Impact Assist Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I have been involved in an accident that wasn't my fault. What do I do?

What happens when I make a claim?

What happens if I have a fully comprehensive policy but wish to claim direct from the third party?

What if my vehicle is ‘written off’ in the accident?

I have suffered a personal injury as a result of a motor accident and wish to make a claim but am unsure of how to go about this without solicitor fees being deducted from my compensation.

Who pays the solicitors fees?

My vehicle has been written off in an accident that wasn't my fault. Can I have a replacement vehicle whilst waiting for the matter to be dealt with?

Credit Hire

Why should I use Impact Assist and not go directly to a solicitor?

I found you via a Search Engine but can't seem to find the original page I arrived at

Q - I have been involved in an accident that wasn't my fault. What do I do?

A - First gather as much information as possible at the accident scene. The most important information to obtain following an accident is the name, address, telephone number and vehicle registration of the other person involved in the accident. If there was more than one other driver involved, then get all drivers details. If you can get the other drivers insurance details then so much the better – try and pin him/her down to providing their insurance company AND policy or reference number. They are obliged to provide this if asked for it (just as you are). If necessary telephone them later or the next day when everyone is a little calmer. If there were witnesses, try and get their names and addresses. Try not to get into an argument with the other driver. Be as calm as possible. Get the basic details and don't get into a ‘blame game’ with the other driver. We can sort the finer details out with the insurance company. Then call Impact Assist on 0800 085 0241 and let us take care of the rest.

Q - What happens when I make a claim?

A - When you call Impact Assist we will take all the claim details from you and complete a claim form. We will check that we have all the details that we need. If our initial observations confirm to us that the accident was not your fault then we will find out which of our extensive services you might need. We will make a quick check to establish that the other driver was covered by insurance and we should then be in a position to start arranging for you to be provided with the services that you require eg collecting your damaged vehicle from the accident scene or another garage or storage compound (if it is not driveable), providing you with a replacement vehicle or putting you into the hands of one of our panel solicitors if you have suffered any injury.

Q - What happens if I have a fully comprehensive policy but wish to claim direct from the third party?

A – Many people become understandably confused about the type of motor insurance policy that that they hold.

The most comprehensive type of policy is…’comprehensive insurance’ – which as the name implies means that you are insured for any damage caused to both yours, and if the accident was your fault, the other drivers vehicle. If the accident was the other drivers fault your insurance company will still pay for the cost of repairs to your vehicle (and then seek to recover the cost from the other insurance company themselves). However many comprehensive policies carry an ‘excess’ which means that you would have to pay the repairing garage the first £50, £100, £200 or £500 ie the amount that you agreed to when you took out the policy. We at Impact can recover this amount for you from the other drivers insurers if that accident was his/her fault.

However if the accident was obviously not their fault, some people prefer not to use their comprehensive policy at all and have the other drivers insurers pay for the total cost of repairs from the outset ie without troubling their own insurer. We here at Impact can assist you with this and furthermore if you are relatively local to our base in Cramlington, we can arrange for your repairs to be carried out by our sister company D. Bell & Son. We can then manage the whole process for you and ensure that we recover the repair cost for you directly from the insurers of the other driver, without any inconvenience to you.

If you are insured on a Third Party, Fire & Theft (TPFT) or Third Party (TP) only basis, then this means that in the event of an accident your own insurance company will only pay for the repairs to the other vehicle involved in the accident – if it was your fault. They will not pay for the repairs to your vehicle.

If the accident was not your fault and you are insured on either a TPFT or TP only basis, then your insurance company will not pay for any of the repair costs – the other party will have to claim through his own insurer and you will have claim all your losses, including the cost of repairs (or the value of your vehicle if it written off in the accident), directly from the insurers of the responsible driver. Don’t worry - we at Impact Assist can do all this for you. Better still, if you are reasonably local to us in Cramlington, we can arrange for D Bell & Son to repair your vehicle and claim the cost back from the other insurance company – assuming the accident was not your fault. If you live in other parts of the country we might still be able to help you get your vehicle repaired with the cost being claimed back from the other insurers. We have a network of associate garages and bodyshops that will repair your vehicle and then claim the cost back from the other insurers – ensuring that you do not have to pay up fron t for expensive repair costs.

Q – What if my vehicle is ‘written off’ in the accident?

