Write off?

[Insufferable_Lass]

Hi guys. 
I recently was reversed into by a camper trailer, and my 2014 Yaris sustained damage to the rear bumper, back door and left underbody (pictured). 
I have ordered a new vehicle and had been planning to sell the Yaris soon, so this has been a major inconvenience. 
I’m currently deciding whether to go through insurance to have it repaired/ written off, or if I should just have it fixed privately through a repair shop? I don’t know much about cars or the likelihood of it being written off or fixed, or if it would be cheaper to have it fixed privately (my excess is around $900). Anyone have any thoughts on what the verdict may be ? 

thanks so much! 
 

[FROSTYBALLS]

There may be further damage behind the rear bumper, which may not be apparent until the damage is properly assessed. Have you checked inside the boot for any damage/creases to the boot floor and around the spare wheel well?

Not sure of any differences in how the Australian insurance industry works compared to the UK (which is where Toyota Owners Club is based). However, if the fault lies with the owner of the camping trailer and is counted as a fault claim against that owner, presumably you will eventually get your insurance excess refunded(?) if your insurer gets their money back from the third party's insurer.

[Max_Headroom]

9 hours ago, Insufferable_Lass said:

I’m currently deciding whether to go through insurance

The vehicle hit you you claim off the person who hit you why wouldn't you claim?

[Cyker]

I don't know how it works over there, but here you can deal directly with the third-party's insurance, then there's no chance of your own insurance company logging it as a claim, which many of them try to do even tho' they shouldn't.

1 hour ago, Max_Headroom said:

The vehicle hit you you claim off the person who hit you why wouldn't you claim?

Many people do this because they think their premium will shoot up if they make any kind of 'claim', but as long as you have NCB protection it shouldn't make much difference other than the usual annual price hike.

It might be different where the OP is, but here there'd be 3 options - 1) Fix it yourself, 2) Claim through their own insurance company, who will then fix the car and liaise with the other company to recover costs and the excess, which you'd need to pay initially but would be refunded to you, or 3) Speak to the 3rd party's insurance directly

The advantage of 3 is you don't need to pay any excess and will avoid having it noted down as a 'claim' on your records by your insurance company (Although you still need to notify them that it happened as a no-claim accident). The downside with 3 is if you have an issue in the future, e.g. a bodged repair failing, it can be harder to get them to rectify it, and you have to remember they will be operating in the interests of the 3rd party and not you.

 

There is also technically a 4th option, which is to go through a broker/accident handler like the one Toyota Roadside Assistance provide, but from what I've heard these just make the whole thing more complicated and longwinded and I've only read strongly negative opinions from people who've tried that route!

[Max_Headroom]

20 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Many people do this because they think their premium will shoot up if they make any kind of 'claim', but as long as you have NCB protection it shouldn't make much difference other than the usual annual price hike.

You claim off their insurance not yours how can that possibly alter your no claims bonus you are not the one at fault and you are not claiming off your insurance.

If you hit someone you claim off your own insurance and they also  claim off you obviously that will effect your no claims (if unprotected)

[flash22]

If you are px-ing the car it will be shown as a repair if you take it through insurance, a dealer wont touch it, if they write it off what is highly likely you end up with the trade value and no car

repair it your self and you still have a car

[TonyHSD]

Repair and keep the car or sell like that for whatever can get. Repair and part exchange for a new car might not be ideal. If repairer advise on scrapping it then might be the viable option, or if not your fault for the damage may claim through insurance. 

[Cyker]

1 hour ago, Max_Headroom said:

You claim off their insurance not yours how can that possibly alter your no claims bonus you are not the one at fault and you are not claiming off your insurance.

If you hit someone you claim off your own insurance and they also  claim off you obviously that will effect your no claims (if unprotected)

Exactly!

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, Max_Headroom said:

You claim off their insurance not yours how can that possibly alter your no claims bonus you are not the one at fault and you are not claiming off your insurance.

If you hit someone you claim off your own insurance and they also  claim off you obviously that will effect your no claims (if unprotected)

It should not but it can affect your renewal rather than your NCB. 

The logic is that you are more likely to be hit again. Illogical but I have heard of it. 

For instance it might be assumed you might park at a location where there is more chance of being hit. 

 

[Max_Headroom]

21 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

It should not but it can affect your renewal rather than your NCB. 

All i can say is I have had no fault accidents in the past and it didn't effect my insurance if they had tried it on i would have told them i would be switching to a different insurer and i would be contacting the ombudsmen.

[Cyker]

Exactly! It's one thing I try to tell people, even if it's a fault claim, as most people assume if you make any kind of claim then your premium automatically goes up.

If you don't have NCB protection and loose all the NCB then, yes it will go up significantly, but otherwise any increase will just be the normal annual gouge-the-loyal-customer increase they always levy.

I had a bunch of accidents in a relatively short space of time once, one my fault the others not. Went through my insurer for all of them, and my renewal quote was £20 higher than the previous year, which was ironically less than it had gone up in previous years that I'd had no accidents!

People are so scared to claim on insurance because of this fear of the premium shooting up, even things like windscreen insurance which, unless you are with a really scummy insurer, will have no effect on your NCB, protected or not.

 

[Insufferable_Lass]

I was partially at fault in this incident, and as a result did not take down the other drivers details, hence accepting fault if I go through insurance.