Fleet operator question - late reporting of accident cuts loss of profit claim

My company has a small fleet of vehicles and industrial equipment which is hired out. Recently one of our articulated trucks was involved in a serious accident which badly damaged the trailer and the equipment which it was transporting to a customer for hire. Our vehicles have Third Party Fire & Theft cover. For reasons I don’t really understand, the claim was only reported to the other driver’s insurers about six weeks after the accident although we notified the brokers on the day after. This means that we cannot recover any loss of profit (a little over £100.00 per day) for the first five weeks although the other driver’s insurers agreed our daily loss of profit for the period after they had been notified until they paid us about a month later. PTS, Hull

The roadside lawyer answers:
This is a classic example of the need to get started on a case early.  As the other driver’s insurers were unaware of the continuing daily loss, they could reasonably argue there had been an unjustifiable delay, whether or not that was the fault of the broker, the Claimant’s own insurers or late reporting by the Claimant.

Whilst in your case, you may have a claim against your insurance broker for professional negligence, it is always worthwhile ensuring that your ULR representative has acknowledged receipt of instructions as soon as possible and that they are aware of the daily loss from the outset.

We typically request that you get your drivers to notify us from the accident scene or that they notify you immediately and you inform us on the same day. Notification from the scene means it is possible to check the other driver's insurance status at the accident scene and notify their insurer immediately leaving no possibility of their claims delay or substantial loss of revenue.

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