Claim "Friendly" Insurers

Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
Simple as that then?

I'm currently making a list of all the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Hatchbacks for sale (there's only around 10-15) with mileage, condition, price and whether it has PPP.
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
Oops, quoted instead of edited .

List of 2008-2010 same model cars.

2009 - No PPP - 35,500 miles - £15995
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...a-sti/subaru-impreza-im6-wrx-sti-2009/4910380

2008 - No PPP - 50,000 miles - £12989
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Suba...037233?hash=item33a7b5bbb1:g:a-gAAOSwwbdWJlE9

2008 - No PPP - 59,382 miles - £14500
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Suba...027823?hash=item46439c4e2f:g:lbQAAOSwo6lWPrwt

2008 - No PPP - 67,000 miles - £12450
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Im...139097?hash=item2ca3e33b59:g:9AMAAOSwo6lWNQOs

2008 - No PPP - 67,000 miles - £13495
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Subaru-Im...088268?hash=item2ca41f7dcc:g:i70AAOSw14xWOz6D




2009 - PPP - 39,000 miles - £15994
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...0-bhp--18-alloys--fssh--privacy-glass/4830358

2008 - PPP (330S) - 53,000 - £14975
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Suba...583164?hash=item3f569594bc:g:njEAAOSw5ZBWM46h

2008 - PPP - 60,000 miles - £12,998
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-08-S...760210?hash=item1c5c3fa912:g:NBAAAOSwT5tWOkTX

2008 - PPP - 76,000 miles - £11995
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Suba...844030?hash=item3d08097abe:g:HzYAAOSw4SlV7qwt


PPP = ProDrive Performance Pack - value of £1250 (plus £250 labour to fit)
9 to 10 months MOT left - no advisories on previous MOTs
Had full service prior to sale - £500
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
Okay :) Just thought it might be an idea as to the condition and history prior to writing it off etc.
Never had a claim before so just throwing everything in.

EDIT: On the phone now - they're sticking to the Glass's Guide value of £11500 - They said it's in the highest bracket already as it has very low miles which has added £3000 onto the valuation..
I asked them to re-consider that based on there are none available for that price with less than 50,000 miles.. They said they don't go on market value or based on whats available for sale at present but they can go to £11700..

They say the Prodrive Performance Pack cannot be included as it isn't in the Glass's guide list.

Salvage Price of the vehicle if i want to buy it back - £2575 and they pay me back £8426.
 
Last edited:
Permabanned
Joined
9 Jun 2009
Posts
11,904
Location
London, McLaren or Radical
You just have to give them a few good examples... my tip, do not include the ones without the PPP as those aren't comparable vehicles.

Share the one that's newer with the closest mileage of course.
For the ones of the same age, adjust the price based on book value adjustment for the mileage - you can do this through glasses guide, although autotrader offer a similar comparison tool.

They have a habbit of offering the lowest book values as quite a few people will just take it and not want to argue.

I was offered £4500 for my scoob, which was a **** take as it was a very rare special edition.

It was actually worth £10k (although, I paid about £5500-6000 really)... with arguing I got it up to £7000.

I kept pushing for the £10k, but I couldn't find any viable sales of a similar version - there were two on ebay going for £10-11k, but they weren't selling :(

I bought it back for £1100 and sold it for £3300, without doing anything to it.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
I said that I've made a list of the same model cars for sale and that I'll send it over and she replied "that wouldn't be necessary, we can't go on current market value"

I did say that I valued prodrive pack at £1200 but she said she can't take that into consideration as it's not listed in glass's guide list.

Anyway, she said she'll call back tomorrow to ask if I've made a decision..

Guess I'll just say I reject that offer, I couldn't buy the same model car for the price they're offering and that they need to re-evaluate or something?
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Dec 2011
Posts
10,401
Tell them to ram it

You need to be able to buy an equivalent car (spec and mileage)with the payout - you can't, therefore they need to increase it. They are quoting you a low book trade price by the sounds of things, you are not in the trade and are therefore not able to access those values

Cherry pick the most expensive examples and send them something over in writing stating your position. Don't back down and keep it in writing, even if just email - escalate if need be. If you can find cars slightly different but even more expensive all the better
 
Last edited:
Permabanned
Joined
9 Jun 2009
Posts
11,904
Location
London, McLaren or Radical
Tell them to ram it

You need to be able to buy an equivalent car (spec and mileage)with the payout - you can't, therefore they need to increase it. They are quoting you a low book trade price by the sounds of things, you are not in the trade and are therefore not able to access those values

Cherry pick the most expensive examples and send them something over in writing stating your position. Don't back down and keep it in writing, even if just email - escalate if need be. If you can find cars slightly different but even more expensive all the better

Do this... you have to reject the offer and state similar things to the above, that you can't buy an equivalent vehicle for that price and as such, their valuation is incorrect.

