Insurance claim, who has to pay?

[acarmody]

I was working hard to night when my boss comes and tells me that a light pole has fallen on my car. After some choice swearing and when the rain and wind have died down I went and had a look. Not as bad as I expected but still enough for me to want to beat the crap out of someone, don't care who. Boss called Energex because the pole is very top heavy and still has power going to it, and could come free from the ground at any moment and leave live wires going. But when Energex get here they won't touch it because its private property (the light is one of my works car parks flood lights), and recommends our sparky. So we call our electrician who says that they will try and get something done about it in the morning.
So I'm now at home with my car still at work with a damn pole resting on it.

While there was quite a bit of rain and lighning and wind tonight, I wouldn't of thought that a steel pole would of broken like that. There isn't any branches broken (not even little ones) or debris at all in the carpark, not even in the trees next to the pole.

I took quite a few photos for insurance purposes, and also took a photo of the base of the pole, which clearly shows that the pole broke only about 2 inches below the ground level, my father also noticed a lot of rust on the pole. Whether the rust ate through the pole or not could mean all the difference to my insurance. But i'll talk to the sparky tomorrow when they remove the pole.

I'm going to call my insurance (comprehensive with Just Cars) in the morning because they don't have 24 hour phone lines. But what I need to know is who will have to pay for the excess? My work will undoubtingly have a clause somewhere, we accept no responsibility for cars in the carpark.....blah blah blah. To top it all off, we rent the building from the owner, we don't own the property.
Also can anyone say how bad this is? Cause I'm pretty sure this will have damaged the chassis for the roof, but can it be easily fixed? Also there are cracks in the paint, will they have to repaint the whole roof or can they gt away with touching it up?

I might try getting some off that free legal advice from RACQ (ultra member). Also I don't have a car at all until this is all fixed, because Just Cars (a$$holes) don't provide a hire car.

-Cheers, Adrian

[VrWagz1]

Try wringing your insurer, and tell them who owns the pole(the company you work for) and give them contact their contact details. And usually if they can contact them and get them to admit it was their pole, then they will get your car fixed for no cost to you and they will chase he costs out of your company. Worth a try. Its how my claim went a little while back, but was with nrma.

[acarmody]

Try wringing your insurer, and tell them who owns the pole(the company you work for) and give them contact their contact details. And usually if they can contact them and get them to admit it was their pole, then they will get your car fixed for no cost to you and they will chase he costs out of your company. Worth a try. Its how my claim went a little while back, but was with nrma.

I hope to heck that it will work out in an identical fashion but I doubt it. I might try calling RACQ legal advice first because have no relation to the damage or claim.
I'm pretty much going to have to convince Just Cars that they can probably get more money back from the property owner that from me paying my excess.

-Cheers, Adrian

[azzaVT]

See if your employer will lend you a car/ute etc... while yours is being repaired (because his premises and fittings aren't up to code, and bits of it has damaged your ride).

Also, "My work will undoubtingly have a clause somewhere, we accept no responsibility for cars in the carpark.....blah blah blah." is rubbish. Because even if you entered the site illegally you still have the right of safety. So, unless you signed an explicit waiver of your normal rights, you should still be covered by their insurance (that they will be required to have under state and local laws... unless you're living somewhere in the dark ages).

The trick is to not get worked up over it and always hold fast to the belief that you are not at fault in any way... becuase if you admit the slightest fault in any way, you'll get screwed. From what you have said, you have no fault.

[acarmody]

Get a car of the boss? We don't even have a company car.

I think I got a pretty solid case about claiming my money back. The pole in question was rusted all the way through.

I'll have a response from Just Cars tomorrow about the state of my car.

-Adrian

[Holdens Rule]

I'm pretty sure that legally you will have to pay the excess and your insurance more than likely wont care if you don't want to cause they will just sue you if you don't. I think also you have the right to sue the owner of the premises to pay your excess because it's from they're lack of maintenance that the pole rusted and broke but you will have to pay your excess first and then take them to court to regain that money. Sounds like crap but I'm pretty sure thats how it will go. If your boss doesn't own the property then he has no legal obligations to cover you but the landlord will and so you need to talk to him and suggest he pay your excess or you will take him to court and he will end up also paying your legal costs.

