UK cities
45+
Direct coverage
Every vehicle class
Vehicle Accident Claim Agency for Non-Fault Drivers
One agency for every vehicle on the road - car, van, motorbike, HGV, taxi, private hire, fleet and electric. We coordinate recovery, storage, an independent engineer, repairs and a like-for-like replacement matched to your class, and deal directly with the at-fault insurer so you pay nothing up front.
- 24/7 UK dispatch
- £0 upfront cost
- Independent engineer
- Like-for-like replacement
24/7
UK response
Recovery dispatch and live claim handlers, 365 days a year.
Response
<60m
First contact SLA
Cost
£0
Upfront to driver
What is a vehicle accident claim agency, and why use a specialist that handles every vehicle class?
A vehicle accident claim agency is an accident management business that handles non-fault claims across all vehicle classes - car, van, motorbike, HGV, taxi, private hire, fleet and electric - and recovers the reasonable cost of recovery, storage, repair, engineering and a like-for-like replacement from the at-fault driver's insurer, so you pay nothing up front. A specialist matters because need, loss and evidence are different for each class: a van needs a same-payload replacement and an operator loss-of-use file, a motorbike claim includes damaged protective kit, an HGV needs O-licence and tachograph evidence, and a taxi or private hire driver needs a licensed, plated replacement. We are an accident management company, not an FCA-regulated claims-management company or a solicitor; injury claims are referred to authorised partners only with your written consent.
The category, defined
What a vehicle accident claim agency is
A vehicle accident claim agency is the single point of contact that takes a non-fault driver or operator from the roadside to a fully repaired vehicle, with every reasonable cost recovered from the party who caused the crash - whatever they were driving. The defining feature is breadth: it handles every class of vehicle, and it handles each one on its own terms.
When another driver hits you, the law is the same whether you were in a hatchback, a transit van, on a motorbike, at the wheel of an articulated lorry or driving a licensed minicab. Under the principle of restitutio in integrum, the wrongdoer must put the innocent party back in the position they were in before the collision, and the at-fault driver’s insurer is liable for the third party’s losses on the back of the compulsory-insurance regime in the Road Traffic Act 1988. So the recoverable heads of loss are common across classes: vehicle damage or pre-accident value, recovery from the scene, secure storage, an independent engineer’s inspection, accredited repair and a like-for-like replacement vehicle where you genuinely need one.
What changes from class to class is the practical reality behind each of those heads. “Like for like” means something very different to a courier, a haulier, a despatch rider and a black-cab driver. The evidence that proves need and loss looks nothing like a private car’s. And the inspection has to reach parts a panel-beater would never look at - a bent motorcycle frame, a high-voltage battery pack, a payload rating. A genuine vehicle accident claim agency runs class-specific processes rather than forcing a van, a bike or a lorry through a workflow designed for a family car. If you are specifically dealing with a car, our car accident claim agency page covers that class in depth and cross-links back here.
Same law, very different handling
The legal framework barely moves between vehicle types. Liability rests on the at-fault driver and their insurer; the replacement test is always like-for-like; the credit-hire authorities apply to a van as much as a car. What moves - dramatically - is the handling. Three things differ for every class, and getting them right is the whole job.
Need. Whether you genuinely require a replacement, and what counts as equivalent, depends entirely on what you drive and why. A second household car may justify no more than a modest loss-of-use figure. A sign-written multi-drop van, a plated taxi or a contracted HGV cannot earn without a same-class replacement, so the need is immediate and continuous.
Loss. The scale of loss ranges from negligible to thousands of pounds a day. A commuter losing a runabout is inconvenienced; a haulier losing an artic on a contracted run is breaching a commercial agreement. Loss of earnings, loss of use and downtime all have to be evidenced in the currency of that vehicle’s working life.
Evidence. A private car claim runs on photos, the V5C and an engineer’s valuation. A van adds delivery manifests and a tools inventory; a motorbike adds a protective-clothing schedule; an HGV adds tachograph and O-licence records; a taxi adds licensing and platform statements; an EV adds a battery state-of-health report. Capture the wrong evidence and the recovery shrinks. For a head-by-head breakdown of who pays each item, see who pays for what.
