I’m not the only person celebrating a big b’day in October. I know someone who will be turning 21 a few days after my big bash. I won’t be sending a gift though – she’s the driver who collided with my car not ten minutes after I found out the good news about our house :ouch:
I didn’t write about this the other day, I was trying not to let this annoyance spoil my day. Now though, it’s not such a “little annoyance”. I do have some sympathy for her – I’ve caused my share of accidents (3, for the record, none of them recent), and it’s a horrible thing to happen, especially when you’re young and inexperienced. I do not, however, have any sympathy for drivers who choose to risk driving when they don’t have any insurance ๐กย ๐กย ๐ก Are you kidding me?! If you aren’t prepared to pay for third party property insurance at the very least, you damn well shouldn’t be on the road! I personally believe third party property insurance should be mandatory. Without it, you’re taking a huge gamble every time you drive. Frankly, she’s lucky she hit me, in my 10-year-old Camry, and not a brand new Mercedes Benz or Porsche.
I wasn’t hurt, and nor was she, and I’m so glad Finn wasn’t in the car. I, being a responsible driver, do have insurance, and my lovely wonderful insurance company is taking care of the entire repairs process. Unfortunately for me, that process is going to take 10 days (yes, the damage is substantial), and my insurance only provides for a discount on hiring a car, it’s not free. With the impending house purchase, I really don’t have the $$$ to hire, so I’m taking Finn on a train trip to Mum’s place tomorrow to borrow her extra car.
I think one 20-year-old is about to learn a scary lesson about insurance. She is under the misguided impression that she will only be asked to pay my excess. Um… no! She’ll shortly be receiving a bill for over $2000 ๐ฎ And good luck to my insurers getting that money – she has already informed me she doesn’t have any. Thankfully I don’t have to do the debt-collection duties!
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Wow, you don’t have to have any kind of insurance to drive in Australia?!?! That sounds very surprising! Here in Canada you must have PLPD (public liability and property damage) at the very least to drive. You can’t register your vehicle if you don’t have proof of valid insurance.
I’m sorry to hear that you got into an accident but I’m glad to hear no one was injured. Hopefully the repairs will go faster than predicted and you’ll be back on the road in no time!
Glad you’re okay, Mel, but sorry that it’s going to take some time to fix your car. Take care!
Let me expand on that, Christine. In the state of Victoria, along with our car registration, we do pay a premium to the Transport Accident Commission, which is a government organisation (I’m not sure how it works in other states). This is known as “compulsory third party insurance”. Many people erroneously believe this covers them in the event of an accident. It doesn’t cover property damage, it only covers injured parties. So in the event you are injured in a smash, you can claim from the TAC, regardless of the other party’s insurance status. (Though I’ve heard making a claim involves a lot of red tape!) It’s third party property insurance that I think should be made compulsory here, like Canada has obviously had the sense to do!
Ahhh, now I understand! Thanks for explaining it, Melanie!
Sorry about the damage to your car ๐ Over here, you can’t get your car taxed without a valid insurance certificate, but unfortunately there are still people out there who think the rules don’t apply to them. Glad you are OK though and that Finn wasn’t in the car with you – very scary thought!
Oh, I’m so sorry! And what a dolt she is. Yeah, she’s going to be quite unhappy when she gets that bill from the insurance company. I hope your car doesn’t take longer than they said to be fixed. {{{hugs}}} to you.
Sorry to hear of your accident with an uninsured driver. That is always a snarl to deal with. Relief you didn’t get an injury. Can always replace a car, not a friend.
[…] aken by this, so forgive me if I seem preoccupied with today’s events. You remember the accident? The uninsured driver? Well… …it now transpire […]