A man whose parked car was hit by an elderly driver has hit out at insurance companies after being told he may have to foot the repair bill himself.

Antony Aspell, from Douglas, contacted the Isle of Man Courier after he dumped his damaged car in the car park of one of the insurance companies he has criticised.

Having parked his car on Saddle Road, Douglas, on July 31 while at an event in the west of the island, Mr Aspell received a call to say his car had been hit by another driver.

By the time he got to Saddle Road, the police had arranged for his car to be removed from the scene as the damage done to it left officers with concerns over whether it was safe to be left on the road.

Mr Aspell said that he assumed that the other driver’s insurance would pay out to fix the damage to his car, but now fears he will have to foot the bill himself.

He said: ‘As you would, I assumed that their insurance would pay, but in spite of endless calls, nothing was being done.

‘I’ve now been told that the person who hit my car was an elderly lady who may have had a heart attack, which I’ve been told, could void her insurance.’

Mr Aspell said he was told that the insurance companies may need up to 10 weeks to complete their investigations into the crash, with him being warned he may have to pay £20 a day to keep his car off the road.

He added that he has since been told that if it is proven that the woman had a heart attack, the insurance will be void and her insurer won’t pay out.

Not happy about the lack of movement, Mr Aspell took it upon himself to park his car in the car park of one of the companies he blames, CTH Insurance, based in Victoria Street, Douglas. The company has since arranged for it to be moved.

However, when we spoke to the company, we were told that both parties’ insurances were with a separate company.

When we tried to contact that business, we received no response.

Mr Aspell said: ‘I was told that if the woman has had a heart attack, they won’t pay out. This means I either have to sue an elderly woman, which I really don’t want to do, or I have to pay the bill myself, which just isn’t fair.’

He added that he has since contacted the Financial Services Ombudsman to complain that the woman may have been mis-sold her insurance if having a heart attack behind the wheel rendered it invalid.

However, Mr Aspell told the Courier that he has now been advised that because his insurance is not the issue, this isn’t possible. Instead, he said he intends to write to the Financial Services Authority to raise the issue as he fears others may not be aware of the ramifications for a similar event happening to them.

In the meantime, if the woman’s insurance company doesn’t pay out, Mr Aspell said he risks a bill of up to £1,700 just for it to be kept off the road, with repair bills likely to be even higher.