What one actually does
Think of an accident management company (often shortened to AMC) as the organiser for the car side of an accident. Without one, you are the person ringing a recovery firm, finding a garage and sorting out a hire car, all while dealing with the crash itself. Those jobs normally sit with different businesses. A recovery operator moves the car, a repairer fixes it, and a hire company lends you something in the meantime. An AMC may line up some or all of them through firms it works with. Depending on the company, the accident and your eligibility, that can mean arranging accident recovery when the car cannot be driven safely, sending an engineer or assessor to look at the damage and decide whether a repair makes sense, booking the repairs, and arranging a replacement vehicle where you qualify. A decent one will also tell you where your car is and what is being done to it. Do not read too much into the labels. "Car accident management" and "accident management services" are used loosely, and two firms describing themselves the same way can offer quite different things. What counts is what this particular company is offering you, and on what terms. Who talks to the insurers? Usually not the AMC. It organises; the hire company, repairer or recovery company speaks to insurers where needed, for example to agree repair costs or to seek the charges. How accident management companies work covers the day-to-day detail.
The money, and why the agreement matters
Much of this is not paid for at the time. It is arranged on credit. Replacement vehicles and repairs may be provided on credit terms. Where liability is accepted or established, the hire company or repairer seeks the charges from the at-fault insurer. If liability is disputed or costs can't be recovered, you could become responsible for some or all charges. The Financial Ombudsman Service treats credit hire and repair agreements as falling outside regulation, and cautions that the other driver's insurer will not necessarily pay[1]. Someone should go through the terms with you before you sign anything. There is more on how credit hire is usually set up elsewhere on the site. If anyone was hurt, put the car to one side. Medical help comes first, and injury is a separate matter.
Words you will come across
A few terms turn up in almost every conversation. A non-fault accident is one where you believe another driver was to blame, though whether it ends up treated that way depends on the evidence and on what the other driver's insurer accepts. Liability means legal responsibility for the crash; it can be accepted, disputed, or split between the drivers involved. Credit hire is a car you are given on credit under an agreement, with the hire charges claimed afterwards from the at-fault driver's insurer. Recovery is simply getting a damaged vehicle to a garage or a secure yard. The one that causes confusion is a claims management company. That is a business helping people bring particular kinds of claim, personal injury being the obvious one, and in Great Britain that work falls under FCA regulation. It is not the same thing as arranging a hire car.
What it is not
Much of the muddle comes from assuming an AMC is something else. It is not your insurer. Your insurer is the company you pay a premium to, and it settles claims under the policy it sold you. An AMC has no such arrangement with you, and using one is a separate step from making a claim on your cover. You can still go to your own insurer instead if you prefer; depending on the policy, it may arrange repairs and sometimes a courtesy car. Which way suits you turns on your cover and your circumstances, and a separate guide sets your insurer or an accident management company side by side. Nor is it a law firm. It is not made up of solicitors and cannot advise you on the law. Some will put you in touch with a solicitor, but that is a separate service. If you need legal advice, get it independently from a solicitor. And it does not do your reporting for you. Your policy still asks what it asked before. Most policies require you to tell your insurer about any accident, even if you don't plan to claim. Check your policy terms. GOV.UK's position is that you tell your insurer about an accident whether you plan to claim or not[2] and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) takes the same line[3]. On regulation, only the broad outline. Helping someone pursue something like a personal injury claim counts as claims management, which the FCA oversees; a firm based in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), or taking on customers there, needs the FCA's permission before doing it[4]. Lining up a hire car or a repair is a different job, and the agreements behind it generally sit outside regulation. Northern Ireland may not be covered by the FCA's claims management rules in quite the same way.
When it makes sense, and when it doesn't
The usual trigger is a crash you believe wasn't your fault, where the other driver has been identified and has insurance. It helps more if your car cannot be driven and needs recovering, or if you rely on a car for work, school runs or caring and need a replacement vehicle, where eligible. Some people just want one contact for recovery, repairs and hire instead of three. It is usually a poorer fit if you caused the accident, if no other vehicle was involved, or if nobody can say who was to blame. Your own policy is normally the simpler starting point then. Credit hire is riskier in those cases too, because the charges may never be recovered. A made-up illustration, not a real case: a driver waiting at a red light in Leeds is hit from behind. Nobody is hurt, but the boot will not shut. The other driver gives their name, registration and insurer at the scene. Believing it wasn't their fault, the driver might speak to an accident management company about recovery, repairs and a replacement vehicle, and would still tell their own insurer. If the other insurer later disputed what happened, what the driver owed would come down to the evidence and to the agreement they had signed. That is the shape of the decision. It says nothing about how any real claim turned out.