Likely the case handler you are dealing with can't approve any change... you have to escalate it to their manager.

And then with Admiral, I had to go through some silly appeals process too... it took a while.
 
Soldato
Joined
27 Nov 2009
Posts
3,869
Location
Maidstone, Kent
It's the principal of indemnity - their job is to put you in the same position you were in as before the claim, therefore the settlement has to be sufficient to allow this. If they won't provide you with a replacement vehicle (which they won't) then they'll need to give you a payment that covers the cost of a replacement as far as you're concerned.

If they won't play ball, lodge a complaint (I found their complaints team to be pretty good) and ultimately it'll be the Financial Ombudsmen Service if they still won't settle your claim fairly.
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2006
Posts
22,966
Location
London
I said that I've made a list of the same model cars for sale and that I'll send it over and she replied "that wouldn't be necessary, we can't go on current market value"

I did say that I valued prodrive pack at £1200 but she said she can't take that into consideration as it's not listed in glass's guide list.

Anyway, she said she'll call back tomorrow to ask if I've made a decision..

Guess I'll just say I reject that offer, I couldn't buy the same model car for the price they're offering and that they need to re-evaluate or something?

That is complete BS. Either an incompetent employee or deliberately lying.

Remember this point when you are talking to them.

Only the current market value matters. Nothing else. They must pay what it requires for you to buy that car again.

In you next phone call, tell them you are not happy with the service and what you have been told and would like to raise a formal complaint immediately about how this claim has been dealt with. This will trigger a few things that will help you. There is no point waiting since they are making your life difficult.

Ask her you would like to speak to someone who is aware of what indemnity means. Tell her you have paid £15,000 to purchase this used car 3 months ago. It will take £13,000-£13,500 (or whatever it takes) to be be indemnified for this loss in the current retail market.

If Admiral wish to dispute this, you would like a written explanation as to why they believe £11,700 is enough for you to be back in the position you were before this claim. You would like evidence that you car can be bought for £11,700 from your local market from a retailer (assuming you bought from a retailer rather than private seller).
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
7 Dec 2011
Posts
10,401
It will take £15k less excess, the market hasn't collapsed in the last couple.of months - there is nothing to say he bought at the top of the market so accepting anything close to the bottom would be madness.

I would be furious if someone suggested I should just roll over and take a £2k loss on a car I bought 3 months ago unless I had knowingly paid far too much for it. Given there are plenty of examples at the equivalent price now I would be holding out for an amount very, very close to £15k.
 
Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2006
Posts
22,966
Location
London
It will take £15k less excess, the market hasn't collapsed in the last couple.of months - there is nothing to say he bought at the top of the market so accepting anything close to the bottom would be madness.

I would be furious if someone suggested I should just roll over and take a £2k loss on a car I bought 3 months ago unless I had knowingly paid far too much for it. Given there are plenty of examples at the equivalent price now I would be holding out for an amount very, very close to £15k.

Yep. You have a purchase price from 3 months ago as evidence and cars for sale.

They are using a guide price not really linked to the current marketplace. They are being completely out of line.

Do not budge and be willing to hold you ground. The worst that can happen is that you were asking for too much and you both settle on something lower.
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
Update:

Got called to see if I had made a decision, I said I'd reject it and she put me on hold for the "engineers to review the value". Off hold and she pushed to 11900.

She said that's the top book price in the Glass's guide etc - in response to that I said that I'm not a trader and cannot purchase vehicles at trade price) and there are no same models on the market for that price of similar mileage/condition.

She said again that market value does not equal asking price so can't go by the online advert prices etc.

Said I think I'll have to make a complaint then as there's no way I can purchase the same model car in same condition with mileage, and that I know for a fact the trade price of my own vehicle when it was purchased in June by the dealer that sold it to me was higher than what they're offering.

Anyway, she said she'll pass it onto senior members to review the valuation against three other guides and I'll hear back Monday/Tuesday
 
Last edited:
Soldato
OP
Joined
29 Dec 2009
Posts
7,174
Alright, I'll wait half the day Monday for their call, otherwise I'll call them up towards the end of the day and get an email address to contact them through.
 
Back
Top Bottom