Car insurance claim

[seengee]

Hi All.

Went outside today to find my car had been broken into, nothing taken but the door had been forced open and the steering wheel broken off - presumably in an effort to free the steering lock. I have contacted my insurers - elephant.co.uk - to be told there is a £150 excess on my policy and that one of their recommended local garages will contact me tomorrow regarding collecting my car so they can put together an estimate for the work that needs to be done. Its worth pointing out that my car - a '96 vauxhall corsa is probably only worth £300-400. I should also mention that the car in its current state is completely undriveable as it cannot be steered.

I only passed my test a month or so ago but i've had this car for about 10 months as i've done learning in it. Needless to say i am very new to the car insurance game and i feel a bit like a fish out of water knowing where i stand and what my options are. I have a few questions and would really appreciate it if someone who has more knowledge than me would help me out.

- Am i obliged to use the garage that elephant is putting me in contact with? I would assume that i'm not but this was not made clear at the time.
- If i'm not obliged to use the garage they want me to use then how should i go about getting estimates for the work given the fact the car is undriveable and the damage hard to define.
- If the garage in question takes my car off for an estimate and i choose to turn them down then will i be responsible for returning my car ? The garage they are suggesting is 6 miles away.
- Although this was totally out of my control, presumably this is my no claims bonus out the window? - assuming i actually make the claim that is.
- Am i right in saying that if the cost of repairs is more than the value of the car then they will write off the car? what are my options here? The car is over 10 years old but very reliable and cheap to run and i would be gutted to lose it.

I'm sure elephant will answer most of these questions for me but it would be great to get some impartial advice before i speak to them again. If in any way it helps i can provide a photo of the damage done.

Thanks a lot.

[dacouch]

1) No you could use another garage but its generally quicker and easier to use your Insurers garage, they will often loan you a courtesy car while they repair the car
2) You would need to get estimates from the other garage (Sometimes two garages) and then the Insurers would want to check the estimates
3) They will probably bring the car back to your home but do not always take it to another garage
4) If you claim on your Insurance you will lose your no claims bonus and will also probably get loaded for having a claim
5) It is very likely they will write the car off due to the value of it

You would probably be best to just take it to a local garage who could repair it quite cheaply and you could avoid putting a claim in

[hewhoisnotintheknow]

i would think twice about claiming, could bump your premium up nicely for the next few years

[seengee]

thanks guys.

in terms of taking it to another garage, would they normally be prepared to come and collect it purely on the premise of giving me a quote? its currently in a driveway we share with our neighbours and it is very tight getting in and out of the gate, without steering i'm not sure how they will even be able to get my car out onto the road to get it onto the back of a van anyway. i guess no-one will give a quote without actually having the car in their garage.

in terms of this bumping up my premium, what kind of penalties are we talking. think i'm paying about £500 for 3rd party fire/theft at the moment.

thanks.

[vaio]

If you proceed with this they will almost certainly write the car off giving you (maybe) just enough to replace it minus £150 but loading future premiums and you’ll lose the claim free 10 months insurance you have.

Either repair it yourself (preferably using bits from a scrap yard), get a cheap garage/mobile mechanic to repair it (ditto) or scrap it and replace it.

One (or more) of these is bound to leave you in a better financial position than a claim.

Edited to add: When this happened to my dads Vauxhall the column snapped of just under the steering wheel, he came out of the pub and had a very confused moment before he realised the wheel was on the passenger seat. In our case there was enough column accessible for me to drive it (very very slowly) home using a mole grips clamped on to the remains of the column. I’m not suggesting for a minute that you do this but it could be a solution for the breakdown driver to manoeuvre it onto his vehicle.

[seengee]

If you proceed with this they will almost certainly write the car off giving you (maybe) just enough to replace it minus £150 but loading future premiums and you’ll lose the claim free 10 months insurance you have.

Either repair it yourself (preferably using bits from a scrap yard), get a cheap garage to repair it (ditto) or scrap it and replace it.

One (or more) of these is bound to leave you in a better financial position than a claim.

definitely seeming this might be the best option. i think i can pretty much bend the door back in place which would just leave the steering wheel to be fixed.

Although i have initiated the proceedings for a claim, presumably it is not considered an actual claim until they have to pay out. is that right?

[vaio]

definitely seeming this might be the best option. I think I can pretty much bend the door back in place which would just leave the steering wheel to be fixed.

Although I have initiated the proceedings for a claim, presumably it is not considered an actual claim until they have to pay out. is that right?

Don’t even think about just replacing the wheel as if enough force was applied to break it the steering lock could well be damaged. Easiest way is to remove complete column from a scrapyard car complete with keys. They are normally attached to car with anti-theft “shear” bolts where the head of the bolt snaps off once it is tight enough. You can’t undo these, you have to drill them. Easy enough for someone who knows his (or her) way around a tool kit

I'd guess so but as you've notified (and they will have recorded) you'll have to mention it to future insurance companies, some still might load you but shop around

[seengee]

I'd guess so but as you've notified (and they will have recorded) you'll have to mention it to future insurance companies, some still might load you but shop around

dammit i hope not, unless anyone else can clarify i guess i'll have to get elephant to confirm that tomorrow.