Next doors bin! Car damage

[dubber36]

Phil, I've got a man near Ludlow that I would trust to repair any car of mine, and believe me, I'm fussy. He fixed and painted the wing on my Golf when I stupidly dropped a drill on it and you would never know.

It's not going to cost you anything like what you think. If you want his details, let me know.

[JoeGTI]

Phil, if it's just the bumper it won't cost anything like that. Less than half that I would say. The bumpers are much easier to repair than the metal panels.

[dippy_x]

I've just had a full respray of my rear bumper completed (due to paint issues that were spotted a few days after collection). I got a quote from my local approved VW repairer and it was around £450.

[simoor]

Some news... His house insurance will not pay out for the damage as they have told him that I must claim under my car insurance, so I called my car insurance to walk through the potential claim, they have confirmed that it would classed as an 'at fault' claim, due to the fact that they wouldn't be able to recover the costs (totally understand this). He has always offered to pay out right for the damage, but obviously he would of liked his home insurance to pay. My car is now booked in for 3 days next week to get patched up @ Chester VW body-shop. Lets hope it colour matches

I'll keep you posted with before and after pics.

[2014GTi]

Avoid claiming on insurance at all costs 
End ups costing you more in the long run.

[PGTD]

Can I give some advice as an insurance broker. It all depends on whether you can establish your neighbour's actions were negligent or not.
If you can prove (or have the neighbour's insurance accept) that your neighbour acted carelessly in where he left the bin or HOW he left the bin, then you have a claim against your neighbour.
ALL home buildings insurance has public liability cover as standard and that's the part that would pay your claim.
Of course they don't want to deal with it but I would insist (and quickly) that they must.
The way you do this is by writing to your neighbour setting out your grounds for holding him responsible.....but hand it to him with a nice explanation of the process and a request he immediately submits a claim to his insurer.
On no account would I agree to use my own motor policy except as a last resort. If you do use your own motor insurance they will probably not pay unless you gain their approval/inspection in advance of the repair being done.
Final bit of advice therefore is to contain your impatience and CANCEL the repair until you see who is going to pick this up.....may take some time especially as your neighbour's house insurance may drag their heels.
You should also be aware that damage caused by bad weather which could not reasonably have been foreseen in cause or effect may absolve your neighbour from any liability.
This is where a good friendly insurance broker really comes into their own and direct insurers do not. 
Good luck and please ask more questions if you need.

[monkeyhanger]

The high winds were foreseen. Lots of coverage on the TV (weather/news). The neighbour foresaw the high winds and chose to stick a heavy slab on the bin to stop it blowing away. The neighbour was negligent in putting the slab on top of the bin – it is not normal to do that, I therefore would not consider this an act of god. Some may claim that a falling roof tile that was torn off by high winds could be an act of God or unforeseen if they were previously considered secure, but even then the house insurance would almost certainly stump up the money.

[Mark V GTD]

I agree with the preceeding two posts - it surely falls squarely on the neighbour to get his home insurance to pay up. I would also suggest cancelling any repairs until the claim has been agreed as there is no way any insurer will pay if they cannot see the damage and influence the cost of the repair.

[2014GTi]

I agree too, cancel the repair until a firm outcome is on the table as to who is going to pay for the damage.
It shouldnt be your insurance company.

[simoor]

Thanks all for the advice, I have cancelled the body shop for now, but next door have literally come back and are happy to pay for the full repair. I will try and get full payment before hand or at least half before confirming, my neighbour hasn't tried to hide away and has been in full comms since it happened, which is great.