Claiming compensation

Earlier this year I was involved in car accident in which my car was hit from behind by the driver of another vehicle who has since been prosecuted for careless driving. No injuries resulted but my car was written off and I hold him 100% responsible. I had 2 witnesses in the car at the time who can confirm my account. The driver admitted that it was his fault when I rang him the next day and this I included in my police statement. I have the complete report of the surveyor/adjuster which estimates the value of my car before the accident (within a range) and which confirms that the car is a total loss. After the report, I had it scrapped receiving only $1500 with the car estimated to be worth $40000 to $45000 before the accident, although in my opinion it would cost more than that to replace it with a similar vehicle in the same excellent condition. As a result of having no car for a month while all these matters were being attended to, (and looking for a new car), I had numerous additional expenses, some of which I can produce receipts for while others are less quantifiable such as taking an afternoon off work to write a police statement at the police station. I have obtained various documents from the licensing office and through DAR. I have been in contact with the driver's insurance company, and when I asked them to confirm the drivers cover in order for me to make a claim, they only told me that it would depend on whether he was not in breach of any of his policy requirements and would let me know. I have had to take up this case myself as I am only 3rd party with my insurance company and they wouldn't handle it unless I was fully comprehensive. In spite of this, I have kept them fully informed and they have been offering procedural advice when I have requested it.

My question is... How do I maximise my chances of receiving full compensation from the driver's insurance company? I will inevitably need to produce a detailed account, but are there any other suggestions? What obligations do they have to pay up if the driver is covered by them? What arguments are they likely to bring up to counter my claim? I am also aware that I may need to take my case to the small claims court if the insurance company refuse to accept my claim. Any anecdotal or professional advice gratefully received!

Your insurance company should pay you off and then file a claim against the other drivers insurance company for recovery. You let your own insurance off the hook by speaking to the other drivers. You don't need to do so. The report and witnesses should be speaking to your insurance company's adjuster and he or she will contact his counterpart at the other drivers insurance company. Your company will cover you in accordance to the terms you signed for. Anything else you would need to sue the other driver and he could have his insurance company protect him.

Thanks for your reply.

You mention that I had let my insurance company off the hook, but in fact the reason why I have had to do all this myself is because my insurance company told me right from the start over the phone when I reported the accident that because I only had 3rd party insurance then they would not handle my claim against the driver. However, they wanted me to keep them informed. Is this normal for my type of policy? Has anybody else been in a similar situation?