Class by class
How the handling changes for each vehicle class
Each card below names the class, what a true like-for-like replacement looks like, the evidence that proves need and loss, and how a specialist agency handles it. Follow the link in any class for the dedicated page.
Class 01
Cars
- Like-for-like means
- Like-for-like saloon, hatchback or estate by group
- Class-specific evidence
- Scene photos, dash-cam, V5C, MOT and service history
The private car is the most common non-fault claim and the most contested on credit hire. The replacement must match by hire group, not just badge: an estate driver who needs the boot for a buggy and a dog should not be fobbed off with a city runabout. Evidence is straightforward but the engineer's pre-accident valuation still does the heavy lifting on a total loss, anchored to trade guides plus adjustment for mileage, condition and specification. For everything car-specific, including how value and write-off categories work, see our dedicated car page.
Class 02
Vans and light commercials
- Like-for-like means
- Same payload and load-space van, often with racking or a tail-lift
- Class-specific evidence
- Operator's loss-of-use, signed-for delivery logs, tools and stock inventory
A van off the road is not an inconvenience, it is lost income. The replacement has to carry the same payload and cube, and a sign-written tradesperson or multi-drop courier may need a specific size, a tail-lift or internal racking to keep working. Need and loss are evidenced very differently from a car: delivery manifests, job diaries, signed-for drop logs and invoices for stock and tools carried at the moment of collision. A specialist agency builds that operator file from day one rather than treating the van like a large car.
Class 03
Motorbikes
- Like-for-like means
- Equivalent class of machine, plus damaged protective kit
- Class-specific evidence
- Helmet, leathers, gloves and boots schedule with purchase proof
Motorcyclists are over-represented in serious collisions and their claims carry heads of loss a car driver never meets. Protective clothing damaged in the impact, the helmet, leathers, gloves and boots, is recoverable as a separate property head with photographs and purchase evidence, and a helmet involved in any impact should be replaced on safety grounds. The replacement machine should be an equivalent class, not a downgrade, and the engineer's inspection matters because a bike that looks straight can have a bent frame or forks that only a proper inspection reveals.
Class 04
HGVs and heavy commercials
- Like-for-like means
- Equivalent rigid or artic unit to keep the operation running
- Class-specific evidence
- Tachograph, O-licence, haulage contracts and standing-cost records
Heavy goods vehicles bring the largest standing costs and the most documentation. Downtime on an artic unit can breach a haulage contract, so loss is evidenced through tachograph records, the operator's licence, contracted runs and the daily standing cost of the vehicle and driver. London operators also face the Direct Vision Standard and HGV safety-permit framework, which shapes the evidence around visibility and the collision itself. A vehicle accident claim agency that understands operator licensing keeps a fleet legal and earning while the claim runs.
Class 05
Taxis and private hire
- Like-for-like means
- Licensed plated vehicle so the badge keeps earning
- Class-specific evidence
- PHV or hackney licence, plate, platform earnings and rank records
Hackney carriages and private hire vehicles are hire-and-reward, so an ordinary courtesy car will not do: the replacement must be a licensed, plated vehicle the driver can legally work in, or the loss of earnings keeps mounting. Drivers for Uber, Bolt, Addison Lee and local operators evidence loss through platform statements, licensing paperwork and the plate itself. Licensing context matters because a PHV must be insured for hire and reward and the vehicle has to meet the local authority or TfL conditions. Our minicab and PHV hub covers the licensing detail in full.
Class 06
Fleets
- Like-for-like means
- Pooled like-for-like cover keyed to each vehicle's role
- Class-specific evidence
- Fleet policy, vehicle list, telematics and per-asset utilisation
A fleet is many vehicles, many drivers and a single commercial objective: keep utilisation high and downtime low. The handling has to be centralised so every incident is logged consistently, FNOL is fast, and replacements are matched to each vehicle's role rather than the nearest spare. Telematics, the schedule of vehicles and per-asset utilisation evidence the loss. A specialist fleet desk reduces the administrative drag on a transport or operations manager and protects the fleet's own insurance record by routing non-fault incidents to the at-fault insurer.
