Someone else has hit your car. They’ve admitted it. Your instinct is to ring your own insurer. Before you do, know your options.
What you do in the next hour can be the difference between a repair funded by the at-fault driver’s insurer with a like-for-like hire car, or paying an excess and seeing your premium rise at renewal, even though none of it was your fault. (You may still need to notify your own insurer, we’ll explain when.) Here’s the straightforward guide.
This isn’t a conspiracy. It’s just how the system works. The moment you tell your own insurer you’ve been in an accident, they record it as an “incident” against your policy, even if it wasn’t your fault. That can affect:
None of that is necessarily your insurer being malicious. It’s just the contract you signed. But it’s not the only option, and in a clear non-fault situation it’s often not the best one.
If the accident genuinely wasn’t your fault and the third party (or their insurer) accepts liability, you can claim everything directly from their insurer rather than your own. That route gives you:
This is what your insurer often doesn’t volunteer when you ring them. They’d quite like to handle it through your policy because that’s how their commercial relationships are set up. But you don’t have to.
Before anyone rings any insurer, do this:
If you contact us early in the process, we can usually save you the excess, the policy hit, and a small-car hire vehicle. Once you’re somewhere safe, the call to make next is not to your own insurer. Call us, an accident management firm, or a no-fault claims specialist who can take it from there. We do this routinely and the conversation takes ten minutes.
If we handle it for you, here’s what happens:
You collect your repaired car, hand back the hire vehicle, and the claim closes. Where liability is accepted by the at-fault driver’s insurer, you typically don’t pay anything towards the repair. You don’t claim against your own policy. Your no-claims bonus is generally protected.
It isn’t always this clean. Some scenarios need more thought:
This is the most common complication. The other driver, or their insurer, may not immediately accept fault, even if it seems obvious from your perspective. In that case the claim becomes contested and may need to be handled differently. This is where good evidence (photos, witness details, dashcam footage if you have it) becomes critical.
If the other driver leaves the scene and you can’t trace them, you can claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), but the process is more involved and a hire car may not be free. You’ll usually need to claim through your own policy.
If liability is split (say 80/20 in your favour), you can still recover the lion’s share through the third party’s insurer, but it’s complex and you may want to involve your own insurer to handle the negotiation.
If the third party turns out to be uninsured, the MIB Uninsured Drivers Agreement covers you. Again, more paperwork than a clean non-fault claim, but the cost shouldn’t fall on you.
One last thing. If you do go through your own policy for any reason, you can still ask for the repairer you want. Your insurer may recommend its network, and some policies apply a higher excess or different courtesy car terms if you choose another repairer. Just say you want Stanways Autobodies in Lytham St Annes, and we will help you check the position before any work starts.
The reason this matters: insurer-network bodyshops work to labour rates and volumes agreed centrally with the insurer. Choosing an independent, accredited repairer lets you pick the facility and the standards that matter to you.
If someone else has hit your car: you don’t have to go straight to your own insurer. Ring us on 01253 735544 or WhatsApp 07822 012901. We’ll talk you through it in five minutes and tell you whether it’s a clean non-fault claim or whether you’ll need your own insurer involved. And if the accident was clearly someone else’s fault, we’ll save you a small fortune in excess and protect your no-claims bonus while we’re at it.
For the full service breakdown see our non-fault claims page. Or if you’re already mid-claim and want to switch your repair to us, just give us a call, we’ll handle the conversation with your insurer.