rob2.2

you have the right to take the car to any repair garage you choose,

so get a overpriced quote for doing the bumper, even a price for a replacement one from honda (as you are entitled to a new one), plus labour to fit it and get the bodyshop to repair the boot and bumper for the same money.

thats what i did when some twat ran into the back of my civic, damaged the bumper and boot,
my local bodyshop got a quote for a brand new bumper plus a few hours labour to fit and allign it,
then fixed and painted my bumper and boot for the same agreed value.

they got there money from the insurance company and i got my car fixed so happy days for both

jonybravo78

it is unusual for an assessor to come from your own insurance company as they are not the people that are paying out for the damage. They are mearly handling your claim.

The assessor should be sent from the 3rd parties insurance company.................

Worton

Right ok, I'll confirm where the assessor came from as I was under the impression it was from my insurer. They didn't mention it was from their insurance but I'll double check.

I understand he needs to filter out the fake claims from the legit ones but I don't see how someone could have pried the boot open without leaving a mark on any other part of the area. And yes it seems a bit strange that the light is intact when the boot is bent out but surely with the amount of damage done to his car would have done more damage than simply scratch my bumper?

I'm going to get some alternative opinions as suggested, but does anyone else agree that the boot damage doesn't look like part of the accident? Id be grateful for completely honest answers.

arsie

It does look unusual compared with the majority of rear enders. The fact that an unusual part of the perpetrator's car was used (i.e. the side) is why. Both light clusters intact is a near miracle too However, the insurance company will surely have enough data on this 'rare' situation. Although the simple assessor himself (whoever's it was) will just go on his own limited experience and then dig his heels in ...

edit: Just a small thing, it would help if your pics were more like normal S2ki screen width. If you were a member the picture gallery facility takes care of that I seem to remember

jonybravo78

Risk assessors aren't forensic accident investigators mate, they won't be able to prove whether or not the boot damage was done by the accident.

His stance is to tell you they won't pay for it, your stance is that they should pay for it, he is relying on you not contesting the boot damage and calling it a day.

If you genuinely think the boot damage was not caused prior to the accident, you should fight your corner - like you say, it wasn't there when you put stuff in the boot, but it was there after the accident.

It's not like you are claiming for random damage to the front of the vehicle. Your claim seems fairly legit IMHO

Coppins999

Looking at the pictures I'm guessing the assessor thinks that your boot looks to have had the bottom right corner pulled out and therefore is assuming this isn't a "bash" and hence a crowbar job.

However looking at the pictures of the silver car, it too has a bit of the door pulled out as well just above the black trim line in the b-pillar area.

It could be that the two cars briefly caught one another and the two parts pulled apart and hence the unusual form of damage. Perhaps worth checking if the damage on the silver car and your boot are at the same height as some form of evidence.

I suppose the other thought by the assesor is how did damage occur to the boot and not to the bumper? Was there anything sticking out from the silver car that could have caused the damage at that point, but not the bumper?

lower

The assessor will be from your insurer.

It is your insurer that will be paying for the damage until a successful claim is made against the 3rd party. Therefore they will want to keep their costs down in case the claim against the 3rd party is unsuccessful.

By the way, by commenting on the damage i'm not suggesting that it occurred in any way other than that you describe. I just think it looks odd.

Worton

Thanks for those comments, it's helping me think of things that go against his claim of vandalism.

My big point so far though however is that there's no mark on the car where someone would have levered a crowbar or screwdriver to damage the boot.

I'll update you once I hear from my insurance.

Thanks again for the comments

unclefester

Looks like the tail edge of his door caught the metal edge of your boot but i cannot see how that could have happened without flattening your rear bumper against the car .... if that had happened, it should be cracked or split ?

Heinz '57

If you look veeerrry carefully , it looks like the bumper has split below the damage. But it may just be a bad pic, or a water stain.