No fault accident where other driver disappears

I was travelling on the A5 dual carriageway when traffic began to build up and eventually came to a halt almost adjacent to a slip road. The lorry in front of me began to reverse seemingly to get enough space to take the slip road. He obviously could not see me or didn't know how close I was. To avoid him crashing into my car I reversed closer to the car behind stopping just short of it. The bar on the rear of the lorry trailer then hit my car pushing me into the car behind. The lorry then moved forward and left the A5 by the slip road. I only have partial details of the numberplate and there was no company name on the box. The driver behind saw what happened and agreed with my version of events but is now filing an insurance claim for the damage to their vehicle. Mine is damaged both back and front but I am unfortunately only covered third party fire and theft. Is there any defence I can use to protect my no claims bonus and any action I can take to recover the cost of damage to my car?

Answer

You would be entitled to recover your damage from the lorry owners were you able to identify the vehicle. It is imperative you record the plate number of the vehicle concerned. Without that information it is impossible to pursue a claim. Had you the vehicle information we may be able to assist with our Crashguard Hindsight scheme which enables legal expenses cover to be taken out after an accident has taken place (and gives you full Crashguard protection for the coming year).
With regard to the damage to the vehicle behind, you should advise your insurers to contest the claim as if the circumstances are as you describe there was no negligence on your part. However you may struggle in your defence unless the driver (or another witness) fully corroborates your version of events. You would have been greatly assisted if you had a crashmate with you to better record the evidence at the time.

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