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Hello,
I’m new on here so I don’t yet know the ropes, but I’m hoping someone can help as my husband and I are at the end of our tether. I apologise for the long post.
A few weeks ago, I was driving to see friends some distance away from where we live, and while going down a quiet road just outside a village, I was going cautiously, no more than 20 miles an hour, when suddenly the car went out of control and veered left onto the verge. I desperately tried to control the car but steering was extremely difficult; we suspect a tyre blow out but that remains to be proved.
Unfortunately, the car veered right going off the verge again and there was a man walking his dog; I tried desperately to avoid him by steering to the right, but clipped him. He hit the windscreen, smashing it, and rolled off. Apparently, he sustained a broken femur; there was also a minor head injury.
The police who came to the scene were very supportive, realising how distraught I was. They impounded the car and the friends who I was going to visit came and picked me up.
The car was released and taken to a repair facility nominated by our insurance company. It was subsequently written off (categoryD); our insurance company has agreed a figure with us and we are getting the car back; the money from the payout is supposed to be in our bank by Wednesday.
However, there is a potential fly in the ointment. We were contacted late on Friday by someone from the insurance company, asking my husband (whose policy it is; I am a named driver) all kinds of questions about us and the car. She asked my husband about the after-market alloys; he told her that he had had them fitted after one of the original wheels was found to be buckled. He pointed out that he had told the insurance company about this at the time; she seemed surprised to hear that. She then told my husband that she would have to talk to the underwriters about it. Unfortunately, we can’t prove that my husband told them about the alloys, and we are afraid they will use the uncertainty to weasel out of any payout.
It’s not so much the car we are worried about; what really concerns us is this: if the chap I hit makes a claim against us (which he has not yet done), what happens if the insurance company decline to pay out? We are sick with worry that we will lose our home (which we own outright) and everything we have worked so hard for all our lives. We are both in our 60s and not in good health; we are both on medication for depression and anxiety. I fear that if the worst came to pass my husband would commit suicide.
I am also concerned that apart from an email the day after the accident confirming the details, I have heard nothing at all from the police. Is this usual in such a case? The breathalyser was clear, I wasn’t distracted by anything – it just seems to have been a freak accident.
Can anyone advise?
I’m new on here so I don’t yet know the ropes, but I’m hoping someone can help as my husband and I are at the end of our tether. I apologise for the long post.
A few weeks ago, I was driving to see friends some distance away from where we live, and while going down a quiet road just outside a village, I was going cautiously, no more than 20 miles an hour, when suddenly the car went out of control and veered left onto the verge. I desperately tried to control the car but steering was extremely difficult; we suspect a tyre blow out but that remains to be proved.
Unfortunately, the car veered right going off the verge again and there was a man walking his dog; I tried desperately to avoid him by steering to the right, but clipped him. He hit the windscreen, smashing it, and rolled off. Apparently, he sustained a broken femur; there was also a minor head injury.
The police who came to the scene were very supportive, realising how distraught I was. They impounded the car and the friends who I was going to visit came and picked me up.
The car was released and taken to a repair facility nominated by our insurance company. It was subsequently written off (categoryD); our insurance company has agreed a figure with us and we are getting the car back; the money from the payout is supposed to be in our bank by Wednesday.
However, there is a potential fly in the ointment. We were contacted late on Friday by someone from the insurance company, asking my husband (whose policy it is; I am a named driver) all kinds of questions about us and the car. She asked my husband about the after-market alloys; he told her that he had had them fitted after one of the original wheels was found to be buckled. He pointed out that he had told the insurance company about this at the time; she seemed surprised to hear that. She then told my husband that she would have to talk to the underwriters about it. Unfortunately, we can’t prove that my husband told them about the alloys, and we are afraid they will use the uncertainty to weasel out of any payout.
It’s not so much the car we are worried about; what really concerns us is this: if the chap I hit makes a claim against us (which he has not yet done), what happens if the insurance company decline to pay out? We are sick with worry that we will lose our home (which we own outright) and everything we have worked so hard for all our lives. We are both in our 60s and not in good health; we are both on medication for depression and anxiety. I fear that if the worst came to pass my husband would commit suicide.
I am also concerned that apart from an email the day after the accident confirming the details, I have heard nothing at all from the police. Is this usual in such a case? The breathalyser was clear, I wasn’t distracted by anything – it just seems to have been a freak accident.
Can anyone advise?
to LB [MENTION=103361]blackcat7[/MENTION] ... I'll tag [MENTION=39710]des8[/MENTION] who hopefully can help xx
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