Zydeco Joe Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 Help guys please. In France and heading home tomorrow and a French motorhome has just backed into us .he has badly damaged the bike rack with 2 electric bikes on it. What's the best way to sort this out has anyone had a similar problem in France. Cannot hang around much tomorrow as booked on a ferry in Calais and we are in Montreuil next to the Aire on the old spot that people have used for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted February 23, 2022 Share Posted February 23, 2022 You need to download this :- https://cartraveldocs.com/ It is an accident statement of facts and in in both languages. Any witness? Get the names and reg.numbers and address is possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted February 23, 2022 Author Share Posted February 23, 2022 Thanks. No witness no body about on a empty car park. How he backed into us I don't know so much space. The language is a bit of a problem but have copied his insurance docs with his name address on it. Just worried about getting the bikes back as rack has come off top bracket,it might push back in but it's pitch dark so having to leave it till in the morning. Need to drive with bikes on back cannot put them inside van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 Suggest you also take photos of the rear of the French motorhome (particularly if that vehicle has suffered damage however minor that might be). Although - from what you've said - the French driver was 100% to blame, there's the possibility that his insurance company might pursue yours. You need to tell your insurer about this incident, but be VERY careful how you do this. If the damage to your rack is not too expensive to fix, it may be best if you bear the cost yourself, rather than insist that your insurer seeks to recover the repair cost from the French driver's insurer. If your insurer can't get the French insurer to pay up (quite likely) and your insurer pays for the repair, it will count against your own insurance record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 I think you'll find that once you report an accident, irrespective of whether you make a claim or not, it will have an effect on your future van insurance and any other vehicle you are a named driver on for the next 5 years. Unfortunately it's sometimes better to bite the bullet and pay the costs yourself, obviously depending on how much that is. If the other party inform their insurance then you'll have to inform yours, can you come to some private agreement, better for both parties in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 This must be a very british insurance thing... When something similar happened to me in Spain I collected all the evidence, insurance details of the other party etc. but then my insurer just asked to send them the receipts when I get things sorted and couldn't give a damn about anything else. Absolutely no impact on anything down the line for me either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 spirou - 2022-02-24 5:46 PM This must be a very british insurance thing... Does your insurance have anything like No Claims Discount (NCD) where you get a discount if you have not made a CLAIM in the previous year? Note this is typically relevant to claims irrespective of who is at fault hence the suggestion to avoid submitting a claim on the OP's own insurance. The insurance company view you as a worse risk if you have made a claim hence reducing the NCD for making a claim. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirou Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 The bonus/discount is not impacted by every type of claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted February 24, 2022 Share Posted February 24, 2022 spirou - 2022-02-24 6:30 PM The bonus/discount is not impacted by every type of claim. Unfortunately a lot of UK insurance companies do not see it that way, it is just another way to make money off the poor motorist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Even with protected NCD that does stop your insurance company from increasing your premium and if you are a named driver on another vehicle you will have to declare the claim and then that company sees you as a risk so they also increase their premium. Unfortunately I know this from experience which resulted in 3 premiums increasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 A motor insurance policy's terms and conditions will almost certainly demand that all accidents involving a 3rd-party be reported to the insurance provider. This link https://www.confused.com/car-insurance/guides/when-should-you-report-a-car-accident#:~:text=You%20don't%20need%20to,the%20police%20within%2024%20hours. includes the following: Do I need to report the accident to my car insurance company? You should report the accident to your car insurance provider even if you’re not planning to make a claim. This is because the other driver might decide to make a claim without you knowing. You should call them as soon after the accident as possible. and the advice is repeated here https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/i-ve-been-in-a-car-accident-do-i-have-to-claim-on-my-insurance-aG1RY2t4VvpB In the 1960s I was working for the Post Office and one of my tasks involved oversight of the local fleet of Post Office vehicles and any accidents these had. When delivering mail to a coach company's 'yard' a postman reversed into one of their coaches causing a small dent, but leaving the post-van undamaged. He was told by a guy at the yard not to worry as the coach already carried plenty of dents and was soon to be sold. The postman did not report the accident to us (the Post Office carried its own insurance). Several months later, a letter arrived from the coach company's insurer referring to the accident, stating that the postman was wholly to blame (which he had been) and containing a very large bill for the repair of the "serious damage" that had resulted. The coach had been sold and, as it was now impossible to inspect the extent of the damage that the postman had caused, the Post Office had no choice but to pay the claim in full. In 2011 I had an accident in France when I was parked on a campsite. A French caravanner scraped the front bumper of my Hobby motorhome with the rear bumper of his old caravan - there was no doubt that the French driver was 100% to blame. When I inspected the damage to my motorhome I could see that it was minor (photo attached below). The caravan was unharmed and I suggested to the French driver that, if he gave me €20 euros, there would be no need to involve insurance companies - but he refused to do this and we had to go through the whole rigmarole of multiple form filling, photos, etc. When I got back to the UK I sent all the paperwork to my insurer (AVIVA) with copies to the broker (Comfort Insurance) emphasising that this was for information only, that I was not making a claim against my insurance policy and I did not want them to progress the matter further as far as the French driver/insurer was concerned. I received an email back from AVIVA saying "OK, we'll take no action unless we hear from the French end" and it made no difference to my subsequent insurance premiums. Given the circumstances of the accident, I thought it highly unlikely that there would be any follow-up from France, but one never knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted February 25, 2022 Share Posted February 25, 2022 Folks get confused about no claims discounts . although you may not loose a no claims discount , your premium will GO UP , but the same percentage you have as a discount will be applied to the new premium so you will pay more ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zydeco Joe Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 Got back home in Staffordshire ok. Had help from French workmen who lifted one guy up in the air in a bucket on a JCB type machine to hammer pole back into bracket and managed to secure rest. Drove back via Calais / Dover . Not sure how things will work via insurance yet fingers crossed for good outcome on that but back on our drive now that's the main thing. Just shows what can happen pays not to use all the 90/180 days up just in case things like this happen only worse. Thanks all. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevec176 Posted February 26, 2022 Share Posted February 26, 2022 Glad to hear you got home OK. Hope the insurance gets sorted quickly , good luck and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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