Class 07
Electric vehicles
- Like-for-like means
- Comparable EV with equivalent range and charging access
- Class-specific evidence
- Battery state-of-health report, charging records and specialist inspection
Electric vehicles add a layer ordinary inspections miss: the high-voltage battery. After any significant impact the pack needs a state-of-health and integrity check, repairs must be done by an EV-qualified bodyshop, and a like-for-like replacement should be another EV with comparable range and charging access, not a petrol stopgap that strands a driver who relies on home charging. Diminished value arguments are also more live on EVs where battery doubt depresses the post-repair market. The engineer's report has to address the battery, not just the panels.
Like-for-like, credit hire and the cases behind them
The right to a replacement vehicle, and the rate at which it is recoverable, is settled by two House of Lords decisions that apply to every vehicle class. Insurers run the same defences on a van or a taxi that they run on a car, so the same authorities matter whatever you drive.
Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384 established that a claimant who could have afforded to hire on a spot-rate basis recovers the Basic Hire Rate - the rate a high-street firm would charge for an equivalent vehicle locally, stripped of the additional credit and claims-handling services a credit-hire company bundles in.
Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64 built on that: an impecunious claimant - one with no realistic means of funding a hire up front - recovers the full credit-hire rate, because they had no reasonable alternative. The burden of proving impecuniosity sits with the claimant, and need, the hire period and the rate must each be evidenced on a contemporaneous file.
Across the classes, the “equivalent vehicle” in those cases is read against the real working role: a panel van with the same cube, a plated hackney a cab driver can legally work in, an equivalent rigid or artic for a haulier, a comparable-range EV for an electric driver. That is why a specialist agency matters - it evidences need and equivalence in the right currency. See how credit hire works for the mechanics.
Hire-and-reward and operator licensing
Where licensing changes the claim
For working vehicles, the claim is not just about the metal - it is about keeping a licensed, compliant vehicle earning. Licensing context shapes both the replacement and the evidence, and a generalist handler routinely misses it.
Taxis and private hire
A hackney carriage or PHV is hire-and-reward, must be insured for that use, and has to meet the local authority or TfL conditions. The replacement must be a licensed, plated vehicle the driver can legally work in - not a private courtesy car. Loss of earnings is evidenced through platform statements and licensing paperwork. Detail on our minicab and PHV hub.
HGVs and heavy commercials
Operator (O-licence) obligations, tachograph records and, in London, the Direct Vision Standard and HGV safety permit all bear on the claim. Downtime can breach a haulage contract, so standing costs and contracted runs evidence the loss. See our commercial vehicle hub.
Vans and couriers
Payload, load space and fit-out (racking, tail-lift, refrigeration) define equivalence. Multi-drop and signed-for delivery logs prove loss of use, and tools and stock carried at the moment of collision are a separate property head.
Fleets
Centralised handling keeps utilisation high and downtime low. Telematics and the schedule of vehicles evidence per-asset loss, and routing non-fault incidents to the at-fault insurer protects the fleet’s own claims record. See fleet accident management.
The end-to-end process
One process, tuned to your vehicle class
The sequence is the same for every vehicle, because each stage builds the evidence the at-fault insurer needs before it will pay. What changes is the class-specific detail captured at each step.
Step 01
Recovery and the scene file
If the vehicle cannot be driven, 24/7 recovery moves it to a place of safety - on motorways and trunk roads at the statutory police-protocol rates under the National Recovery Standards, off-network at a reasonable commercial rate. The scene file is built in the first hour: photographs of all vehicles, positions and plates, witness details, and a police reference where one applies. For a bike, the kit; for a van, the load; for a taxi, the plate - all recorded now.