Don't hold me to that but that's what I think is the way it goes.

[acarmody]

Yeah Just Cars said that I will have to foot the excess initially ($1200), but that if they are successful in proving that the Club/Owner was negligent, then they will repay me the excess.
I'm pretty sure Just Cars will want to persue the case themselves so that they can reclaim all their money. And the insurance on the place is joint between the club and the owner, so one of them will be liable, and its the same policy, so.....

-Adrian

[fitz_vt]

My work will undoubtingly have a clause somewhere, we accept no responsibility for cars in the carpark.....blah blah blah

The pole was not up to regulation code therefore causing negligence of the company therefore making this clause if any null and void as it was not a safe place to park the car also you company must put a sign up that states "Owners Leave Vehicles At Own Risk" or something to this extent if not then your employer is liable.

Dont worry just car will fix your car if your company doest have insurance just car will fix it and give them the bill, the frame doesnt appear to be that bad from what i can see in the pictures you have taken but it will need some beating out, the windows will need replacing and if you have side airbags they will need to be replaced.

For the paint they will probably repaint the whole thing as it is metalic and you cant just patch that up.....

[Zuicider]

your pretty lucky u werent in the car park next to it, other wise u would have a convertable

[acarmody]

The pole was not up to regulation code therefore causing negligence of the company therefore making this clause if any null and void as it was not a safe place to park the car also you company must put a sign up that states "Owners Leave Vehicles At Own Risk" or something to this extent if not then your employer is liable.

Dont worry just car will fix your car if your company doest have insurance just car will fix it and give them the bill, the frame doesnt appear to be that bad from what i can see in the pictures you have taken but it will need some beating out, the windows will need replacing and if you have side airbags they will need to be replaced.

For the paint they will probably repaint the whole thing as it is metalic and you cant just patch that up.....

I know it doesn't look to bad, but i'm really worried about the main roof bars. Cause the pole landed just behind the B Pillar (?)(centre one). And funnily enough the side impact air bags didn't go off.

Would be great if they have to paint the whole car, I might want to change the colour.

your pretty lucky u werent in the car park next to it, other wise u would have a convertable

What do you mean? My car was the one next to the pole. I park next to the garden bed where the pole was, and he car on the other side of me was a big Pajero.

And attached is a photo I took at the assessment centre. MY BABY
They'll tell me the outcome tomorrow (today).

-Cheers, Adrian

[Dayvo]

I doubt if they will paint the whole car , just the roof

[acarmody]

I doubt if they will paint the whole car , just the roof

Bugger. Lol oh well, I just want my ever-reliable back on the road. Damn Just Cars don't give a damn hire car.

-Adrian

[danja]

How much is it insured for? You may be looking at a write off there...

[fitz_vt]

I know it doesn't look to bad, but i'm really worried about the main roof bars. Cause the pole landed just behind the B Pillar (?)(centre one). And funnily enough the side impact air bags didn't go off.

Would be great if they have to paint the whole car, I might want to change the colour.



What do you mean? My car was the one next to the pole. I park next to the garden bed where the pole was, and he car on the other side of me was a big Pajero.

And attached is a photo I took at the assessment centre. MY BABY
They'll tell me the outcome tomorrow (today).

-Cheers, Adrian

yeah they will only paint your roof as its a metallic colour....

How much is it insured for? You may be looking at a write off there...

I doubt that it will be a stat write off as that part of the frame can be replaced..... as its not a larger beam.

Bugger. Lol oh well, I just want my ever-reliable back on the road. Damn Just Cars don't give a damn hire car.

-Adrian

Yeah i know it does suck they only way you can get a hire car is if your over 25 and on your full license

[acarmody]

Yeah i know it does suck they only way you can get a hire car is if your over 25 and on your full license

No. Just Cars don't give you a hire car on thier Comprehensive Insurance, period.

