Accident in company van

[Tlz52]

I had a minor accident in company van causing damage to another vehicle while out working paint work damage to other vehicle..insurance details exchanged and I passed this all on to my manager this happened 2 months ago .. I’ve now been told it’s not going through insurance that company are going to pay for damage but I have to pay £300 of suppose £500 damage which was going to be deducted from my wages but now from my bonus can this happen am I liable to pay

[echat11]

Hi TLZ52

Welcome to LB

You aren't liable to pay the damages. What does it explicitly state in your contract?

They need to report it to their (company's) insurance company, if they don't, it actually breaks T&Cs that insurance companies give. They're legally bound to report any accidents to the insurers.

The company might be trying to stop their premiums going up.

[Tlz52]

I’m not sure what’s in my contract I’ll have to have a look .. but from what I was told yesterday it’s not going through insurance the company are just paying the damages and for me to pay £300 of it

[echat11]

I’m not sure what’s in my contract I’ll have to have a look .. but from what I was told yesterday it’s not going through insurance the company are just paying the damages and for me to pay £300 of it

Raise an informal grievance, i.e. speak to the boss, state that you are not happy, but also subtly tell him 'doesn't that invalidate their insurance policy if they (insurance company) find out the accident hadn't been reported to them?'.

[Tlz52]

This is what I found in my contract
Accidents
In the event of an accident, whether it is your fault or not, and whether or not there is any damage to any vehicle, an accident report form must be completed and forwarded within 24 hours to the Company.
Copyright Citation Ltd Version 3.0 33

At no time must ANY statement be made which may be taken as an admission of guilt (e.g. “sorry”).
At the time of the accident you must ensure that you collect all relevant details from the other parties involved, including the name, number and force of any police officer attending the accident.
As soon as practicable after an accident, you must report it to the Company and give details of the condition of your vehicle. This must be followed up with a completed accident report form.
If the vehicle is leased you must obtain authority from the Company to contact the appropriate leasing company for permission to hire a replacement vehicle.
If the Companyowns the vehicle, you must obtain authority prior to hiring a replacement vehicle. No repairs may be undertaken without the Company’s Insurers prior approval.
Where the Company deems the accident contains an element of blame on your part it reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to recover the insurance excess from you or the cost of the repairs if this is less than the exce

[echat11]

This is what I found in my contract
Accidents
In the event of an accident, whether it is your fault or not, and whether or not there is any damage to any vehicle, an accident report form must be completed and forwarded within 24 hours to the Company.
Copyright Citation Ltd Version 3.0 33

At no time must ANY statement be made which may be taken as an admission of guilt (e.g. “sorry”).
At the time of the accident you must ensure that you collect all relevant details from the other parties involved, including the name, number and force of any police officer attending the accident.
As soon as practicable after an accident, you must report it to the Company and give details of the condition of your vehicle. This must be followed up with a completed accident report form.
If the vehicle is leased you must obtain authority from the Company to contact the appropriate leasing company for permission to hire a replacement vehicle.
If the Companyowns the vehicle, you must obtain authority prior to hiring a replacement vehicle. No repairs may be undertaken without the Company’s Insurers prior approval.
Where the Company deems the accident contains an element of blame on your part it reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to recover the insurance excess from you or the cost of the repairs if this is less than the exce

'No repairs may be undertaken without the Company’s Insurers prior approval', they aren't going to tell the insurance company.

'Where the Company deems the accident contains an element of blame on your part it reserves the right, at its absolute discretion, to recover the insurance excess from you or the cost of the repairs if this is less than the excess,' they refer to the excess but they aren't going to report it to the insurance company. Also are they saying you were at fault for the accident?

[Tlz52]

Yes I was reversing into parking space realised didn’t have another space moved forward but van jolted back resulting in scratching side of car

[echat11]

Yes I was reversing into parking space realised didn’t have another space moved forward but van jolted back resulting in scratching side of car

O.K., regardless of that, there is a starting point, which is for the company to report the accident to the insurance company. Say the company stay's quite about the accident, the other driver in the accident contacts your company's insurance company. Your company's insurers would withdraw cover as the accident hasn't been reported to them.

[PallasAthena]

It's speculation that the company hasn't reported the accident to their insurer. Post #1 says "it's not going through insurance", which may just mean the damage is less than the excess, not that it hasn't been reported.

It appears from the contract of employment that the company is allowed to charge the OP.

[Retromau5]

Hi all, just to add a bit to this, if the incident was to be covered by the companies insurance then I'm pretty sure you're supposed to inform your own insurance company of it. This means that your own insurance could go up and you'd have to declare this for up to 5 years regardless of who you choose as your insurer. This will inevitably cost you money anyway. You could ask your employer if they'd be willing to pay the money over a few pay dates stating that the £300 in one go would cause you hardship.

One incident on a company's insurance can increase the premium by thousands of pounds, so coming to an agreement with the other party is actually good business sense. I know it feels like you're losing out, but it might be the best way through a bad situation.