Step 02
Secure storage and class-specific loss
The vehicle is held in a secure compound while it is inspected and liability is confirmed, with storage daily-logged at a compound rate. In parallel, the operator file is opened for working vehicles - delivery manifests, tachograph data, platform earnings or telematics - so loss of use and loss of earnings are evidenced from day one. You carry a duty to mitigate, so storage cannot run on indefinitely once liability is accepted and collection is offered.
Step 03
Independent engineer’s inspection
An independent engineer - not the at-fault insurer’s assessor - records pre-accident value, the salvage category if it is a total loss, the repair-versus-write-off decision and any pre-existing damage. For a motorbike that means checking the frame and forks; for an EV, a battery state-of-health and integrity check; for an HGV, the chassis and load-bearing structure. Repairs should not begin before the report is issued.
Step 04
Accredited, class-correct repair
Where the vehicle is repairable, it goes to a bodyshop working to the PAS 125 / BS 10125 repair standard, using correct methods and parts. The repairer has to be right for the class - an EV-qualified shop for a high-voltage vehicle, a commercial bodyshop for an HGV or large van. You choose the repairer; you are not obliged to use the at-fault insurer’s nominated network. See how accident management works.
Step 05
Like-for-like replacement by class
Where you need a vehicle while yours is off the road and cannot reasonably fund a hire yourself, a like-for-like replacement is provided on credit hire and the charges are pursued against the at-fault insurer under Lagden v O’Connor and Dimond v Lovell. The match is to the working role: same payload van, plated taxi, equivalent machine, comparable-range EV - not a downgrade that leaves you unable to work.
Step 06
Insurer dialogue and settlement
We write directly to the at-fault driver’s insurer, present the evidenced heads of loss - vehicle value or repair, recovery, storage, engineering, hire, loss of use and out-of-pocket costs - and negotiate settlement. Where you have been injured, that head is referred separately to an authorised solicitor or claims-management company with your consent. Start your file on the online accident form or contact us.
WHY A SPECIALIST AGENCY
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Low, transparent handling means a better-paid claimant
There is a version of this market built on inflated hire and hidden commission, where the claimant is an afterthought and the margin is the point. We are built the other way. Keeping fees low and transparent is not just fairer - it directly protects your recovery, because every pound of unnecessary, poorly-evidenced cost loaded onto a claim is a pound an insurer fights, and a fight your settlement pays for in delay and deductions.
A genuine vehicle accident claim agency earns its place by getting the class-specific work right: the correct like-for-like match, the operator loss-of-use file built on day one, the engineer who inspects the battery or the frame and not just the bodywork, the licensing evidence a generalist forgets. That discipline is what keeps the recovery clean and the claimant properly paid out.
We are deliberately clear about what we are. We are not an insurer and we are not a solicitor. We are an accident management business, which means our work sits outside the FCA’s claims-management regulated perimeter. We do not give legal advice and we do not run personal-injury claims in-house. If you have been injured, we refer that part of your claim - only with your explicit written consent - to an FCA-regulated claims-management company or an SRA-regulated solicitor with the right permissions. Any fee arrangement is disclosed in writing before you instruct, and there is no up-front cost on a genuine non-fault claim.
One team, one reference number, from the first call to final settlement. You can reach us 24/7 on 0330 043 3409, or browse every vehicle type we cover and the wider accident claim agency service.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a vehicle accident claim agency?
- A vehicle accident claim agency is an accident management business that handles the aftermath of a non-fault collision across every class of vehicle, not just cars: recovery, secure storage, an independent engineer's inspection, accredited repair, a like-for-like replacement matched to the vehicle class, and direct correspondence with the at-fault driver's insurer. The reasonable costs are recovered from the at-fault insurer under the law of damages, so the non-fault party pays nothing up front. It is not an FCA-regulated claims-management company or a solicitor; personal-injury claims are referred to authorised partners only with written consent.
- Do you handle vans, motorbikes, HGVs, taxis and fleets, or only cars?
