My insurer says I must use their Solicitor following an accident – Is that right?

If you have been in a car accident, understandably you may have lots of questions about the best course of action, next steps and how to make sure you go about things in the right way.

We know that this can be a stressful time, but we want to make sure you receive the correct advice and guidance to ensure you get the best possible outcome for you.

We often hear from our clients that they have been told by their insurer that they must use their Solicitor following their accident, and whether this should be the case.

But in short the answer is no. Your insurer will of course try their best to make you use their preferred firm of Solicitors. In fact, you may even have paid for a legal expense policy at £35 or sometimes more for legal cover in the event of an accident. Additional premiums for guaranteed courtesy cars also being an expense that may not be required.

Let’s explore this further with the help of our Director Alastair Cameron, who is a very experienced Solicitor and Accredited Specialist in Personal injury Law.

Types of Accidents and how they differ

There are two types of accident, a fault accident, that is an accident caused by you and a non-fault accident, that is an accident caused by another. This is the distinction as to why you might need the protection of a Solicitor or legal expense insurer.

But, the question that is often asked, is do you really need to pay for legal protection in advance when you may never need it. And when you do there, are often so many restrictions, including with some providers the representation may not even be by a qualified Solicitor.

In short, that premium could be saved, and you could get better service for no premium.

I have been in an accident, and it was my fault – What happens next?

If you have been in an accident and it was your fault, then you should be reasonable. You should exchange details, inform your insurer and limit the inconvenience to the other person.

Your car would be repaired as a term of your contract of insurance and your insurer would deal with the third-party claim. They must do that as term of the contract of insurance at no cost to you other than your standard insurance premium.

I have been in an accident, and it wasn’t my fault – What happens next?

Again, in this situation, you would exchange details and contact your insurer. It would then hopefully fall to your insurer to get your car repaired, your claim for injury and loss started and instruct a firm of Solicitors.

A replacement car of a similar standard should get organised and hopefully a car of similar standard, but likely to be something much less, which if you have children or business commitments is anything but acceptable. Of course, your insurer may offer to pass you “over to a company working with them to organise a replacement vehicle”, not a courtesy vehicle.

So what did you pay the Legal Expense Insurance premium for and any Guaranteed Courtesy Car premium for, as neither of them have assisted you in the above example, have they?

How can this be different?

If you have been following my article closely, then you could have paid £35 or more for legal expense insurance and perhaps a premium for a guaranteed courtesy car?

The legal expense insurance is not needed if you are to blame for the accident and the guaranteed courtesy car policy will likely have a clause that the courtesy car will only be provided in a non-fault accident.

Think about it logically, the insurer does not have a fleet of cars to call upon, they will rely upon a hire company to provide these vehicles and recover the cost of the vehicle hire from the party at fault.

If you are not at fault, then you will be manoeuvred in to using the “Panel Solicitor”. A firm that provides legal assistance at arm’s length and whether you gain access to a Solicitor or not will depend upon whether your claim goes to court or settled out of court. It could be described as a faceless and sterile experience.

You deserve better and it is closer than you think…

How Oakwood Scotland Solicitors can help

At Oakwood Scotland Solicitors, our Director Alastair Cameron oversees all claims and provides one to one support to all staff and represents all clients in court.

An Accredited Specialist in Personal injury Law, accredited by The Law Society of Scotland for 10 years, he acts for clients who have suffered from minor injuries to fatal claims and their families. His experience in the legal profession is over 24 years and he only acts for Individuals – not Defenders or Insurance Companies.

At Oakwood we can represent you from day one and not only deal with your personal injury claim and claim for other losses such as wage loss and damaged items. We can also arrange for repair of your car and provide you with a like for like replacement car at no cost to you.

If you choose the full service your car will be recovered, repaired and delivered back to you valeted, with a full guarantee on all repairs at no cost to you. In addition, a like for like car will be delivered to you and collected from you once your car is repaired.

If unfortunately, your car is a total loss, we can also arrange a replacement car for a period to allow you to stay mobile and allow you to organise your replacement. And all this provided for at no cost to you. You will not pay an excess, and your insurance company will not be involved.

What if I have suffered an injury?

If you are injured, then we offer funding packages suitable to you and again nothing is paid upfront or a premium paid prior to working for you (remember that Legal Expense Premium above?).

In addition, you have direct access to a Solicitor and highly experienced staff, all of whom Alastair oversees and can be contacted directly with direct dial telephone and email. No call centres and no passing from one person to another.

What car insurance do I need?

We all need to have car insurance. Having car insurance is the law and we must have insurance cover.

We do not need to have unnecessary premiums offered to us for a policy which do not meet their purpose and do not provide what they claim to do at a stressful time, when something else much easier and much more transparent, not to mention more readily available.

In addition, the inconvenience of an accident is hard enough without paying hundreds of pounds in insurance excess payment when it is not your fault, and you can pay nil and get better value.

As discussed above, I have car insurance and home insurance all of which with no Legal Expense Insurance. Why? Because if I am to blame, I will leave my insurance company to do what I pay the insurance premium for, namely deal with claim against me.

If I am in an accident or if my home is damaged by another, I will go to a Solicitor, because they can offer me a better offering in a transparent manner but more importantly a face-to-face experience, with no arm’s length distancing and no call centres onshore or otherwise and faceless entities, driven by premiums and claims as opposed to service and satisfaction.

Oakwood Scotland Solicitors can help

Why not save our details and put us to the test, because unlike your insurer we want to help and assist you to recover your losses. After all we have no shareholders to answer to and no dividends to pay to them.

In plain terms, we answer to our clients and that is why so many return when they find themselves in need of professional expedient legal service that goes above and beyond.

Alastair and his team are ready to help and ready to discuss your needs. Please call 0141 406 3324 or email enquiries@oakwoodscotland.co.uk for more details.