Insurance dilemma

Hi all, I've got a dilemma regarding insurance at the moment. What happened was that I was at a wedding reception tonight and while I was there enjoying myself, some incosiderate person scratched my car without leaving a note. However, their car was still parked next to mine when I got back and I was able to take down the rego and photos. What I believe happened was that they opened their door and ended up scratching my car by hitting it.

How did I come to that conclusion? Well here's the street view of where I parked.

http://tinyurl.com/2wpgp7o

I was parked in the last spot at a 90* angle, there was another car parallel parked to the right of me and the offending vehicle was illegally parked in between mine and the other car with literally a 4-5cm gap between mine. Tracing the angle of how their door would've opened, it matched my scratch perfectly and I could see tiny paint chips on the edge of their door at the same height as my scratch.

I managed to get high quality photos by asking the photographer of the wedding to take them and he's emailing them to me tomorrow. What's more, on the white brick wall, there is a CCTV camera installed at an angle pointed directly at my car which is owned by a florist shop (not installed at the time the street view photo was taken). I've already filed a police report but they're waiting for the photos and hopefully CCTV footage if I can get it.

I made a report with my insurance company but they require me to first pay a $500 excess which will only be refunded if they can successfully win against the other person. So what do you guys reckon? Do I have a solid chance of winning and I should go through with the insurance claim? Because the deciding piece of evidence will definitely be the CCTV footage from the florist shop and I am not 100% sure if I'll be able to get it. The scratch isn't too big and I honestly don't think it's worth $500 to fix in the case that I lose.

Sorry for the long read, but any advice would be great. And sorry if I posted this in the wrong section.

This is a tough situation... I didn't know insurance companies make you pay $500 first when your claiming another's fault...

Well they said because there's not witnesses, they cannot guarantee 100% they can claim the costs from the other party so in the case that I lose, I will have to bear the costs.

However, some good news is that I spoke to the florist shop with the CCTV cameras and they said my car would have been covered completely and it will be on tape. But I have to wait till Monday to get the footage when the manager comes in.

Get all the info first then go back to your insurance company. The photo and the police report should be enough information to waive your excess!

Good luck!

Well I went to look at the CCTV footage today and although I could see my car and the illegally parked one, it was too dark to see how far they actually opened my door to prove that they actually hit me. The police told me that all they could do is call the guy up but there's not much else they can do if they don't admit fault.

Since the evidence isn't clear cut, my insurance still requires me to pay a $500 excess which will only be waived if I win. Although I have pretty good evidence to back me up, for all I know the other guy might also have comprehensive insurance and they will bring up all the flaws in the CCTV footage and the pictures. Seeing as how little the scratch is, I'd rather not risk it and risk increasing my premium.

You've got insurance for a bloody reason dude so seriously just pay tbh.

if its not big i wouldnt do it.

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Originally Posted by WATAJK

You've got insurance for a bloody reason dude so seriously just pay tbh.

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its either he pays 500$ for a chance to get it back if he wins

but if he loses it will cost more than what the repair is worth, cos the repair is less than 500$

thats why he is in this pickle of a situation

ask your mates or family if they know of this car maybe. and just have a chat to him/her and tell em they scratched your car this that and get them to pay it. doubt a scratch will cost $500 to fix

should have just keyed the offending car and been done with it.

Hi mate,

I've read your post but nobody else's so please forgive me if I repeat what they've said.

You need to pay $500 for their representation, but if you win OR if it comes out undecided/equal fault then you'll also get it back. The only way for you to lose your excess is to lose the insurance case.

The photos will probably be ignored as the defending person's insurance company will state that the close-up could be of any car or the paint from anywhere else. So knowing this I suspect your insurance company will ignore your photos from the start once it gets to their tech-team (representation).


So I don't think you have anything to lose financially.


The reason I say the above things is because I had an accident in March. I was driving down a residential street with cars parked parallel on both sides, and a woman pulled out of my left side into my path, so we collided. My front left corner, her front right.

I had a witness who saw the accident and heard the woman take verbal responsibility, but my insurance company said the witness was no good because I had met them 18 hours prior to the accident on our orientation day at work (accident happened the day after, on my first day of work) and therefore she wasn't an 'independent witness'.
I also took photos of the road from the accident site showing my tyre skid from where I had locked my breaks, and then how the tyre skid had jolted to the right at the collision point, showing that I was clearly in the main thoroughfare of the road and had right of way - but my photos were dismissed because they 'could have been from any other incident'.

The woman simply claimed that she was never parked and that I had tried to overtake her while she was turning right into a driveway (cars were parked there so I could never had overtaken - I work at a hospital so the street is always full of cars) and it turned out equal fault. My company told me I was lucky not to have lost because technically if her car is in front of mine on a road, and if I can't prove she was stationary (how the hell can you?) then she has right of way, no matter if she pulls into a carpark or whatever, as long as she's in front and moving then she has right of way.


Hope you get the CCTV bro.

Thanks for the informative post dougie, but I've already decided to drop it because I'd rather not risk increasing my premium and be $500 out of pocket.

Just a quick update on the issue, although I can't seek compensation, the police officer emailed me back telling me that he has personally issued a fine to the other driver for the illegal parking. Knowing he's getting some form of punishment makes me feel a bit better.

Nice to know the cop is being at least half sympathetic with you.

Although I'm sure the fine was more a freebie for him, than a gesture of goodwill.

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Originally Posted by KeyMan

Thanks for the informative post dougie, but I've already decided to drop it because I'd rather not risk increasing my premium and be $500 out of pocket.

Just a quick update on the issue, although I can't seek compensation, the police officer emailed me back telling me that he has personally issued a fine to the other driver for the illegal parking. Knowing he's getting some form of punishment makes me feel a bit better.

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You could also follow him home and gouge his eyes.

But what about the CCTV? Is the shop prepared to show you?

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Originally Posted by dougie_504

But what about the CCTV? Is the shop prepared to show you?

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I already posted what happened with the CCTV footage :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeyMan

Well I went to look at the CCTV footage today and although I could see my car and the illegally parked one, it was too dark to see how far they actually opened my door to prove that they actually hit me. The police told me that all they could do is call the guy up but there's not much else they can do if they don't admit fault.

Since the evidence isn't clear cut, my insurance still requires me to pay a $500 excess which will only be waived if I win. Although I have pretty good evidence to back me up, for all I know the other guy might also have comprehensive insurance and they will bring up all the flaws in the CCTV footage and the pictures. Seeing as how little the scratch is, I'd rather not risk it and risk increasing my premium.

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Such is life... I just hope the other guy gets what's coming to him in the not too distant future.

if you are 100% that THEY scratched your car, just do a dodgy and get a friend or two from the wedding to say they witnessed it

what insurance compay are you with?

its plain and simple, excess of 500 applys until the third part admits liability or is held responsible for the incident.

To be honest you should just let your insurance complany deal with the police and responsible party for you, (you pay insurance for a reason). as long as you dont get your car repairered you dont need to pay your excess, excess should only apply if your car has been repaired or if liability cannot be determined.