Insurance Claims Help

Retromatic

Retromatic

Retromatic

Associate
Joined
5 Oct 2008
Posts
2,275
Location
West Sussex
I had my first accident last Thursday, went into the back of someone, (so it was my fault). Thankfully everyone was okay. I got straight onto the insurance company who advised me to contact the garage they deal with for pickup. Car was picked up the next day no problems.

I'm not really into cars and know nothing about mechanics but the car was driveable (I had to drive it 30 mins home).

The front of the car on the passenger side was smashed in, mainly on the bonnet, so that it wouldn't open, the bumper was a little damaged and the lights were totally smashed. Where the bonnet had lifted up you could see through and I got someone to look at it the night it came home - he said he could see clearly no damage to the engine, just a bit to the water inlet.

Anyway, I phoned today for an update and I've been told that they are waiting for the mechanics from my insurance company (Direct Line) to basically agree with them that it's a write-off.

Totally confused, are they trying to pull a fast one? And what is the procedure for this sort of thing? Unfortunately it is my work car and if I lose it then I've basically lost my job too.
 
The insurance company has decided that the cost of repairing the car is more than the cost of simply paying you the value of the car, so this is what they intend to do.

You will probably be able to buy the car back from them at a reduced rate and pay somebody from a local bodyshop to repair the car for you using the money you've been given by the insurance company. Depending on your attitude, you could even live with some of the damage and/or use second hand parts to keep the cost down.
 
[TW]Fox;21047672 said:
The insurance company has decided that the cost of repairing the car is more than the cost of simply paying you the value of the car, so this is what they intend to do.

You will probably be able to buy the car back from them at a reduced rate and pay somebody from a local bodyshop to repair the car for you using the money you've been given by the insurance company. Depending on your attitude, you could even live with some of the damage and/or use second hand parts to keep the cost down.
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Thanks, that makes sense. For the short-term (until I can afford a new car) I'm quite happy to go up the scrappy and get some bits - I have no idea what I'm doing but a friend of mine has offered to help me get some bits if need be.

Looks like I may be doing that then..
 
[TW]Fox;21047672 said:
You will probably be able to buy the car back from them at a reduced rate and pay somebody from a local bodyshop to repair the car for you using the money you've been given by the insurance company. Depending on your attitude, you could even live with some of the damage and/or use second hand parts to keep the cost down.
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Just be as sure as you can that the damage is indeed superficial.

You'll kick yourself if you buy it back thinking 'yeah just a bumper from a scrappy' and then find out the front of the chassis is bent, you need to replace a load of bits like the radiator and headlights etc. and it would actually take a ridiculous amount of money to fix compared to the value of the car.
 
Kenai said:
Just be as sure as you can that the damage is indeed superficial.

You'll kick yourself if you buy it back thinking 'yeah just a bumper from a scrappy' and then find out the front of the chassis is bent, you need to replace a load of bits like the radiator and headlights etc. and it would actually take a ridiculous amount of money to fix compared to the value of the car.
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Yup, just got off the phone to my father-in-law and that's what he's said as well. I think on Wednesday I should hopefully find out what they are going to give me.
 
Leviathon said:
Yup, just got off the phone to my father-in-law and that's what he's said as well. I think on Wednesday I should hopefully find out what they are going to give me.
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Don't be afraid to haggle if the offer is less than you were expecting.

its not uncommon for insurers to offer a cheeky low value and see if the customer accepts it.
 
MrLOL said:
Don't be afraid to haggle if the offer is less than you were expecting.

its not uncommon for insurers to offer a cheeky low value and see if the customer accepts it.
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Well, just heard back at last - they have offered me just under 2k which is actually way more than I expected (Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 2002 with a damaged rear passenger door). They took that into account including the mileage etc

Question is they are deducting the excess from it still, so total is going to be 1600 quid. Should I be arguing this as they haven't done any work on it, or is just standard procedure - just wanted to know before I agree to anything.
 
Its already been explained, but the way the excess is worded in your policy is something along the lines of "you will pay the first £X of any claim." Where x is your excess.

So of your £2000 claim, you pay the first £400 - so they deduct this from your final payment. At least the payment was more than you were expecting :)
 
Leviathon said:
Well, just heard back at last - they have offered me just under 2k which is actually way more than I expected (Vauxhall Zafira 1.8 2002 with a damaged rear passenger door). They took that into account including the mileage etc

Question is they are deducting the excess from it still, so total is going to be 1600 quid. Should I be arguing this as they haven't done any work on it, or is just standard procedure - just wanted to know before I agree to anything.
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Do you still have the car, have you got a buy back cost from them? are they issuing a CAT C / D write off? if so you may have to get it VIC checked, not a problem but just something you need to consider.

If it's just a door I'd buy it back off them buy a door of Ebay in the right colour and repair it, or repair it sell it and buy a new car for £3 - 4k with the combined proceeds.
 
Just be careful if you do decide to retain the salvage (assuming the insurer have given you the option??) - it's all well and good "just going up to the scrappy" but you will also need to disclose to any new insurer that your vehicle has been a previous write-off and this usually affects any new insurers decision on your premium!

Other than that everything seems to be going swimmingly for you! :D
 
Take the money and run. I had very similar sounding damage on my old Fabia. Wasn't written of though. I'm fairly convinced that if I'd caused the accident the insurance company would have written it off. With the other party's insurance paying I think it's sometimes handled a bit differently. Car was never the same again, gaining a bunch of squeaks and rattles that it never had before. Superficiality it looked fine though.
 
maccapacca said:
Do you still have the car, have you got a buy back cost from them? are they issuing a CAT C / D write off? if so you may have to get it VIC checked, not a problem but just something you need to consider.

If it's just a door I'd buy it back off them buy a door of Ebay in the right colour and repair it, or repair it sell it and buy a new car for £3 - 4k with the combined proceeds.
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The door was damaged by me when I got the vehicle, they haven't mentioned anything really - I did call them today and they are aparently waiting for a cheque to be authorised and "should" be issued in the next few days. The rest of the damage I did in this vehicle was as above (totally smashed in the bonnet on one side and lights, part of the bumper).
 
StevieP said:
Just be careful if you do decide to retain the salvage (assuming the insurer have given you the option??) - it's all well and good "just going up to the scrappy" but you will also need to disclose to any new insurer that your vehicle has been a previous write-off and this usually affects any new insurers decision on your premium!

Other than that everything seems to be going swimmingly for you! :D
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They haven't given me this option but if they did - can I keep it in the garage without doing anything else to it for now? Or just sell it to the scrappy myself and make a few quid :)?
 
I've got about 3k for a new car, trouble is I think my insurance is going to be double what it was? I used to pay 55pm, just had a couple of quotes on 2005 cars and looking at an extra 20 quid on top of that and that is not taking into account my renawal in March which I imagine would bump it up to around 100 quid? They said they couldn't tell me until my renewal :(
 
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