Non fault insurance claim; what should they pay up for?

[UVB]

My wife had a minor accident (not her fault) about a month ago and I decided to "do the decent thing" and turn down my insurers offer of using an accident management specialist to handle the claim for me. I then tried to contact the other party who couldn't have a proper discussion with me as their insured hadn't spoken to them (and didn't for 3 days). They said that they would be happy for the accident management specialist in question to provide me with a loan car as they also used the same company. Nevertheless, I elected not to do this as I felt the rate of £220/day for an A3 Sportback was a little steep so we accepted their offer of £60/day to not have a loan car instead.

Having just got the car back from being repaired, what I'm not sure on is whether the other side should be making us a goodwill offer for the general time and hassle we've endured throughout the process. I tried to have a chat with them about it on the phone and suffice to say I wish I'd had the conversation with them before deciding on the loan car aspect as if they hit me with the same bad attitude as just now I might have stuffed them for everything I could possibly have in retrospect. Having just saved them nearly £4k in fees you'd have thought they might be a bit more grateful...oh wait, reality check - I'm dealing with an insurance company, how silly of me.

So, I know I'm morally in the right, but does anyone know whether it's par for the course for them to stump up some general compensation? If they'd been a bit more proactive and taken care of things for me I probably wouldn't mind so much but they have been utterly useless - they haven't called me or written to me at any point in the entire process; I've always had to chase them.

I should also add we also didn't do the whole "oh my aching neck" routine either.

[Lukenkarl]

My wife had a minor accident (not her fault) about a month ago and I decided to "do the decent thing" and turn down my insurers offer of using an accident management specialist to handle the claim for me. I then tried to contact the other party who couldn't have a proper discussion with me as their insured hadn't spoken to them (and didn't for 3 days). They said that they would be happy for the accident management specialist in question to provide me with a loan car as they also used the same company. Nevertheless, I elected not to do this as I felt the rate of £220/day for an A3 Sportback was a little steep so we accepted their offer of £60/day to not have a loan car instead.

Having just got the car back from being repaired, what I'm not sure on is whether the other side should be making us a goodwill offer for the general time and hassle we've endured throughout the process. I tried to have a chat with them about it on the phone and suffice to say I wish I'd had the conversation with them before deciding on the loan car aspect as if they hit me with the same bad attitude as just now I might have stuffed them for everything I could possibly have in retrospect. Having just saved them nearly £4k in fees you'd have thought they might be a bit more grateful...oh wait, reality check - I'm dealing with an insurance company, how silly of me.

So, I know I'm morally in the right, but does anyone know whether it's par for the course for them to stump up some general compensation? If they'd been a bit more proactive and taken care of things for me I probably wouldn't mind so much but they have been utterly useless - they haven't called me or written to me at any point in the entire process; I've always had to chase them.

I should also add we also didn't do the whole "oh my aching neck" routine either.

You could possibly tell them you have taken professional advice and would like to pursue a personal accident claim. You may also be able to claim for the running around for quotes and loss of earnings etc. But you may be best using a solicitor so they don't lead you round in circles. Its also up to your insurers, not you, to chase the claim. You pay them for insurance they should do the work

[Poultonbob]

Sadly, doing the decent thing with insurance companies is rarely the best thing.

[hejikibob]

Insurance companies need to be thoroughly investigated and their practices / methods rebuilt from the ground up. They are too quick to pay out and think nothing of a car repair taking weeks / months for a little knock. They should make it a lot harder to make an injury claim to weed out the scammers and hopefully in turn reduce the crash for cash culture that is out there now. Of course they don't care about this as they just pass the cost on to us.

[wicked677]

It's a shame that you you were treated so badly by the other party having done what did in good faith. But ultimately you pay a high premium in this country and should let the insurance company actually earn it! In terms of whiplash and loan cars, I have heard that "everybody does it" so I wouldn't feel guity. although I have never been in an accident to say I have... Like with everything in life honesty doesn't really pay, let's be honest. People are selfish and ruthless, it's like handing a dropped wallet back to somebody stuffed with cash, the chance of them thanking you and giving you a little something is slim... Unless you know the other person then I would have followed the "rules" with the insurance company...

On a flip-side money is not everything, you still have your car so think positively... it could have been worse