A - Sometimes, particularly with older vehicles, the damage caused in the accident can be such that it would not be economical to repair the vehicle eg your car is only worth about £500 and the cost of repairing it would be £1000. The other drivers insurers are only obliged to pay you the lesser cost ie the value of your vehicle as it was immediately before the accident. In this circumstance, we will arrange for your vehicle to be inspected by a fully qualified independent assessor who will provide us with a report and valuation of your vehicle. If you are happy with the valuation he has estimated, then we will use his report to recover that cost from the other insurers. If you disagree with his valuation then at your own cost, we will arrange for a report from a different engineer but if his valuation does not differ from the first engineers valuation then you would be left with the cost of the second report as we would not be able to recover two engineers fees from the other insurers.

Q - I have suffered a personal injury as a result of a motor accident and wish to make a claim but am unsure of how to go about this without solicitor fees being deducted from my compensation.

A - If you or your passengers have suffered personal injury as a result of an accident that was not your fault advise Impact Assist immediately. We will recommend you to one of our panel of specialist personal injury solicitors. Whichever member of our panel of solicitors acts for you, you can rest assured that you will receive 100% of the damages awarded to you, without any deductions.

Q - Who pays the solicitors fees?

The solicitor will act for you using a Conditional Fee Agreement which is explained fully in the Personal Injury section under ‘Services’. The main point to understand is that you will not have to pay a penny in fees to the solicitor.

Q - My vehicle has been written off in an accident that wasn't my fault. Can I have a replacement vehicle whilst waiting for the matter to be dealt with?

A - Yes. Impact Assist can provide you with a replacement vehicle for a reasonable period enabling you to stay mobile. The cost of this will be included in your claim against the third party or their insurer and this will ensure that you shouldn’t have to put your hand in your pocket to cover the cost.

Q. Credit Hire?

A - You will notice that we sometimes use the term ‘credit hire’ when referring to the provision of replacement vehicles following an accident. As we have already outlined we have an extensive array of replacement vehicles that can be provided to you if your car is not drivable after a non fault accident. If the accident is not your fault we will put you into a vehicle that is roughly equivalent to your own ie size and engine capacity. We will not ask you to pay for this up front. We will ask you to sign a ‘credit hire’ agreement. What this means is that we will extend credit to you in respect of the charges. We will not expect payment until such time as your claim against the third party has been concluded. In reality what this means is that we will wait and recover the cost of the hire car from the other party's insurers.

Q - Why should I use Impact Assist and not go directly to a solicitor?

A - There are good and bad firms of solicitors just as there are good and bad accident management companies. If you happen to know of a good firm of solicitors experienced in dealing with motor accident claims, then all well and good – but even then ask whether they can provide you with all the services that Impact Assist have to offer? – replacement vehicles, vehicle repairs, vehicle recovery and storage – and if they do happen to offer these services, then ask yourself what a firm of solicitors is doing providing these types of service. After all solicitors are bound by strict rules to ensure that their clients interests do not come into conflict with other clients interests or the interests of the solicitors firm themselves. We mention this because we know that some firms of solicitors dealing in motor accident claims, happen to own their own car hire companies or garages and they may well push their clients down the road of using the services of those self owned companies. Often those companies will be owned by the wife (son, daughter, mother etc) of the senior partner of the solicitors practice, but the effect is often the same. Isn’t there a real possibility of conflict of interest arising where the solicitor is handling a claim for you the client which involves reclaiming monies owned by a company owned by the same solicitor?

By coming to Impact Assist you can be sure that no such conflict of interest will arise. If your claim requires the services of a solicitor (and all claims involving personal injury are passed by us, on your authorization, to one of our panel of expert firms of solicitors), then you can be sure that the solicitors are entirely independent of Impact Assist and will act in your best interests and yours alone.

Some solicitors will try to scare clients away from companies such as ourselves by suggesting that claims companies or accident management companies will hit their clients with hidden charges. Some may well do that, but all we can say is that with Impact Assist there are no nasty surprises. If you are involved in a non fault motor accident and use our services, then you will have nothing to pay (unless you ask us to carry out extra services such as an MOT or a full vehicle service).

We should point out that if you decide to use our services, you are free to choose any solicitor of your choice to act on your behalf. All that we ask is that you ask the solicitor to claim back the cost of any services that we have provided you with, as part of your claim against the other driver involved.

Q - I found you via a Search Engine but can't seem to find the original page I arrived at

A - To help our customers find us online via search engines, we use pages designed to make searching easier. The content of these pages is largely the same as the main home page but with a few subtle differences. You can see the list of alternative home pages here.

Looking for insurance? Visit www.brokerman.co.uk - the independent insurance quotation generator.
Looking for a good read? Visit www.stortbooks.com for a great selection of rare and second hand books.


Home Claim Services Claim Team FAQ Company Information Contact	Online Claim Form If you've had an accident that wasn't your fault then click here to claim online and start getting help from Impact Assist. Alternatively, try our helpline on 0800 043 0907.

