Motor Claims: Gathering Evidence

I am finding increasing frustration in my attempts to recover uninsured losses from third party responsible for motor accidents. This is especially so when the third party is a company vehicle, probably insured under a company fleet.

It seems that some fleet managers are taking the approach to deny anything has happened until clear evidence is produced to the contrary. For instance, a stationary vehicle is hit in a loading yard by another vehicle and the drivers exchange information and perhaps some photos are taken of the damage to our vehicle. We then find that when we contact the company whose vehicle caused the damage the driver suddenly states that no incident occurred and “it wasn’t me, Guv”.

We provide images of the damage, tracker information to prove the location of the vehicle, even details of the third party driver given at the scene, but this is not enough evidence to prove the impact occurred. As the onus is on us to prove it, the claim fails and the innocent party is left out of pocket.

It is worth reminding anyone who may drive your vehicles that if they are involved in any accident, no matter how minor, they should gather as much evidence as possible at the scene, including:

• Take a video if possible of the entire accident scene, including any damage caused, persons involved and positions of all vehicles relative to each other.

• Obtain details of all drivers, witnesses and passengers, including names and contact details.

• Ensure that the accident is reported directly to the insurers claims helpline as soon as possible. This enables then to take a pro-active approach to claims settlement and will ensure that costs do not escalate.