The other driver's insurer has phoned me — what should I do?
What third party capture is, why the other side's insurer wants to deal with you directly, the genuine advantages, the risks, and how to handle the call.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 6 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
This is usually third party capture: the at-fault driver's insurer offering to handle your claim directly, before you claim on your own policy. It can genuinely be faster and can avoid paying your own excess, but you are dealing with an organisation whose duty is to its own policyholder, not to you. Take the details, agree nothing on the call, tell your own insurer it happened, and make the decision afterwards with both positions in front of you.
The call usually comes within a day or two, sometimes before you have spoken to your own insurer, and it is disarmingly helpful in tone. That is not sinister — settling directly with you is cheaper for them than paying your insurer's costs and a credit hire bill, and speed genuinely serves both sides. But their obligation runs to their policyholder. Every part of the conversation that feels like a favour is also a commercial decision, and you are entitled to take your time.
Safety
Step by step
- Establish exactly who is calling.The firm's name, whether they are the other driver's insurer or an agent acting for them, the caller's name, a direct number and a reference. If they claim to be your own insurer or a partner of theirs, verify it by calling your insurer on the number from your documents.
- Do not discuss liability on the call.You can confirm the date, the location and that you were involved. You do not have to describe what happened, apportion blame, or agree with any summary they read back to you. 'I am not discussing liability, please put your position in writing' is a complete and reasonable answer.
- Do not accept an offer on the first call.Early offers are often for vehicle damage, sometimes for personal injury as well, and they are made before the full picture exists. Injuries in particular can develop over days. An offer that closes an injury claim before the injury is understood is the single most consequential thing that can happen on that phone call.
- Tell your own insurer that the call happened.Even if you are minded to deal directly. Your policy almost certainly requires you to notify the incident, and your insurer needs to know if the other side is engaging with you, because it affects their recovery position.
- Weigh the genuine advantages.Dealing directly with the at-fault insurer can mean no excess to pay, no claim recorded against your own policy, a replacement vehicle without credit hire risk, and a faster resolution. Where liability is clearly admitted, these are real and worth having.
- Weigh the risks against them.They are not acting for you. Settlements can be lower than a properly evidenced claim. A settlement of vehicle damage may be presented alongside an injury settlement you are not ready to make. And an early figure for a car's value is not necessarily the market value your own insurer would fight for.
- Get every offer in writing before considering it.What exactly is being settled, on what basis, whether it is full and final, and what it does not cover. A full and final settlement generally cannot be reopened, which matters enormously if injury symptoms appear afterwards.
- Take advice before settling anything involving injury.Personal injury settlement is not something to decide on a phone call days after an accident. Symptoms commonly develop over the following days and weeks. Free sources of general information exist, and if you instruct a solicitor, understand what the arrangement will cost you before you sign anything.
- Deal with claims management cold calls differently.Calls that begin 'we understand you have been in an accident' from a firm you have never heard of are a different category. Ask who they are, who gave them your details and whether they are FCA authorised, and check the FCA register. Never provide bank details, a licence copy or a signature to an unverified caller.
Tips
- A useful sentence: 'Thank you — please put your position and any offer in writing to me by email, and I will respond after speaking to my own insurer.' It is polite, it commits to nothing, and it moves everything into a form you can check.
- Write down the date, time, firm, caller name and what was said immediately after any call. If the account changes later, contemporaneous notes are worth a great deal.
- If you were stationary or parked when hit, that is the strongest position there is. Do not weaken it by agreeing to a summary of events on a call.
Common mistakes
- Accepting an early offer to get the matter over with — Early offers are made before evidence is complete and, where injury is involved, before symptoms are understood. Full and final generally means exactly that.
- Not telling your own insurer because you are dealing directly — Almost every policy requires notification of an incident regardless. Failing to notify is a breach of the policy that can cause problems later, quite separately from the claim itself.
- Giving personal or bank details to an unverified caller — Accident details circulate, and cold calls from firms you did not contact are common. Verify the firm on the FCA register before providing anything.
If it doesn't work
They are pressing for a decision on the call
Cause: Speed is commercially valuable to them — Fix: There is no deadline that requires a same-day answer. Ask for it in writing and end the call. Pressure to decide immediately is itself a reason not to.
They dispute liability and want your account
Cause: Building their policyholder's case — Fix: Refer them to your own insurer and stop discussing it. Your insurer handles liability on your behalf and that is precisely what you pay them for.
You have already agreed something you regret
Cause: An early settlement accepted under pressure — Fix: Ask immediately in writing whether the settlement has been concluded and on what terms. If the firm is regulated and you believe you were treated unfairly, complain, then take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
A firm you never contacted knows about your accident
Cause: Details passed to a claims management or hire company — Fix: Ask who they are and where they got your details, and check the FCA register. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office about how your data was obtained and used.
Questions people ask
Do I have to speak to the other driver's insurer?
No. You can decline and refer them to your own insurer, who will deal with them on your behalf. If you choose to engage directly, do it in writing and after speaking to your own insurer.
Is it better to claim against the other driver's insurer directly?
Where liability is clearly admitted it can avoid your excess and avoid a claim on your own policy. Against that, they are acting for their policyholder rather than for you. Get both positions in writing and decide with the full picture.
What is third party capture?
The practice of an at-fault driver's insurer contacting the other party directly to handle and settle their claim, before that person claims on their own policy. It is legitimate and it is also commercially motivated, which is why the terms should be in writing.
Should I accept an injury settlement offered on the phone?
Not without understanding the injury. Symptoms after a collision commonly develop over days or weeks, and a full and final settlement generally cannot be reopened. Take time and take advice.