Let me get this straight. You have an accident where the 3rd party admits liability and your insurance company want you to pay the costs.. huh!? This sounds like what happened to me, someone hit me, totally their fault, admitted liability etc.. my insurer wanted me to pay the costs!! I told them to go away and get the costs from the 3rd party insurer. Took just over 12 months to get everything sorted, including getting my no claims reinstated. Wonder if it's the same company? Hmm. I guess it's better for them if we stand the costs for however many months it takes
I revisited my accident emails etc and it appears my claim was handled by a AMC! Que'lle surprise! It was all done and dusted in weeks and Ive no complaints. Company was UKAA. I repaired bike myself tbh. Just got parts from Snells.
As @Drinky says, have a look at the blog on this web site (https://www.whitedalton.co.uk/) then maybe give them a call?
Update - so, not keen to use 4th Dimension (which looks like it handles all 'claims' for Hastings Direct). Have told them as such. I then thought, why don't I just call NFU and see if they would like to take on the claim directly (camper van owner's insurance company). They called me back, said they were taking full liability and could not have been more helpful. They will authorise the repairs to the bike, pay for a new helmet, get an appointment with a Dr re my leg, that feels like I've kicked by a horse (nothing broken), etc, etc. I'm not looking to claim thousands in damages. Just want my bike repaired and a new helmet. If they can do that, hopefully job done.
NFU are the best insurance company full stop. We had an oil tank leak a few years ago, lost about 1,600 ltrs of oil into the ground around our house. They sent a clean up team within 3 hours of being notified, handled the whole process from start to finish and even refunded us for the oil we lost. Whole thing went on for about two months as all contaminated soil had to be removed (mainly by hand) oil tank area had to be updated to current specs. Total cost of work approx £96k, cost to us £500 in excess on two policies.
I can certainly confirm that NFU are good, sometimes a bit pricey. When I bought my current car the dealer was trying to flog me Gap insurance. I went to NFU for my statutory insurance because if the car is less than 2 years old they will replace it like for like in the event of a write off.
As for AMCs I had someone back into the rear quarter on my last car whilst I was stationary and the car manufacturer’s dealer where I was getting the repair work done referred me to an AMC. Can’t remember who, but the charges for the hire car, an almost identical model, per day were astronomic. Fortunately they weren’t disputed so I wasn’t lumbered with any overage.
Many moons ago circa1998 a girl reversed over my gsxr750 whilst parked up in bay (I was getting a burger from kebab shop) . Carole Nash wanted me to go knock for knock?! I fought this for over a year, they tried to pass it on to another claims company & I eventually got paid out + loss of use at £250 a month (think I sorted damage myself for £400, clutch lever, cracked engine casing etc) I used money to go the Florida and learn to skydive, really wish I'd sent the stupid cow some flowers to say thanks for running my bike over & giving me the best hobbie I've ever had Fight with your insurance, that's what you paid for.
another one here with for NFU. always paid out immediately on couple household claims we've had. v old listed house and they seem to be the only ones interested. and can speak to someone in local office.
Depending on the severity of the accident I usually offer the driver the option to pay for the repairs themselves if they are minor then nobody has to involve the insurance companies. This only works if they are at fault and the damage is minor (maybe a couple of parts you can just replace yourself). I’ve also paid for a guy to get his BMW repaired when I clipped him in heavy traffic. It only cost me £250 which I thought as acceptable and saved me claiming
That's great until you decide actually it's not minor once you've dealt with the minor bits and gone.. oh blimey...
So then if the other driver doesn’t want to pay then you involve the insurance companies…. (They might not like the delay but not much they can do about it)
I had the misfortune to deal with the Claims Monkeys (other disparaging monikers are available) once; never again. I came back to my Yamaha FZ8 to find someone had hit it, knocking it over, & driven off. Reported the hit & run to the insurance company and shortly afterwards was phoned by the aforementioned Claims Monkeys whose initial priority, after I'd told them the circumstances, was to try and get my bike into their yard for storage & assessment. I declined their kind offer after the guys at Lamba in Carshalton had sorted the the damage sufficiently that I could ride it home & put it in the garage. The next concern was to try and flog me a hire bike that I didn't need (I have a car & the bike is a bit of a toy). When I asked him who was paying for this, he told me it would be the other driver. I then asked him something along the lines of 'What part of the other driver f****d off is it that you're struggling with?'. Call terminated. As others better qualified than me have pointed out, if they don't succeed in extorting their rip-off fees from the other party, YOU will be liable. I cannot think of any circumstance under which I would choose to employ them.
You'll be glad to know that my Diavel is now back home. Kudos to NFU insurance who authorised the repairs without any issues, and big thanks to Bill and Team at Luguna's, Ashford (Kent), who completed the repairs and also completed the MOT, Service and Belt changes, that had been due to be completed, but that the accident delayed. Diavel looking good as new (although, in fairness, there was only cosmetic damage). Roll on a dry day, to take her out for a proper spin.