Anyway, I talked to the smash repairs place today and the car is FIXABLE, yay .

On the downside though I also talked to Just Cars, and it looks like I will be the one footing the bill for this, $1200 excess and losing no claim bonus. The law apparently says that the pole would of have to been brought to the attention of the club AND they ignored the warning, for this to be negligence. But if the club says that they didn't know about the pole then they will likely get off. How much of BULL$hit is this.
So basically I get hit by a pole that was COMPLETELY rusted through on the bottom, and I have to pay.

-Adrian

[pablo]

"$1200 excess and losing no claim bonus"

That doesn't sound right to me, if it's not your fault and you can identify the "other party", the insurance company would be persuing them to make good their claim costs, which also should include your excess costs.
If you belong to a motoring organisation eg NRMA, RAA, RACV etc,or what ever there is in QLD, they will give you free legal advice and possibly represent you in any class actions to reclaim your excess. If not, join up and get their advice.

Pablo

[acarmody]

"$1200 excess and losing no claim bonus"

That doesn't sound right to me, if it's not your fault and you can identify the "other party", the insurance company would be persuing them to make good their claim costs, which also should include your excess costs.
If you belong to a motoring organisation eg NRMA, RAA, RACV etc,or what ever there is in QLD, they will give you free legal advice and possibly represent you in any class actions to reclaim your excess. If not, join up and get their advice.

Pablo

Just Cars said that if they can't prove negligence by the club (by ignoring warnings about the pole) then the club isn't responsible for the damage. Which is total bull$hit.
And I do belong to RACQ up here and I will call them up about legal advice. It may that I will have to go throught the courts or small claims to try and reclaim all the damages (excess, cost of no claim bonus). I'm only just scraping by borrowing different family members cars because I don't know if I'll ever be reimbursed for a rental car, and a rental car would cost about 2/3 of my pay, just not worth it.

[pablo]

Might pay to enquire about insuring your wheels through the RACQ, my insurance for my VT cost me $295/year, with an agreed value, and with a $450 excess, through the RAA (RACQ equivalent) here in South OZ. Though I do have several discounts in my favour of having multiply insurance policies for other vehicles with them, plus being a member for a few years.
I wish you luck!

Pablo

[njnathan]

U are getting raped. The owner of the car park or the establishment where you vehicle is damaged is LIABLE.
Simply ringing Slater and Gordon, or a similiar Lawyer will confirm the property law details. You can claim a civil lawsuit through the court system for damages, you are right with Neglegent. However there are various degrees ol liability.

Best plan of attack.

Who owns the carpark and the lighting poles??
Who pays for the electricity that they use?
Who pays for maintainence of the Lighting poles, eg, changing globes????
When was the last time the structures were assessed? and by who??

If answers to all the above question come back to the business owners then it is easy to prove a duty of care, and liability for equipment failure.


Get a lawyer to send a nasty letter threating legal action, this may get the responce you want. $200 expence to get a legal letter sent to pole owners.
Basically thats the issue. THEIR POLE HIT YOUR CAR, they could claim on their insurance NO PROBLEMS

Lucky the pole was not bigger, it would have written the car off

[Holdens Rule]

I guess your best bet is to do some research on this light pole. Find out how long it has been there, see if you can find out if it has been done to regulations and installed correctly and then find out if there has ever been any maintenance or problems with it. It sounds like crap but if you can some how prove that someone has been negligent then you have a lge to stand on. The other thing you could probably do if you have no rights on this is to ask the property owner to pay half of your excess or you will take this to court and with any luck he might agree to that because he is worried he would lose and pay you more. I know that's not fair on you but it's better than nothing.

[acarmody]

Might pay to enquire about insuring your wheels through the RACQ, my insurance for my VT cost me $295/year, with an agreed value, and with a $450 excess, through the RAA (RACQ equivalent) here in South OZ. Though I do have several discounts in my favour of having multiply insurance policies for other vehicles with them, plus being a member for a few years.
I wish you luck!