Impact Assist Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) I have been involved in an accident that wasn't my fault. What do I do? What happens when I make a claim? What happens if I have a fully comprehensive policy but wish to claim direct from the third party? What if my vehicle is ‘written off’ in the accident? I have suffered a personal injury as a result of a motor accident and wish to make a claim but am unsure of how to go about this without solicitor fees being deducted from my compensation. Who pays the solicitors fees? My vehicle has been written off in an accident that wasn't my fault. Can I have a replacement vehicle whilst waiting for the matter to be dealt with? Credit Hire Why should I use Impact Assist and not go directly to a solicitor? I found you via a Search Engine but can't seem to find the original page I arrived at Q - I have been involved in an accident that wasn't my fault. What do I do? A - First gather as much information as possible at the accident scene. The most important information to obtain following an accident is the name, address, telephone number and vehicle registration of the other person involved in the accident. If there was more than one other driver involved, then get all drivers details. If you can get the other drivers insurance details then so much the better – try and pin him/her down to providing their insurance company AND policy or reference number. They are obliged to provide this if asked for it (just as you are). If necessary telephone them later or the next day when everyone is a little calmer. If there were witnesses, try and get their names and addresses. Try not to get into an argument with the other driver. Be as calm as possible. Get the basic details and don't get into a ‘blame game’ with the other driver. We can sort the finer details out with the insurance company. Then call Impact Assist on 0800 085 0241 and let us take care of the rest. Q - What happens when I make a claim? A - When you call Impact Assist we will take all the claim details from you and complete a claim form. We will check that we have all the details that we need. If our initial observations confirm to us that the accident was not your fault then we will find out which of our extensive services you might need. We will make a quick check to establish that the other driver was covered by insurance and we should then be in a position to start arranging for you to be provided with the services that you require eg collecting your damaged vehicle from the accident scene or another garage or storage compound (if it is not driveable), providing you with a replacement vehicle or putting you into the hands of one of our panel solicitors if you have suffered any injury. Q - What happens if I have a fully comprehensive policy but wish to claim direct from the third party? A – Many people become understandably confused about the type of motor insurance policy that that they hold. The most comprehensive type of policy is…’comprehensive insurance’ – which as the name implies means that you are insured for any damage caused to both yours, and if the accident was your fault, the other drivers vehicle. If the accident was the other drivers fault your insurance company will still pay for the cost of repairs to your vehicle (and then seek to recover the cost from the other insurance company themselves). However many comprehensive policies carry an ‘excess’ which means that you would have to pay the repairing garage the first £50, £100, £200 or £500 ie the amount that you agreed to when you took out the policy. We at Impact can recover this amount for you from the other drivers insurers if that accident was his/her fault. However if the accident was obviously not their fault, some people prefer not to use their comprehensive policy at all and have the other drivers insurers pay for the total cost of repairs from the outset ie without troubling their own insurer. We here at Impact can assist you with this and furthermore if you are relatively local to our base in Cramlington, we can arrange for your repairs to be carried out by our sister company D. Bell & Son. We can then manage the whole process for you and ensure that we recover the repair cost for you directly from the insurers of the other driver, without any inconvenience to you. If you are insured on a Third Party, Fire & Theft (TPFT) or Third Party (TP) only basis, then this means that in the event of an accident your own insurance company will only pay for the repairs to the other vehicle involved in the accident – if it was your fault. They will not pay for the repairs to your vehicle. If the accident was not your fault and you are insured on either a TPFT or TP only basis, then your insurance company will not pay for any of the repair costs – the other party will have to claim through his own insurer and you will have claim all your losses, including the cost of repairs (or the value of your vehicle if it written off in the accident), directly from the insurers of the responsible driver. Don’t worry - we at Impact Assist can do all this for you. Better still, if you are reasonably local to us in Cramlington, we can arrange for D Bell & Son to repair your vehicle and claim the cost back from the other insurance company – assuming the accident was not your fault. If you live in other parts of the country we might still be able to help you get your vehicle repaired with the cost being claimed back from the other insurers. We have a network of associate garages and bodyshops that will repair your vehicle and then claim the cost back from the other insurers – ensuring that you do not have to pay up fron t for expensive repair costs. Q – What if my vehicle is ‘written off’ in the accident? A - Sometimes, particularly with older vehicles, the damage caused in the accident can be such that it would not be economical to repair the vehicle eg your car is only worth about £500 and the cost of repairing it would be £1000. The other drivers insurers are only obliged to pay you the lesser cost ie the value of your vehicle as it was immediately before the accident. In