NOTES ON REPORTING OF INCIDENTS
All motor collisions [whether of a minor nature or even when there is no own damage,
or otherwise, whether you as the insured are guilty or not, and whether someone
else, usually the third party, offers to pay for your damages] should be
reported :
[1] to the police immediately (the logic behind the
immediacy of the report to the police is that it confirms one's bona fides,
you're not trying to hide a drunken or unlicensed driver, sort of
thing. It also links the incident to a specific date/time/place so that
nobody else can abuse it for their own benefit, claiming for instance [falsely]
that on another date and at a different place you or your driver hit a cyclist
and drove off without stopping);
[2] to your insurer within 30 days of the incident
(for two reasons [a] to repair your own damages if more than the applicable
excess and [b] to indemnify you against any claim by any third
party including false claims such as mentioned above - this indemnity
meaning that the insurer steps in and takes on any claim against you, either
paying it if you were responsible or defending it if you were not, either way
taking the problem, including legal charges and uncertainties out of your
hands, free of charge).
There is
absolutely no benefit in not reporting an incident, no saving of a premium and
no safeguarding of a no-claim-bonus. By not reporting an incident you are
forfeiting all the benefits that you have already been paying a premium for and
you face the same risks as a person who is not insured.
As our
client all you have to remember, and do, is to phone us for free advice and
assistance the moment you become aware
of an incident.
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