About a month ago an American tourist pulled out infront of me causing an accident. The police, the tourist and myself all agreed that he was in the wrong as he did not indicate or give way to traffic coming straight through. After swapping information and filling out forms for his insurance he told me he would make a report to the rental car company when he got down to Wellington. We were all very nice to this tourist, the cop gave him a warning instead of a ticket and I helped him out to find the nearest Repco (he needed a bungy to close the boot) and made sure he was all ok before sorting myself out (i was 14 weeks pregnant) Here we are a month later and I just found out that he did not make a report in Wellington... he instead waited until the end of his holiday, dropped the car off at the rental car company in Auckland after hours and took off back to America! The rental car company's insurance broker is now saying that they will not pay out because this tourist needed to fill out a report, because he didnt they have no knowledge of the accident and will not pay out. We had rung the rental car company AND the insurance broker on the day of the accident and were told by them that they expected him to report to them in Wellington, so they had some knowledge and I would assume they noticed the car was damaged when they got to work the next day and saw it all smashed up??!!?? This wouldnt be a problem, except our own insurance had lapsed 2 days before the accident (ill also add for ppl not in new zealand, you are not required to have insurance here and if the accident is not your fault then it is the other persons insurance that must pay out anyway) I know we would win if it went to court, but it doesnt seem very fair that I should have to go to such extreme measures.... makes me not want to be as trusting to the next tourist I meet either, which is a shame. Has anything like this happened to you? How long did it take for the issue to resolve? Yea... had the insurance been in my name I would have kept it up to date... sadly the car is actually owned by my boyfriend and his mother Im having the car and insurance put in my name as soon as this mess it sorted... that way I will know everything is done.
Other - New Zealand - 2 Answers
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1 :
Very interesting question. It's all very well being wise after the event but even though we are not required to carry insurance it does make things so much easier in cases like this. Your insurance company then handles all the negotiating etc. for you. Regular monthly payments has taken away the problem of insurance lapsing. I feel in your case now you might just have to fork out a little to a lawyer to at least write a letter to the insurance broker and rental car company. Get him to say you are prepared to take it to "Fair Go" - that often works as they wont want the publicity ! I do know from experience that insurance companies / brokers are loath to deal with individuals and also rental car companies are notoriously difficult to deal with when there is a problem. A good lawyer might be able to "cut through" some of the rubbish and delaying tactics. If you can't afford this and/or your vehicle damage is quite minor then try the "Fair Go" threat yourselves if they start messing you around. Apart from failing to renew your insurance you have done everything right. By the way not all tourists are bad and we certainly need lots of them in NZ. Cheers and the best of luck
2 :
As Bloodnok says, Fair Go could be very interested. But be prepared to carry through with any threat to go to Fair Go. -And just because you write to Fair Go, there's no certainty of them taking your case up. There's also a lesson here. It's better to have insurance and not need it, than to need it and not have it. Your beef is now with the rental car co and their insurance co (not their broker). The Police, although not ticketing the driver, will still have the event recorded on their file. Ask for a copy of it. Chase up eye-witnesses (if any). Get a statement from each and have them swear on its veracity before a JP. Gather up as much detail as possible, perhaps even the tourist's name and Visa Card details (he probably used it to pay Repco), and make an appointment at the Citizens' Advice Bureau to see a lawyer. Don't hang about, there's work to be done, and done ASAP. Best of luck.