this circumstance, we will arrange for your vehicle to be inspected by a fully qualified independent assessor who will provide us with a report and valuation of your vehicle. If you are happy with the valuation he has estimated, then we will use his report to recover that cost from the other insurers. If you disagree with his valuation then at your own cost, we will arrange for a report from a different engineer but if his valuation does not differ from the first engineers valuation then you would be left with the cost of the second report as we would not be able to recover two engineers fees from the other insurers. Q - I have suffered a personal injury as a result of a motor accident and wish to make a claim but am unsure of how to go about this without solicitor fees being deducted from my compensation. A - If you or your passengers have suffered personal injury as a result of an accident that was not your fault advise Impact Assist immediately. We will recommend you to one of our panel of specialist personal injury solicitors. Whichever member of our panel of solicitors acts for you, you can rest assured that you will receive 100% of the damages awarded to you, without any deductions. Q - Who pays the solicitors fees? The solicitor will act for you using a Conditional Fee Agreement which is explained fully in the Personal Injury section under ‘Services’. The main point to understand is that you will not have to pay a penny in fees to the solicitor. Q - My vehicle has been written off in an accident that wasn't my fault. Can I have a replacement vehicle whilst waiting for the matter to be dealt with? A - Yes. Impact Assist can provide you with a replacement vehicle for a reasonable period enabling you to stay mobile. The cost of this will be included in your claim against the third party or their insurer and this will ensure that you shouldn’t have to put your hand in your pocket to cover the cost. Q. Credit Hire? A - You will notice that we sometimes use the term ‘credit hire’ when referring to the provision of replacement vehicles following an accident. As we have already outlined we have an extensive array of replacement vehicles that can be provided to you if your car is not drivable after a non fault accident. If the accident is not your fault we will put you into a vehicle that is roughly equivalent to your own ie size and engine capacity. We will not ask you to pay for this up front. We will ask you to sign a ‘credit hire’ agreement. What this means is that we will extend credit to you in respect of the charges. We will not expect payment until such time as your claim against the third party has been concluded. In reality what this means is that we will wait and recover the cost of the hire car from the other party's insurers. Q - Why should I use Impact Assist and not go directly to a solicitor? A - There are good and bad firms of solicitors just as there are good and bad accident management companies. If you happen to know of a good firm of solicitors experienced in dealing with motor accident claims, then all well and good – but even then ask whether they can provide you with all the services that Impact Assist have to offer? – replacement vehicles, vehicle repairs, vehicle recovery and storage – and if they do happen to offer these services, then ask yourself what a firm of solicitors is doing providing these types of service. After all solicitors are bound by strict rules to ensure that their clients interests do not come into conflict with other clients interests or the interests of the solicitors firm themselves. We mention this because we know that some firms of solicitors dealing in motor accident claims, happen to own their own car hire companies or garages and they may well push their clients down the road of using the services of those self owned companies. Often those companies will be owned by the wife (son, daughter, mother etc) of the senior partner of the solicitors practice, but the effect is often the same. Isn’t there a real possibility of conflict of interest arising where the solicitor is handling a claim for you the client which involves reclaiming monies owned by a company owned by the same solicitor? By coming to Impact Assist you can be sure that no such conflict of interest will arise. If your claim requires the services of a solicitor (and all claims involving personal injury are passed by us, on your authorization, to one of our panel of expert firms of solicitors), then you can be sure that the solicitors are entirely independent of Impact Assist and will act in your best interests and yours alone. Some solicitors will try to scare clients away from companies such as ourselves by suggesting that claims companies or accident management companies will hit their clients with hidden charges. Some may well do that, but all we can say is that with Impact Assist there are no nasty surprises. If you are involved in a non fault motor accident and use our services, then you will have nothing to pay (unless you ask us to carry out extra services such as an MOT or a full vehicle service). We should point out that if you decide to use our services, you are free to choose any solicitor of your choice to act on your behalf. All that we ask is that you ask the solicitor to claim back the cost of any services that we have provided you with, as part of your claim against the other driver involved. Q - I found you via a Search Engine but can't seem to find the original page I arrived at A - To help our customers find us online via search engines, we use pages designed to make searching easier. The content of these pages is largely the same as the main home page but with a few subtle differences. You can see the list of alternative home pages here.
Impact Assist Ltd - North East leaders in non-fault motoring accident management © 2007 Impact Assist Limited. Terms & Conditions. Website Design: E-Cat Partners
Looking for insurance? Visit www.brokerman.co.uk - the independent insurance quotation generator. Looking for a good read? Visit www.stortbooks.com for a great selection of rare and second hand books.