What To Do Now
You have three ways to get moving again after a non-fault accident: claim on your own policy, deal with the at-fault driver’s insurer directly, or take a replacement on credit from a claims or accident management company. Two of them cost you nothing if they go wrong. The third can leave you holding the bill. Work out which you are choosing before you sign anything.
§ 01The first hour: secure the facts
Whatever route you take next, the same handful of facts decide how it goes. Get them now, while they are easy to get.
- The other driver. Name, contact details, registration and their insurer. An identifiable, insured driver at fault is what makes every route work; without one, all three get much harder.
- The scene. Photographs of both vehicles, the positions, the road and any damage, plus the date, time and location.
- Witnesses. Names and contact details. If police attended, the incident reference.
- Your own vehicle. Whether it is driveable and whether it is roadworthy — two different questions, and both matter later.
Our preparation checklist lays this out to keep with you. Nothing is sent from it.
§ 02Tell your own insurer, even if you do not claim
Most motor policies require you to report an accident whether or not you make a claim. Reporting it is not the same as claiming on it, and telling your insurer keeps every option open. It also gets you the one thing you need before deciding anything else: what your own policy actually gives you.
Ask three questions and write the answers down. Does my policy include a courtesy car, and for how long? Does using it affect my no-claims discount if the accident was not my fault? What happens to my excess if the other insurer accepts liability? Those answers decide whether you need anything else at all.
§ 03Your three routes, and what each one risks
The Financial Ombudsman Service sets out the same three choices: claim on your own motor policy if you are covered, recover your costs from the third party’s insurer directly, or use a “non-fault service” in which a separate accident management company handles the claim and any repairs and arranges a hire car under a credit hire or credit repair agreement.
| Route | What you get | What it costs you if it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Your own insurer | Repairs under your policy, and a courtesy car if your policy includes one. | Your excess, and possibly your no-claims discount, until liability is settled. You are not personally liable for the hire. |
| The at-fault insurer, direct | They may arrange repairs and a replacement themselves to keep their own costs down. | Nothing directly, but you are relying on the other side’s judgement of what is reasonable, and the Ombudsman generally cannot look at a dispute between you and a third party’s insurer. |
| Credit hire | A replacement vehicle arranged on credit with no payment or excess upfront, while the charges are pursued from the at-fault insurer. | You are a party to the agreement. If the charges are not recovered, you may have to cooperate in recovering them or become liable for them yourself. |
That third row is the whole decision. Compare the routes in full, then read the catch before you agree to anything.
§ 04Before you sign anything, ask these
If a company offers you a replacement vehicle in the first day or two, these questions cost you nothing and change everything.
- Who are you, and are you my insurer? Often the answer is no. The Ombudsman expects a referring insurer or broker to make clear when it is passing you to an independent company handling your claim outside your motor policy.
- Am I signing a credit agreement? Ask what it is, ask for it in writing, and read what ends the hire.
- What happens if the other insurer refuses to pay? Ask who is liable then, and get the answer in writing.
- Is there any insurance covering unrecovered charges? If so, ask what it does and does not cover.
- Do I actually need this? If you have a suitable spare car, sufficient courtesy-car cover, or your own car is still roadworthy and driveable, a hire may not be reasonable at all — and reasonableness is what recovery turns on.
§ 05Sources
- Financial Ombudsman Service, Credit hire and credit repair services following a “no-fault” accident — page states “Last updated: 10 July 2026”. Source for the three routes; for “no payment or excess to pay upfront” under an agreement described as unregulated; for “there is no guarantee that the third-party insurer will cover those costs”; for the expectation that a referring firm makes the referral and its implications clear; for the warning that you may have to cooperate in recovery or become liable; and for the circumstances in which a referral may not be appropriate, including a suitable spare car, sufficient courtesy-car cover, a roadworthy and drivable vehicle, or policy benefits at least as good. It also states that the Ombudsman cannot usually look at a dispute between a consumer and a third party’s insurer. financial-ombudsman.org.uk. Checked 02/09/2026.