Third party insured, struck by foreign lorry needs car hire

I have a friend who was hit by a foreign lorry on the motorway in the UK. My friend was insured third party but their car was written off. Their insurance company is telling them that it will take months to get payment and that it is not wise to get a courtesy car as the foreign insurer may refuse to pay for it. What do you advise?

Answer

Under these circumstances, should we be instructed, we would be seeking to contact the UK claims handler for the overseas insurer to inform them that we would be seeking a weekly "loss of use" for your friend's vehicle, if possible,  until settlement is achieved. Most solicitors will charge for doing this and costs can mount as the case proceeds. The problem is in damage-only cases no solicitor will work on a no-win-no-fee basis.

I have two suggestions:

Firstly it would be useful for your friend to discuss the case in detail with one of Crashguard's specialist motor accident solicitors - member or not - on 0800 066 99 10 so we can better understand the full circumstances of the case. There will be no charge for this call and we can evaluate whether your friend has existing legal expenses cover in place (many people do on other insurance policies, but don't know, or forget about it).

Secondly if there is no legal expenses cover is in place we can suggest Crashguard Hindsight, a low fixed cost option for full legal assistance.

I hope this information will prove useful to you and your friend. To summarize there are good options available for your friend at very little risk to recover their losses.

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