Before you sign
Nobody should hurry you into signing at the roadside or on the first call. Ask first. Start with who you are actually contracting with: the AMC, a hire company or a repairer. Ask which services depend on liability being accepted. Ask the daily hire rate, and what becomes of the charges if liability is disputed or costs can't be recovered. Is there insurance against charges that can't be recovered, and what does it cost? Can you pick the repairer? How do you complain if something goes wrong, and can you cancel, and what would you owe if you did? Get the answers in writing if you can. If the firm is also offering to help with a compensation claim, look it up on the FCA Financial Services Register[5]. Search the firm's name or reference number and make sure the trading name and contact details match the company you are dealing with. Vague answers, pressure, or a promised result before anyone knows the facts are all good reasons to walk away.
Common questions
Is an accident management company an insurer? No. Your insurer sells your policy and pays claims under it. An AMC arranges things like recovery, repairs and a replacement vehicle, usually outside that policy. Is it a law firm? No. For legal advice, use an independent solicitor. Will it deal with my insurer for me? Not as a rule. The hire company, repairer or recovery company usually deals with the other side's insurer, for instance to seek charges from the at-fault driver's insurer. Telling your own insurer is still down to you under most policies, so check your policy terms. When would someone use one? When they believe they weren't at fault and need recovery, repairs or a replacement vehicle, where eligible. If they were at fault, or nobody knows, their own policy is usually easier.
Practical next steps
If the accident has just happened, do the basics first: make sure everyone is safe, swap details with the other driver and take photos. If you could not swap details at the scene, GOV.UK's position is that the police need to be told within 24 hours. In Scotland that goes to Police Scotland, and in Northern Ireland to the PSNI. What to do after a car accident has a fuller checklist. Then tell your insurer within the time your policy allows and decide which route fits. If you believe the accident wasn't your fault and need help with recovery, repairs or a car in the meantime, an accident management company is one option. Your own insurer is another. Either way, keep a record of names, dates, claim references and anything you sign, and read what accident management services usually involve before you speak to anyone. Do not sign a hire or repair agreement until you understand what you could owe if the costs are not recovered.
How Claimsline Can Help
Claimsline is an accident management company for drivers who believe their accident wasn't their fault. Claimsline can talk you through the options after a non-fault accident and, where appropriate, arrange support through its working partners, who may speak to insurers where needed. Replacement vehicles and repairs may be provided on credit terms. Where liability is accepted or established, the hire company or repairer seeks the charges from the at-fault insurer. If liability is disputed or costs can't be recovered, you could become responsible for some or all charges. Depending on your policy terms, your own insurer may still need to be told as well. If you believe your accident wasn't your fault and want to understand your options, you can call Claimsline on 0333 006 8282. Claimsline is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated claims management activities (FRN 831196).
References:
- The Financial Ombudsman Service treats credit hire and repair agreements as falling outside regulation, and cautions that the other driver's insurer will not necessarily pay - https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumers/complaints-can-help/insurance/motor-insurance/credit-hire-credit-repair-services-following-no-fault-accident
- GOV.UK's position is that you tell your insurer about an accident whether you plan to claim or not - https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/if-youre-in-an-accident
- the Association of British Insurers (ABI) takes the same line - https://www.abi.org.uk/policy-and-guidance/general-insurance/personal-insurance/motor-insurance/how-to-make-a-motor-insurance-claim
- Helping someone pursue something like a personal injury claim counts as claims management, which the FCA oversees; a firm based in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), or taking on customers there, needs the FCA's permission before doing it - https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/claims-management-regulation
- If the firm is also offering to help with a compensation claim, look it up on the FCA Financial Services Register - https://register.fca.org.uk/s/
