Legal expenses Cover

[wiltshire builders]

Last month I parked my 4 week old van on a residential street in Chippenham. When I returned I found my trailer buried in the back of it and a Mondeo buried in the back of that.
I won't go into a rant about how could you miss a bright white, LWB van and trailer parked on a dead straight road.
I'm here to warn you about the danger of not taking out legal cover.

I was always under the impression that:

1. Your insurance company would recover your losses from the 3rd party if you weren't to blame
2. Legal cover was just there to cover any court related costs in the event of civil action

It turns out that this isn't the case at all.

I have got my van back after having over £8000 worth of repairs carried out and I had to pay the excess and VAT to the garage.
That came to £2600 but no problem because I can claim that back through my insurer (they even told me this)
When I put in the claim I was told "sorry, you don't have legal cover you have to persue the claim yourself as it's an uninsured loss"
So then I asked about the trailer and towing fees....... "sorry, you don't have legal cover you have to persue the claim yourself as it's an uninsured loss"

I'm currently £3500 out of pocket and not sure what my next move is.

This is a very simple case so I'd hate to see what happens if blame was disputed or there was an injury.

Hopefully most of you knew what I didn't, but if I can save anyone having to go through this, it'd be worth it.

[WR6133]

You claim all that back from the 3rd parties insurer. You could have done the entire claim that way (I'm assuming the cock in question was insured, if not you have to take it through the MIB).

[Burbler]

Yep, YOUR insurer wants out. Will do as little as poss.

Go direct to the 3P insurer via the 3P themselves. Leave your insurer out of it. They don't give a ****

[shiftyblake]

There is something not quiet right there. Who were you insured with and what was the level of cover? With fully comp you don't need legal cover. It's an add on expense for extras not normal insured losses.

[wiltshire builders]

This is where it gets interesting.
I'm insured with Gladiator(which is owned by Admiral), which is underwritten by Ageas who sub-contract their claims to a company called Auxilis.
So I have 3 different companies with 3 different phone numbers and 3 different reference numbers.
No matter which one I call it's always the wrong one.
I asked for the transcript of the call where I was told I could claim everything back and it "didn't exist"
I gave them the exact date and time and threatened to report them to the FCA.
They suddenly found the call but required £10 and proof of ID before they'd send me a copy.
There is definitely something going on and it's not right.

[wiltshire builders]

You claim all that back from the 3rd parties insurer. You could have done the entire claim that way (I'm assuming the cock in question was insured, if not you have to take it through the MIB).

I'm going to try that tomorrow.
I just assumed my insurance company would do that seeing as that's what I pay them for.
Luckily the car behind had a dash cam.

[wiltshire builders]

There is something not quiet right there. Who were you insured with and what was the level of cover? With fully comp you don't need legal cover. It's an add on expense for extras not normal insured losses.

That's what I thought but I've looked into it and that's not the case.
I'm fully comp.
They've said "as a gesture of good will" that they'll claim back the excess and VAT (I suspect due to the recorded call) but nothing else.

[WR6133]

I just assumed my insurance company would do that seeing as that's what I pay them for.

I think they should, my wife has claimed when non fault via her own fully comp once and via the 3rd party directly once. Via her own fully comp was an utter ballache and she did pay the excess because until the 3rd parties insurer admitted liability it's basically treated as if you are at fault. Once fault was admitted (formally by 3rd party insurer) she was refunded the excess (though that was a ballache too).

Second time the third parties insurer contacted her within hours of the incident. Hire car provided, her's taken for assessment, payout made all very quickly and efficiently (and quite generously compared to the book value of the car). Far more efficient experience.

[Jed]

I'm no expert, but a couple of things come to mind that you could try:
There is a specialist lawyer that has a column in RIDE magazine, his firm specialises in bike claims but the principals hold true,so it could be worth a phone call to his firm for advice. Often he seems to say that the insurers always take the easiest way out which is to pass the buck back to the individual, which is not right.
You could employ a solicitor to act on your behalf, his costs then become part of your claim.
There are companies that offer to act on your behalf to manage your claim, again their costs would be recoverable. pick up a leaflet from any body repair shop.
Of course what is covered is always buried in the small print.
And unless specifically included trailers have always been a bit of a grey area, as they are with breakdown cover.

Hope this may be some help, but you do seem to be stuck between the 'big boys' none of whom want to shell out!

[Vulcanboy]

For future reference .... when someone damages your property they are ( normally) liable for the damage. So, your claim is against the person who damaged your property. Assuming you know who did it, you make a claim against them. The other party can then decide how they wish to settle with you .... they can refuse to pay, settle in cash, or, go through their insurance company if insured. If the other party (or their insurer) declines to settle with you then go to a court and let a district judge settle the matter. If the other party decides to go through HIS insurance company then you will need to negotiate with them. (Note ... you may be required to inform YOUR insurance company that you are in communication with the other party and their insurance company, just in case they make a claim against you!) Your insurance company may wish to take over YOUR claim, or choose to let you get on with it. Insurance companies sometimes like to propose "knock for knock" ie 50:50 or some other ratio of responsibility and payout. This is especially so if the same insurance company represents BOTH parties ..... they don't like to sue themselves. If you don't like the deal proposed by your or their insurance company .... then go to court! Remember, if you are absolutely sure that you are in the right .... you don't need to make a claim against YOUR insurance company .... the courts will get all of your money back. Simples.