I often have prospective clients say to me,
‘the insurance company for the other driver admitted liability’
or
‘the insurance company for the other driver admitted liability because they paid for the repairs to my vehicle’.
Insurers rarely admit liability. How does this impact you?
The payment by the other driver’s insurer for the damages to your vehicle is not an admission of liability. The payment will always be made ‘without prejudice’. What this means is that the payment is made by the insurer without them agreeing to being held to any position in future dealings. Part of the reason for this is that the other driver’s insurer has a contractual obligation to the other driver to defend that driver from your claim. If the insurer admits liability, the insurer can be sued by their insured for breach of contract.
If you feel that there has been an admission of liability, put the question squarely to the other driver or their insurer and ask them to make the admission in writing.