Insurance void if Illegally parked

[vikks99]

Hi Can anyone help please? If a vehicle is illegally parked on double yellow lines, is the insurance company liable if that vehicle causes an accident, or does the vehicles insurance become void? Thanks in advance

[Barmaid]

How can a stationary vehicle which is there for all to see cause an accident? It may be causing an obstruction, or it may be a nuisance, but it is still there to be seen (unless of course it is left in such a dangerous place that an accident is inevitable). However, it matters not whether the vehicle was parked illegally or not, the insurance policy is still valid and will still pay out.

[Ethel]

The insurance remains valid.

[vikks99]

Thanks for answering

Barmaid - the parked vehicle caused the accident by the driver opening his car door onto an oncoming vehicle, causing that vehicle to be written off. The driver of the parked car was in fact a garage owner who was parking a customers vehicle. He has now disputed the fact that he opened the car door onto the oncoming vehicle, choosing to alter the story by saying the door was already opened and the oncoming vehicle crashed into it. I am just trying to establish whether or not that if the driver was committing a traffice violation when the accident occured his insurance is held responsible fullstop!

[Ethel]

That is a totally different slant to your original post.

However, the fact remains that the parked car is still insured.

[chas2008]

hes probably disputing it or changed his story because the vehicle would of been under his insurance at the time and most garages or trader policies carry high excesses, (where i work its �25,000) so ultimately if its deemed to be his fault it the chances are it will be coming out of his pocket...

[vikks99]

ethel - I disagree its a different slant - I just tried to put it simply without going into too much detail - if a car parked illegally on yellow lines and it causes an accident (which he did) is his insurance void.

But thanks for the input - much appreciated

[redcrx]

it was the driver that caused the accident, not the vehicle.

I think thats why ethel said it was a slightly different story!

good luck with getting it resolved.

[vikks99]

chas 2008 - yes I had considered this fact - it was an older BMW (P-reg) so that may have been written off - he obviously is trying to hoist the blame onto my friend - apparently it took him 4 weeks to even notify his insurers of the accident. The day after the accident he did send a fax to my friend saying he held my friend responsible because he was speeding and he had witnesses to prove it. There was no mention that his door had been open already - I think he realised because he opened the car door onto my friend he was at fault, and as you say, he loses his no claims. He also said that my friend should pay for the damage to his car and then he would consider repairing my friends at a cheap rate, because he had no chance of winning the claim. I was actually watching all this happen as I was sat at traffic lights watching through my rear-view mirror. My friend was actually negotiating a speed bump so was not going fast, but as I am not an independent witness they will not take my evidence.

[vikks99]

redcrx - thanks for clarifying :o)

[misundrstood]

insurance is definately valid for legal terms however they may not pay out due to driver neglect then that becomes a civil case for court reasons i believe

[vikks99]

mdoo98 - the driver opened his door just as my friend drew level with him, so the damage is the side of the front bumper to the drivers door (obviously the time it took my friend to stop). The other vehicles door buckled at the hinges and pushed outward at the impact edge but did not come off - which given the other driver said the door was open already and my 'speeding friend' clipped it surely the door would have come off. Incidently the garage owners two witnesses were nowhere to be seen on the day of the accident - it wasjust the drivers involved and me at the scene.

[misundrstood]

may i add that a person involved in certain and by no means all incidents who doesnt report that incident to there insurers will be deemed not to have had the said incident by there own insurance company simply by the act of not reporting the said incident that sounds a bit technical but it happened to me once so i understood what im saying a long time ago

[vikks99]

misunderstood - thank you for your comments.

[vikks99]

misunderstood - I understood what you meant. I think by the mere fact that they are taking this to court that they have accepted his claim for insurance.

Even my friends insurance comapny kept saying to him that the other party had not yet informed his insurers, I can only speculate that he was researching the best way to get himself out of a mess.

[misundrstood]

then court it will be unless an out of court settlement is made i can go on about this but do you want to hear it i ask myself the end result will be the end result regardless of my input

[misundrstood]

to be honest i think the driver on double yellow lines doesnt stand a chance of winning with his insurance company or in court im very sure of that

[tigerlily11]

If ur parked on a double yellow line u are parked illigally unless u have a disabled parking badge.
But yes I think ur insurance is still valid.
The other bloke should not have had is door opened without checking if there was traffic coming.
He must have been a numpty to have left it open on a busy street.
The fault it would seem lays with him.

[Ethel]

You are allowed to stop on double yellow lines for a variety of reasons.

[vikks99]

misunderstood - that's what I thought - park on double yellows and it's your fault.