Pablo

I wanted to insure with RACQ but my car is modified so Just Cars are my only option until I am 25, then I can use Shannons.

U are getting raped. The owner of the car park or the establishment where you vehicle is damaged is LIABLE.
Simply ringing Slater and Gordon, or a similiar Lawyer will confirm the property law details. You can claim a civil lawsuit through the court system for damages, you are right with Neglegent. However there are various degrees ol liability.

Best plan of attack.

Who owns the carpark and the lighting poles??
Who pays for the electricity that they use?
Who pays for maintainence of the Lighting poles, eg, changing globes????
When was the last time the structures were assessed? and by who??

If answers to all the above question come back to the business owners then it is easy to prove a duty of care, and liability for equipment failure.


Get a lawyer to send a nasty letter threating legal action, this may get the responce you want. $200 expence to get a legal letter sent to pole owners.
Basically thats the issue. THEIR POLE HIT YOUR CAR, they could claim on their insurance NO PROBLEMS

Lucky the pole was not bigger, it would have written the car off

LOL, not only raped, but sideways too. I'm going to talk to the free legal advice provided by RACQ either Monday or Tuesday, and my mate said that the QLD Law Society provide a free consoltation, worth checking out. For now I'm going to let Just Cars try and get the money from the CLubs insurance, but if that fails then hello small claims or lawsuit.

And the answers to your little questions.
1. Land belongs to some dude who trades as some company. Club and dude share an insurance policy
2. Club obviously pays for electricity
3. Maintanence, WTF is that? My club has never heard of that stuff.
4. Dunno, when was it made, probably the same date. I'll attach a photo showing the end of the pole. Probably hasn't been checked since the club was incorporated in 1993.

As I said i'll let Just Cars have the first crack, then i'll see what my options are.

-Cheers , Adrian

[fitz_vt]

I wanted to insure with RACQ but my car is modified so Just Cars are my only option until I am 25, then I can use Shannons.



LOL, not only raped, but sideways too. I'm going to talk to the free legal advice provided by RACQ either Monday or Tuesday, and my mate said that the QLD Law Society provide a free consoltation, worth checking out. For now I'm going to let Just Cars try and get the money from the CLubs insurance, but if that fails then hello small claims or lawsuit.

And the answers to your little questions.
1. Land belongs to some dude who trades as some company. Club and dude share an insurance policy
2. Club obviously pays for electricity
3. Maintanence, WTF is that? My club has never heard of that stuff.
4. Dunno, when was it made, probably the same date. I'll attach a photo showing the end of the pole. Probably hasn't been checked since the club was incorporated in 1993.

As I said i'll let Just Cars have the first crack, then i'll see what my options are.

-Cheers , Adrian

As if they cant see that obvious rust, if they chose to ignore it its their fault, as for the legal advice take it, its free it will help you alot..
i think just cars are trying to rape you sideways with a screwdriver

[deanos70]

What about your employer, they must have liability insurance, would be no different if a fork lift or something ran into your car that wouldnt be your fault so why should you pay, or the owner of the premises must have liability insurance. What would happen if it had fallen on some one and injured them, im sure it would just not be a case of oh well bad luck it fell on some one,

the insurance company doesnt care where they get the $1200 excess from as long as they get it, and they think its easier to get it from you , cause they know you will pay it as you want your car fixed, if they chase up the employer or owner of the premises that will cost them time and money.

good luck with it

[STEALTHY™]

As above, the company should be liable for anything that happens on their property. Unless you've signed something that says they aren't.

Like i did at my old work, i wanted to park down the truck loading bay (had 2 bays, but only ever used the one) so i signed a letter saying there not liable for any damage. Was a small price to pay to not have to leave the car on the street. Nothing ever happened tho.

[5lt caprice]

wouldnt the company have public liability. i worked at a truck wash in rocklea and the boss decided to drive a kenworth prime mover into it they had to pay $3500 to fix it but its not the same anymore.