Got knocked off by car - no injury - but what happens?

Surely if you have been left hooked, then it is dangerous driving (careless in their parlance) and should be done as that. Especially if you have it on film.  

"which meant that they were liable under a small clause in the road traffic act"

What's this - some sort of teaser for next week ?!

That is pretty much it. The MIB website has all the necessary process.

Insurance companies are not that scary and for trivial matters you can just as easily write to them yourself. Include pictures of damage, quote for repairs and a copy of the Police report. However, without video evidence and a witness statement your claim is weak.

You might find that your claim just disappears into the machine or they might just write you a cheque because it is cheaper for them to do that and not go to the expense of a full investigation. Either way, there is a good chance that they will write to their insured driver and possibly they might see a jump in their renewal quote as well as the realisation that they got caught out and hassle of dealing with it which at least is some kind of life lesson.

Given the values you are stating, and whilst I appreciate that not a lot of money to one person can be a lot to someone else and that some people are plagued by having principles of fairness, I'd personally stump up the £4.50, fire off a letter and forget about it. If a cheque arrives that would be a bonus.

Can the driver just pay me privately to avoid this claim on their car insurance?

If you do the above through MIB, the insurance company will be doing the sorting and not the driver and will record the claim. The only way the driver could offer to pay is if you could contact him directly and he forsook that opportunity when he drove off without stopping and swapping contact info. 

osullic wrote:

I was told £58 in a local shop to repair my phone screen, plus £21 to replace part of the broken phone mount.

If those are the only costs, then the chances are that will fall within the driver's excess and the insurers will refer it to them to be paid anyway. Their only involvement then would be to record the claim and adjust the driver's future premiums accordingly. 

Makes it less likely that you would receive the settlement, but at least it would demonstrate to the driver that you can't do that sort of thing without consequences. 

The excess normally applies to your own claims, not a 3rd party's claim against your insurance.  The insurance company is not likely to tell the driver to pay, and it won't make any difference to his claims history.

The silly part of all this is that, if the driver's car has not been damaged, he could have given his details and had limited consequence - assuming he had protected no claims (and insurance in the first place).

By driving off, he has exacerbated his position with the insurance company, who will regard that behaviour as an elevated risk; and he has put himself in line for a prosecution for driving away.

In addition to British Cycling or CyclingUK providing insurance and legal cover, your household insurance may also provide similar options.

If you have legal cover, I'd say use it.  You may not realise the various genuine impacts you have suffered that can be claimed, and you may not have the clout or experience to rebut silly adjustments used to reduce the other party's offer.

If, as PilotPete's comment sugests, bundled membership cover is a damp squib, that may be the cause for a separate complaint; but it isn't in accordance with its purpose.  I'd say use what's in your quiver.

Taking a screen repair quote, I'd suggest that you get the repair done (if it's an iPhone, get it done 'properly' with Apple), and claim for the actual bill.  You never know what hidden damage or additional expense they uncover when they open it up, and if you've already settled for the damage to the phone, you'll have lost out.

With the phone mount, just be aware that one part may be broken, but other parts may be weakened.  Consider whether it is appropriate to have a complete new mount rather than buying a spare part.  It is safety-critical to protect your phone in the future.

The insurance company does not have to take your word for it, but if you have quotes/receipts, and evidence of the damage, you'll make it harder for them to argue the toss.  They sometimes do argue (althought he sums you're talking about are trivial enough for them to wave a hand and get it off their screen).  This is where having your own people with BS-detectors can help.

The driver can contest the claim.  You really need to get witnesses if you can.  If you/the police can get to his car before he can touch up the scratches/dents, so much the better.

A driver can always offer to pay privately to avoid the claim, and you are at liberty to agree a private settlement.  However, invariably it is a clause in their insurance contract that they notify their insurance company of any collisions, even if they don't lead to a claim.  The fact of the collision will affect their quote based on risk anyway, so they might as well use their insurance (assuming they have it).  If somebody offers to pay privately, it can sometimes become difficult actually getting the money; that may be their purpose in trying to keep it informal; it could also be that they have no insurance.  I would be tempted to tell them that you are doing it throught their insurance company.  If the police are involved, the insurance company is likely to become interested, whatever you agree.  An offer to sort this out privately is an alarm bell.  It may be made in sincerity, but it is unlikely to offer either of you a better deal.

Have you ever used the legal support from British Cycling? I have and it is appalling - they only want to find the insurance details of the party at fault so a claim can be made. They haven't found which company it is in my case and nearly a year later are still faffing around and are simply not interested in a prosecution as they aren't guaranteed to win and therefore aren't guaranteed to get their fees. It's crap if you ask me.