My Cappo is an RTA casualty

[Tony Dwyer]

This morning my immaculate Cappuccino was scraped on the offside rear quarter by a 38 tonne Artic lorry.

The damage is not great and is repairable, but it was a scary event.

The driver of the lorry said that he did not see me in the next lane. The first he knew was when he heard my frantic horn sounding.

He said, 'Well, it's a very small car!'.

[Ian Linden]

Yes, it can be quite hazardous - I don't suppose that driver is good at noticing cyclists either. We only have one dual carriageway in Jersey, so I don't encounter that pressure much, now.

I hope there's no nonsense like "the car is not worth repairing, so we'll just write it off". I gather that if one is claiming against one's own insurance, that is all too likely, as the "book value" of a Cappo is so low, which is why I have "agreed value" insurance. I have heard it being "tried on" by insurers, when the claim is against the other driver - I would have thought that would not be sustained in court, and they have to pay whatever it costs to repair your vehicle. Anyone know for sure?

Thankfully, you're ok (as well as the car)

[John Ruckledge]

Bad luck.

The only downside to driving a Cappo - that slightly vulnerable feeling due to its size, especially on motorways.

I hope the wagon driver doesn't subsequently change his tune and try to deny responsibility - do you have any witnesses?

If the insurance want to write it off maybe you could do a deal to accept a settlement figure and then get it repaired yourself. Might be worth getting a quote from a bodyshop in advance. Our car's history shows it has been the subject of being written off in the past but as far as I can see, it only had panel damage and someone clearly thought it was worth repairing. I suppose it depends how attached you are to it.

Good luck with the claim.

[Tony Dwyer]

Unfortunately, no witnesses came forward. The accident happened in the queue for the Dartford Toll crossing.

I have hi-res photos of my cars paint on the nearside step of the lorry and the vehicles registration plate (12 mbit camera phones are great things!). This is right at the front of the vehicle. The damage to my car is on the rear quarter and the drivers door. It's clear from the marks on the car that the lorry was moving forward in relation to the car.
My car was stationary when he hit.
I understand that he could change his story and being a contract driver (driving someone else's vehicle), he may be under pressure to do so.

I do have agreed value insurance and the repair cost will be well under that. I went to see my body man yesterday and he's confident that the repair will not be a problem. If necessary, I'll pay for the repair myself.

Zak the body man says that the car can be 100% again in two weeks.

[Tony Dwyer]

Yes, it can be quite hazardous - I don't suppose that driver is good at noticing cyclists either. We only have one dual carriageway in Jersey, so I don't encounter that pressure much, now.

I hope there's no nonsense like "the car is not worth repairing, so we'll just write it off". I gather that if one is claiming against one's own insurance, that is all too likely, as the "book value" of a Cappo is so low, which is why I have "agreed value" insurance. I have heard it being "tried on" by insurers, when the claim is against the other driver - I would have thought that would not be sustained in court, and they have to pay whatever it costs to repair your vehicle. Anyone know for sure?

Thankfully, you're ok (as well as the car)

Thank for the kind thought.

I had a problem like that many years ago, when a young driver ran into the back of my Mazda 323 while it was stationary at some traffic lights. The insurance company wanted to write the car off because of the repair cost. The resulting money would not have been enough for me to buy another car are as good. I told them to take a running jump and that their job was to fight my corner and get the other guy to pay the costs. I won, the car was repaired and served me for a couple more years before being passed on to my duaghter.
The danger is worse when both cars in an RTA are insured by the same underwriter. For them it's a lose, lose situation. So they will attempt to minimise their costs by writing one or both vehicles off. This behaviour stinks but it happens all too often.

[Murray Betts]

Anyone see Watchdog on the Beeb tonight? They did a (feeble as usual) feature on insurance companies who count an "enquiry" as a "claim". People phoned to find out what the effect of a claim might be, then found out later that the call was recorded as a risk event which then either made their next premium rocket or resulted in their insurance being void due to them "failing to disclose" etc.

Don't you just love them.

[Tony Dwyer]

I got the Cappo back today. Zak did fine work and it's immaculate again.

Here's a pic;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10982466@N05/6340393310/


I'm waiting to see what the outcome of the insurance battle will be.

[Ian Linden]

Good news

Keep us posted.

[Murray Betts]

Well done to Zak, that looks a proper job. Shame it happened, but just think it could so easily have been much worse.

[Tony Dwyer]

Well, as expected the lorry driver appears to have lied on his response to my claim.
Apparently he says that I changed lanes and hit his vehicle.
This is despite the photographic evidence which clearly indicates that he hit me from behind.
It's in the hands of my claim representation now and they believe they will get his insurance company to back down. I'm not so hopeful.

[Tony Dwyer]

Well done to Zak, that looks a proper job. Shame it happened, but just think it could so easily have been much worse.

I'd recommend Zak's work to anyone. He resprayed my MR2 six years ago and it still looks superb. My son-in-law has the car now.
Zak can be found at;

PPS Autocolours - near Rayleigh in Essex
01268 777940

You are so right. A little more impact and I might not be here. I was very lucky not to be injured.

[Tony Dwyer]

Well, as expected the lorry driver appears to have lied on his response to my claim.
Apparently he says that I changed lanes and hit his vehicle.
This is despite the photographic evidence which clearly indicates that he hit me from behind.
It's in the hands of my claim representation now and they believe they will get his insurance company to back down. I'm not so hopeful.

The saga continues. I had an email yesterday from my claims handlers. The lorry's insurance company has offered to settle on a 50/50 basis. There was NO damage to the lorry. I've told the handlers to instruct them to take a running jump. They will either settle in full or I'll see them in court. Gr.....

[Tony Dwyer]

Well, as expected the lorry driver appears to have lied on his response to my claim.
Apparently he says that I changed lanes and hit his vehicle.
This is despite the photographic evidence which clearly indicates that he hit me from behind.
It's in the hands of my claim representation now and they believe they will get his insurance company to back down. I'm not so hopeful.

The saga continues. I had an email yesterday from my claims handlers. The lorry's insurance company has offered to settle on a 50/50 basis. There was NO damage to the lorry. I've told the handlers to instruct them to take a running jump. They will either settle in full or I'll see them in court. Gr.....

Good news. The truck's insurance company have backed down and settled my claim for uninsured loss (the excess on my policy). I am told by the claims handlers that the incident will now be in my record as a 'No fault claim' and my driving record and NCB will remain intact.

It just goes to show. Stand your ground. It may pay off.

[Ian Linden]

That's excellent news. Did the other party's insurance also pay for your insured loss?

[Tony Dwyer]

That's excellent news. Did the other party's insurance also pay for your insured loss?

The claims handlers are addressing that and are confident of a full resolution.