Six weeks ago I posted this picture:

In case you’d missed it, some guy, more concerned with whether or not he could beat oncoming traffic than with if there were actually traffic in front of him, rear-ended the wife on her way to school.

What followed was a month of fighting with the insurance (just replacing the boot lid would have cost half the insured value of the car, so they wanted to write it off…the actual age and condition of the vehicle, the fact that it will plunge a family into debt…those things don’t fit on balance sheets, so why would they care?), with my insurance broker (they only responded to my emails after I lodged a public complaint on a watchdog site – apparently if your client tells you that they’ve been in an accident you just take notice…it’s not necessary to respond…the exact words said to me by the senior broker responsible for my account when she eventually responded after my complaint), and with the third-party insurance of the guy who’d caused the accident (cause if it’s a company car you don’t have to take personal responsibility when you cause an accident and, according to my broker, the other guy’s insurance can also simply decide to write off your car and you’ll probably wind up getting less than with your own insurance), and several weeks of getting by with only one vehicle (luckily I’m unemployed, so I didn’t need to drive anywhere).

Finally (and because I think my broker was trying very hard to please me after my complaint – I complained very loudly and to as senior a person as I could reach within the firm) we managed to reach a cash settlement with the insurance company which allowed me to fix the car myself. I found a panel beater who was actually willing to fix the damaged boot lid rather than replace it at half the amount I was originally quoted, and we couldn’t be happier with the result.

The timing couldn’t be better, what with my birthday being tomorrow. All that’s left is to see the insurance adjuster tomorrow for an inspection so we can re-insure Tweety.

Thus far my birthday week is turning out to be quite eventful. My nephew was born on Saturday, we got the car back today, a new season of Doctor Who is starting next Saturday… No I just need to get a job offer (or at least an interview) and this will be one of the best birthdays in quote a few years 😀

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