Impact Damage

Impact damage to your home or business may be your fault or the fault of others commonly called ‘Third Parties’. Either way these are often very distressing claims.

Over the years we have dealt with many claims for damage to homes which have been impacted by cars when the driver – and it may be you – has lost control of their vehicle. Often this happens when simply parking your car on your driveway or when maneuvering your car into a garage.

We have dealt with several claims where the driver has taken down a garage, a wall or even the front bay of a house. If this is you, the first thing you should do is, stay calm, and don’t ‘blame’ your self’. These things happen. You may not be used to the clutch or pedals on your new car. You may have just moved over to an automatic transmission. It really doesn’t matter. So long as you are not hurt, you should dust yourself down, ensure the area of damage is secure and not likely to injure anyone visiting, and then go and make a cup of tea- because you may be in a state of shock. if you are on your own, call a friend or relative to come and sit with you.

However, if the damage is severe, or structural, you should speak to us first before you call Insurers, so we can give you some helpful advice on the claims process. We can advise you best on debris removal, shoring up, alternative accommodation, reinstatement, and the entire process.

On the other hand the impact may have been caused by someone or something else. It may be a ‘boy racer’ driving too fast, an elderly person who is no longer fit to drive, or a bus driver who falls asleep at the wheel. They may be insured or uninsured, at fault or not at fault.

All the situations will have subtle differences, but the claim process may feel rather more complicated. You should still be insured under your household policy, and should still speak to us first, but there will exist the possibility of a ‘third party recovery’. This simply means that your Insurers will want to determine if the third party is legally liable (at fault in law), and if so they will want to try and recover as much of their outlay from the third party or their insurers as possible.

You may have uninsured losses ( ie your policy excess) that you want to claim back from the third party too. This can take a very long time, and you will probably not get as favourable a settlement as from the third party as you would from your own insurers.

As you can see this all starts to get rather messy. So do call us, first or tell us your story by filling in the form at the foot of this page.

Or feel free to call us at The Claims Desk on 0208 906 0098 for a FREE & confidential conversation about your claim.