FAQ’s.

The Solicitor will send a letter of claim to the at fault driver’s insurer and wait to see if they admit fault. A motor assessor will be appointed to examine your vehicle.

The motor assessor’s report is sent to the insurance company. The report confirms whether the vehicle can be repaired or not and the cost of repairs. If the vehicle is deemed a total loss or “write off” the report will confirm the pre-accident value of the vehicle and the salvage value.

The insurance company will normally come back within 4-6 weeks following their own investigations. They will confirm their liability position and will either authorise the cost of repairs or will send a cheque in respect of the pre-accident value of your vehicle less the salvage. The Solicitor will send that cheque to you right away.

No, the benefit of using NI Accident Management following a road traffic accident is that you are not claiming at all from your own policy of insurance which means that your insurance premium and no claims bonus will not be affected.

Yes, we can arrange for the accident to be kept away from your insurance company thus ensuring that your premium remains unaffected by the accident and you will not have to pay your insurance excess. Your vehicle will be repaired by us using genuine parts in our body shop.

Once it has been decided that your vehicle is repairable, it will be booked in for repairs. We will always ensure that you have a replacement vehicle whilst repairs are being carried out to your own vehicle. We can then seek the cost of providing you with the replacement vehicle from the other driver’s insurer.

If the cost of repairing your vehicle is uneconomical then the other driver’s insurance company will not pay for repairs. Rather than paying for the vehicle to be repaired, the insurance company will pay the pre-accident value of the vehicle less its scrap value (also known as salvage). The salvage value of your vehicle forms part of the pre-accident value. The pre-accident value is paid less than the salvage and NI Accident Management will pay you the salvage leaving the other driver’s insurer to pay the balance of the pre-accident value of your vehicle.

Absolutely, we can arrange for a “like for like” replacement vehicle to be delivered to you. If your vehicle is not roadworthy, you will be entitled to a replacement vehicle right away and you can hold on to that vehicle until you receive the cheque from the at-fault driver’s insurer for the total loss of your vehicle. If your vehicle is roadworthy you will be entitled to a replacement vehicle whilst repairs are being carried out to your own vehicle.

If liability is disputed by the third party insurer it may be necessary to issue court proceedings to further your claim. One of our panel of expert solicitors will guide you through the process.

If the accident was not your fault you can still claim for the damage to your vehicle or for the total loss of your vehicle from the at-fault driver’s insurance company. Essentially the claim is progressed in exactly the same way as a vehicle damage claim for a comprehensively insured driver.

Yes, we will arrange for an assessor to determine the extent that your vehicle has depreciated in value as a result of your accident. You will be entitled to be compensated for the amount that your vehicle has depreciated as per the assessor’s report. It is important to remember that the assessor will provide an indication as to the extent of depreciation but this is only an indication and the depreciation figure can be challenged by the other driver’s insurer. As a rule of thumb, if your vehicle is less than 4 years old or is a luxury vehicle it will have depreciated in value.

When buying a new car you should be given the option to take out GAP insurance. It provides you with an additional layer of cover that kicks in if your vehicle is written off or stolen. In that scenario, the GAP insurer will cover the difference between the pre-accident value of the vehicle and either the full value or the amount that you owe to the finance company. We regularly help clients liaise with their GAP insurance provider to ensure that they do not incur any losses in this situation.

If your vehicle was damaged in an accident and was not repaired at the time you have six years from the date of the accident to claim for the damage caused to your vehicle.

When you contact your insurance company to request insurance cover on the replacement vehicle provided by NI Accident Management you can notify your insurance company that you were involved in a non-fault accident but are simply making them aware for “reporting purposes only”. This means that they will not take any action on your behalf and your insurance will remain unaffected.

This can take anywhere between 1 week and 6 weeks depending on how proactive the other driver’s insurance company is. The good news is that you can keep the replacement vehicle until you receive the total loss cheque. In cases where liability is disputed by the other driver, this can cause delay but we will keep you fully updated in respect of your rights in that scenario.

One of our expert panel of Solicitors will take your instructions in relation to the accident. They will ask you to describe the accident circumstances, provide the details of all the parties involved and will ask you about the injuries you have sustained.

They will then direct a letter of claim to the at-fault driver’s insurer who will investigate the accident circumstances and will confirm their views on liability.

If you have sought medical attention for your injuries, for example, if you have attended a hospital or been in contact with your GP, with your authority the Solicitor will arrange to obtain those medical records. Once the relevant records have been obtained the Solicitor will arrange an assessment of your injuries by a medical expert.

The Solicitor will also seek recovery of any losses incurred by you as a result of the accident. Once they have all the necessary information, and if liability has been accepted, they will then attempt to settle the claim on your behalf.

If liability is disputed by the third-party insurer, it may be necessary to issue court proceedings to further your claim.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of an accident it is recommended that you seek medical attention. Our Solicitors are experts in progressing injury claims and will use all medical evidence to support your claim. If you have not had any medical treatment for your injuries, you can still pursue a claim for compensation.

Yes, all reasonable costs or losses you’ve experienced because of the accident will be recovered however please keep receipts as these will be required to document the loss.

Yes, you can. You should not be deterred from making a claim for compensation if you have made a full recovery, as long as you do so within the three year limitation period. It will still be necessary to gather all medical evidence and you will still be required to be examined by a medical expert.

This will largely depend on how serious your injuries are and whether or not liability has been accepted.

If you suffer relatively minor injuries, and liability has been accepted, then the claim can be settled within six to nine months of the subject accident. However, if you’ve experienced more serious injuries, your claim will take longer as more medical evidence will have to be obtained to fully assess your injuries.

Without representation, you would be up against an insurer who has a wealth of experience in defending claims and will in all likelihood offer you a sum that under compensates you. In our experience, you will receive a greater level of compensation by progressing your claim through us.

The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the nature and severity of your injuries together with any costs or losses you’ve experienced as a result of the accident.

Yes, insurance companies will always cover the cost of replacing a child’s car seat. You should replace a child’s car seat if it was in the car at the time of an accident, even if there is no visible damage. We will ask you to provide the original receipt or to provide the details for a like for like replacement. This information will be sent to the insurance company acting on behalf of the at-fault driver and they will be asked

to raise a payment as soon as possible.

Yes, they can. Any person in the vehicle at the time of the accident can make a claim for any injuries that they have sustained.