When your car, or other property is damaged in a motor vehicle accident, if you are not insured, you have one or two options. You can either:
- Claim payment from the other party and sue if necessary, or
- Pay for your own repairs
If the other party in the accident is insured, then you can:
- Make a claim on their insurance policy
- Pay the cost of the repair yourself
- Demand payment from the other party and sue them if necessary
In deciding what to do, an insured owner should consider a number of issues, including:
- What is the type of insurance policy?
- How much excess is payable
- Will it affect your no-claim bonus
- Whether the other person is insured
- How the amount of damages they may receive will compare with legal costs
If you do have comprehensive insurance, it is generally best to let the insurance company handle an accident claim.
Going to court is expensive. Before suing for damages it is important to check:
- Whether the other party is insured, and
- If the other party is not insured, whether they can afford to pay damages
There is no point in paying legal costs then finding that the other person simply cannot pay any damages ordered by the court. If this seems likely, then it may be better for you to claim on your own insurance.
