you feel all could be not in order I most certainly would.
Remember to take all of your documents as a few years ago when I had an accident, totally the other persons fault, and went to report it to the police I did not take any documentation and was given a police caution
for not bringing it with me. Policeman seemed almost embarrassed to do so.
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I saw it like this

I would think that the damage to my car is £500 ..... probably £1k ...... if done by a dealer

his car is a 1994 Toyota Sports MR2, not in great condition....... probably worth £500 ,,, to £1,000 at a real push - one of those mid-engined turbos .. I would think that it would have been difficult to insure
It was imported a few years ago and failed it's test a couple of times in the past - surprising what you can find out on line

I felt that it was not a police matter and best just to let the insurance cos sort it out, give them the info, let them ask the questions as, at the end of the day that's what happens and I just do not want the hassle
 
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For folks info..just call the Police if in any doubt, it may just be a paper exercise on their part but full details and amount of visible damage and injuries will be on record, as will the cops statements if required.
The ins companies are not your friends, I said this before on here in reply to a similar thing, my daughters insurers were going to pay out for ridiculous damage and injuries to a guy she bumped into at a give way at about 2 feet per hour...yes, not 2 mph..2' per hour...
I got onto them and demanded a full damage report and medical reports before they 'rolled' over to his claims.
Trust no-one, sad but so true nowadays...
 
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The MR2 turbos are worth a bit more than that (not all are turbo). Even in poor condition they could go for around £2000 and now tend to be owned by enthusiasts.
 
BillN_33 said:
I have asked for a copy of his insurance certificate .... at 1600 hrs and then at 1800hrs ..... he as yet to come back to me

surly he cannot be that stupid to insure after an accident

or did he insure a few days ago and it has only just got onto the MID database this evening
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I would report this to the police in this case, although there isn't a requirement to do so. He may later claim that the collision occurred a few hours later than it did. If you have the time of the collision recorded with the police and it later transpires that he obtained insurance afterwards then he's committed an offence.
 
BillN_33 said:
the mystery thickens .. this morning at the time of the accident the MID database returned that the vehicle was not insured .... the same at 1700 hrs

I have now just checked and the vehicle is shown as being insured ................... I will see how the situation develops

are you suppose to report all road traffic accidents to the police
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The public insurance database is not updated as quickly as the one the PO use for tax - that one is instantaneous where as the public accessible one can take up to ten days - sometimes more.
 
philoldsmobile said:
The public insurance database is not updated as quickly as the one the PO use for tax - that one is instantaneous where as the public accessible one can take up to ten days - sometimes more.
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If you read what I said earlier I assumed that this is the case ..... it is just a little strange that it changed from "not insured" to "insured" within hours of the accident - it could be just as it is - I have the screen shots but can only await his insurance details ...... I am not accusing or suggesting anything, just following the trail ...... the facts are just needed ..... and most likely it will just be left to the insurance companies as is common in these matters. I have photographs, it is just a matter of completing the formalities if we both wish or decide to.

If his car is worth £2k, as suggested, and the damage to my car is say max £1k, (it is 15 months old with 10,000 kms on the clock), that shows the extent of any overall claims ..... which is not a lot in todays terms ...... as I said, no-one injured, both cars perfectly drivable and no hard feelings.

This thread is useful in that it has brought some knowledge as to what information is available and what we all think in situations like this.......... I think the main thing is just to accept it as an accident that can happen at anytime, it just came "out of the blue" .. most of us get sensitive about our cars and our own position but the realities, as we all know, can be different when insurance companies take their own view.

Thanks everyone, I'll keep you informed
 
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