Employee has accident in company car - who pays??

[phil79]

Hi,

An employee has a company car and was going out for lunch one day (on a personal trip). He had a minor accident. Damage probably high hundreds.
It looks like the insurers may find it was his fault but this still has to be confirmed.

Should we as employers pay for damage to the car, should the employee be disciplined? Providing if they find it was his fault of course.

What normally happens in the situation like this? Never been here before!

Thanks

 

[fisicx]

Company car, company insurance.

Are they allowed to use the car for personal business? If so then the insurers should pick up the tab

 

[Homer J Simpson]

My responses as a personal opinion, not legal advice etc...

Hi,

An employee has a company car and was going out for lunch one day (on a personal trip). He had a minor accident. Damage probably high hundreds.
It looks like the insurers may find it was his fault but this still has to be confirmed. (What's the policy excess?)

Should we as employers pay for damage to the car (Yes, unless you have a contract that states otherwise, after all it's your car), should the employee be disciplined? (No, accidents happen, that's what insurance is for. Unless of course it was reckless etc, but again, what does contract state?) Providing if they find it was his fault of course.

What normally happens in the situation like this? Never been here before!

Thanks

 

[phil79]

Thanks for the replies.

Need to check the excess value to see how much it is.

So I guess we will have to pay then!

Thanks,

 

[OldWelshGuy]

It all comes down to his contract of employment.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Its his company car your insurance should pay .

What exactly are you planning on disciplining him for ?

Is he a driver (job description) then you might want to issue a warning

Is his main job a totally different discipline ? It would be unfair to discipline him you employ him to do a job (what ever that is) everybody has scraps in vehicles its actually a fact of life .

 

[Lolleo]

I crashed a company car and had to pay the excess as it was part of my contract. It seemed fair enough at the time. Its also makes employees be a bit more considerate towards their driving when they know there is consequences for negligence.

Apart from the excess the insurance should cover the rest.

 

[Talay]

I crashed a company car and had to pay the excess as it was part of my contract. It seemed fair enough at the time. Its also makes employees be a bit more considerate towards their driving when they know there is consequences for negligence.

Apart from the excess the insurance should cover the rest.

Fine, apart from a stingy boss who buys insurance with huge excesses for employees who are forced to drive as part of their job. Then it goes beyond a joke.

I make them take a hit but don't have high excesses. An extra £500 is £10 a week or £2 a day. If that breaks the bank, insurance costs are not your biggest problem.

 

[lockyer]

it might not be the stingy boss asking for a high excess, the companies claims frequency might be making it mandatory from the insurance company.

 

[Gecko001]

I cannot understand what the problem is. People have accidents in cars. There is a roughly 50% chance that it will be their fault (probably a lot more than 50% if you count the times people have accidents where no other vehicle is involved). We have insurance to pay for said accidents.

 

[Anonymouse72]

I cannot understand what the problem is. People have accidents in cars. There is a roughly 50% chance that it will be their fault (probably a lot more than 50% if you count the times people have accidents where no other vehicle is involved). We have insurance to pay for said accidents.

all down to the circumstances & the emplyment contract. employee on the road as part of his job, has accident, straight forward insurance claim. employee on the road in his own time in company vehicle, has accident, not quite so clear cut?

 

[Gecko001]

If the employee was forbidden to use the company car for personal use then it would be a different matter, but the OP has not said that he was forbidden to use the car for personal use.

If the employer allows the employee occasional personal use of the car then he has to accept that there will be a risk that the car will be damaged just the same as if it is being used for business.

 

[Anonymouse72]

If the employee was forbidden to use the company car for personal use then it would be a different matter, but the OP has not said that he was forbidden to use the car for personal use.

If the employer allows the employee occasional personal use of the car then he has to accept that there will be a risk that the car will be damaged just the same as if it is being used for business.

the OP never confirmed one way or the other, so as i said (& you have expanded on), all down to the circumstances & employment contract...

 

[bovine]

Been in similar situations and it does feel wrong that you are paying for their mistakes, but this is what you agreed to when giving them a company car.

It was our policy to make the employee pay the excess if the insurance company deemed it their fault. If the excess was covered by claiming against the other party, then no issue (but it was invariably their fault when they crashed!)

What was more of an issue was what happens when there is an accident or scrape that isnt worth claiming on the insurance? Who pays then. One chap was driving down a country lane and a rock popped up and caused damage to the underside of the car (and the aircon radiator thing). Not worth claiming on the insurance, but who pays?

Its worth clarifying these things before an incident, so everyone knows where they stand.