Insurance claim questions...

cleanbluesky · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:29

My insruance company want to charge me two excesses, one for a claim that was made against me but isn't being honoured - is this right?

Also, I want to claim for stolen audio (about £500 worth) - will this take yet ANOTHER excess? It seems to have been stolen by the salvage company BTW

Fr0dders · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:32

dont know

i assume they are claiming the excess for the costs of fighting the claim against you

ste_bla · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:33

Did they hire + pay the salvage company?

[TW]Fox · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:33

Surely you don't pay an excess on third party claims made against you?

cleanbluesky · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:34

[TW]Fox said:
Surely you don't pay an excess on third party claims made against you?

That's what I would think, but remember its against the value of the car rather than a direct claim... that might make a difference.

Fr0dders · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:34

[TW]Fox said:
Surely you don't pay an excess on third party claims made against you?

i thought not either

all i can think is they are charging the excess as a claim has been made against the policy and they are having to fight it court and thus the excess is payable towards the legal fees

check the small print i guess.

blueboy2001 · 21 Jan 2007 at 20:58

It seems some companies are charging an excess for third party claims now - I pointed this out in a thread reccomending Bell as it seems they are one of the ones doing it, but Admiral don't and they are part of the same group.

Car insurance is a minefield and you have to check the policy details carefully these days as the terms vary so much.

As for the OP, I'd guess it would be treated as 2 separate claims, although really it is your responsibility to remove your audio stuff after an accident so I don't know if you'll get anywhere with that.

cleanbluesky · 21 Jan 2007 at 21:09

blueboy2001 said:
As for the OP, I'd guess it would be treated as 2 separate claims, although really it is your responsibility to remove your audio stuff after an accident so I don't know if you'll get anywhere with that.

The car was removed at the request of the police, and I live over 100 miles away from it

PMKeates · 21 Jan 2007 at 21:16

blueboy2001 said:
It seems some companies are charging an excess for third party claims now - I pointed this out in a thread reccomending Bell as it seems they are one of the ones doing it, but Admiral don't and they are part of the same group.

I suppose this third party excess only really matters if you are only insured third party and are at fault for an accident, as:

If are insured comprehensively, you will have your normal excess deducted from your payout (My policy states either the normal excess OR the third party excess is charged, whichever greater).

If you are insured third party, and someone else hits you, the third party excess would be a cost you could charge the other party as part of the claim. If you can claim back the cost of the loss of your RAC no claims, I can't imagine why you can't recover your excess cost

gc123 · 21 Jan 2007 at 21:16

as far as the audio is concerned, providing you can prove it was in the vehicle when it was towed, then whichever company, that dealt with it afterwards, has a duty of care, for you belongings.
A friend smashed his saab up a few years ago ,and the police aranged a local company to recover the vehicle and lock it in a compound(middle of the night) when he went next day to remove his stereo and personal belongings , you guessed it ,all gone.
he kicked up stink with them and they said somebody must have stolen them from the compound, so not there problem.
he went to the police and complained that they had been stolen from his vehicle whilst in there approved recovery agents care and very quickly was contacted by the recovery company, with a cash offer.

furthermore when the FIL had his accident 4 months ago, we had to go to the compound where the car had been taken to remove his items and all personal belongings had been removed and were stored in lockers,plus had been , logged in and signed as inspected by the driver and his boss.

most modern companies will have a paper trail to follow.
if they argue the toss report the items as stolen and kick up a fuss.

gc123 · 21 Jan 2007 at 21:26

i think i amonst others did say that most salvage companies, will remove stereos prior to selling the vehicle on. keep the pressure up on them and you will find it may reappear. the company were authorised by the police to remove the vehicle, therefore will be on the police recovery register, (a very lucrative contract to have) and will not want to jepordise (sp) it for the sake of a stereo.
find the policemans number who came out and tell him what is missing, hell if it was me i would be screeming to everybody about it. :mad:

blueboy2001 · 21 Jan 2007 at 22:04

PMKeates said:
I suppose this third party excess only really matters if you are only insured third party and are at fault for an accident, as:

If are insured comprehensively, you will have your normal excess deducted from your payout ...

There are several instances where having to pay an excess for third party claims on a comprehensive policy is to your disadvantage:

If you have an accident and there is no damage to your own car, but it gives rise to a claim for damage or injury to a third party.

If you have an accident and there is minor damage to your own car that you wish to sort out yourself, and a third party want's to claim on your insurance.

These accidents may not be entirely your fault either - anything settled 50/50 would mean you would pay your excess.

cleanbluesky · 22 Jan 2007 at 19:21

Hmmm.

Audio was taken by the first recovery company, they've got it and are sending it to me along with my CDs. Yay.

I CAN claim my excess from HIS insurance company once he is found at fault. I expect he may be, and I think he knows this because he is telling porkie-pies to his insurance company and mine.