- All of them. The same legal principles apply to every vehicle class, but the handling differs. A van needs a same-payload replacement and an operator loss-of-use file; a motorbike claim includes damaged protective clothing as a property head; an HGV needs O-licence and tachograph evidence; a taxi or private hire vehicle needs a licensed, plated replacement; and a fleet needs centralised handling keyed to each asset's role. A specialist agency runs class-specific processes rather than treating everything like a car.
- Why does the vehicle class change how the claim is handled?
- Because need, loss and evidence look completely different across classes. The replacement test is always like-for-like, but like-for-like means a panel van with the same cube for a courier, a plated hackney for a cab driver, an equivalent artic for a haulier and a comparable-range EV for an electric driver. Loss of use ranges from a modest daily figure on a second car to thousands a day on a contracted HGV. Getting the right class-specific evidence on file from the start is what protects the recovery.
- Who pays for the replacement vehicle and the repairs?
- The at-fault driver's insurer pays. Where you genuinely need a replacement while yours is off the road and cannot reasonably fund a hire yourself, a like-for-like vehicle is provided on credit hire and the charges are pursued against the at-fault insurer. The leading authorities are Lagden v O'Connor [2003] UKHL 64, which lets an impecunious claimant recover the full credit-hire rate, and Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384 on the recoverable rate. Need, the hire period and the rate must each be evidenced. Insurer liability for the third party's vehicle damage flows from the Road Traffic Act 1988.
- Does it cost me anything to use the agency?
- On a genuine non-fault claim there is no up-front cost to you. Recovery, storage, engineering, repair and like-for-like hire charges are recovered from the at-fault driver's insurer, not from you. You do not pay your policy excess and you do not carry a fault marker on your own policy when the claim is routed to the at-fault side. Any fee or referral arrangement is disclosed in writing before you instruct.
- Are you a regulated claims-management company or a solicitor?
- No. Arranging recovery, storage, repair, engineering and replacement vehicles, and corresponding with the at-fault insurer about vehicle damage and associated losses, sits outside the FCA's claims-management regulated perimeter under CMCOB and does not require FCA authorisation. We are an accident management business, not a CMC and not a law firm. We do not give legal advice. Where you have been injured, we refer the injury claim, only with your explicit written consent, to an FCA-regulated claims-management company or an SRA-regulated solicitor with the right permissions.
- How is a taxi or private hire claim different from a car claim?
- A hackney carriage or private hire vehicle is hire-and-reward, so the driver loses income every day the badge is off the road and an ordinary courtesy car is no use. The replacement must be a licensed, plated vehicle the driver can legally work in, and the loss of earnings is evidenced through platform statements, licensing paperwork and rank or booking records. The vehicle must also be insured for hire and reward and meet the local authority or TfL licensing conditions. Our minicab and PHV hub covers this in detail.
- What if the other driver was uninsured or untraced?
- You can still be helped, whatever you drive. Where the at-fault driver is uninsured or cannot be traced, the claim is routed to the Motor Insurers' Bureau under the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 2015 or the Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2017. Strict conditions apply, including reporting an untraced (hit-and-run) driver to the police within the time limit, so the scene file and prompt notification matter on a van, bike, HGV or taxi just as much as on a car.
Talk to a real person
One agency for every vehicle you driveWe handle it end-to-end.
We manage your non-fault claim end to end across all vehicle classes - recovery, storage, engineer, repair and a class-matched like-for-like replacement - at no up-front cost. We are not a solicitor or an FCA-regulated claims-management company; personal injury claims are referred to authorised partners only with your consent.
Calls may be recorded for quality and compliance. We do not provide legal advice. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised partners.
Visit our team
London office
124 City Road
London, EC1V 2NX
Coverage
- Phone & accident form24 / 7
- Recovery dispatch24 / 7
- Repair coordinationMon-Sat 8:00 - 18:00
- SundaysEmergency only
45+UK cities
9vehicle types
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Tip: submit the accident form first - our team will call back with a reference and next steps.