QUESTION: My car was hit while parked. Another vehicle reversed into it from a house on the other side of the road. The driver said that she did not see my car.
The right headlamp, fender and bumper of my car were damaged. The third party's male friend said that he would take care of the matter. I told him that I planned to ask my mechanic to repair the car. I reported the accident to the police.
The next day, the third party's friend told me that my estimate was too high and that his repairer would have to fix it. His friend, who is insured with ICWI, does not intend to file a claim. My insurance is with Globe. Both policies are comprehensive. I do not want to lose my no claims bonus. What are my rights?
J.E.H., Kingston 8
ANSWER: Some men use their knowledge about motor vehicles to try to rule women.
This is part of the reality on our roads. Those of your gender who have the bad luck to deal with one of these men could be in for a rough time.
Men use all kinds of tricks to dodge their duties and to do things in their own interest. Happily, it seems that you are willing to ignore the lyrics of the third party's friend. This is the first step in protecting your rights.
You are not obliged to use the repairer selected by the third party's friend. If this were the case, motor insurers would have entered the car repair business many years ago. The fact that policyholders and third party claimants are allowed to decide who will repair their vehicles when insurers pay the bills tells me that negligent third parties have no right to select the repairers when they cause damage or injury.
Their job is to pay to fix the property [or compensate the person] they have injured. This involves making sure that the claimant's costs are fair and reasonable.
FAIR AND REASONABLE
What is fair and reasonable? I would suggest that you take the lead of the experts. Contact a reputable firm of loss adjusters.
Ask them to review the estimate that your repairer prepared and give you a written report. This may cost you a few thousand bucks.
When you get the report and the receipt for the adjuster's fee, include them as part of your claim. A court of law would deem these actions more fair and reasonable than the empty words 'the estimate is too high'.
The third party's game plan has two parts. Part one is to promise to repair your car on the cheap without a quality guarantee. The second part is more tenuous. It involves not filing a report with the insurers.
Call me a cynic, but I get very nervous when this happens. Persons are known to say that they are insured with company XYZ. However, when it comes to the crunch, the insurer has never heard of them or the policy is not in force. For this reason, I wait until I get confirmation that the policy is valid and that insurers will pay.
REPORT TO INSURERS
File a report with your insurers. Make sure you tell them that you are complying with the terms of your policy; that you are not planning to make a claim.
Give them details of the third party. Ask them to get the third party insurers to confirm that the person who was driving at the time of the accident was allowed to operate the vehicle under the terms of that policy.
Do not worry if the third party refuses to pay your claim. You still have another option without going to her agent's body man or, for that matter, filing a claim under your policy.
Hand over all the papers to your insurers. Ask them to present your claim to the third party's insurers under section eight of The Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) (Amendment) Act, 1989. Provided that the third party's policy is valid, their insurers will be forced to settle your claim even if the accident was not reported to them.
Cedric E. Stephens provides independent information and advice about the management of risks and insurance. If you need free information or counsel to help you solve a problem write to the financial editor or contact Mr. Stephens directly at aegis@cwjamaica.com
