Pay excess when 3rd party admits liability?

Thank you for the feedback, all of you. It has been very helpful. My wife's policy is with Sheila's Wheels. I think it was 'Assured' that phoned her on behalf of the 3rd party but not certain (it's in a notebook at my desk, which I'm away from at the moment). Will confirm in a couple of hours.

Edit: Yes, it was 'Assured' who phoned on behalf of 3rd party offering to cover cost of bodyshop repair to her car.

Jlo31 wrote: »

How are you getting on with the claim? Hope its progressing smoothly for you.

We have decided to go with the third party's insurer to [hopefully] keep things simple. The car is now at the bodyshop, who have sent their estimate to the insurer. My wife is sufficiently recovered from the minor injuries sustained not to be too concerned about longer-term health and there were no financial losses in the short term.

I will, of course, provide an update here if anything comes back to bite us so as to inform/warn others who may come across this thread in the future.

Thanks to all who have contributed for your information and guidance, which I appreciate very much.

We are dealing with their insurance company. I forget the name (it's been my wife doing all the communicating).

Ok, things have changed somewhat over the weekend. We closed the claim with Sheila's Wheels on Thursday/Friday and agreed that Gallagher Bassett (on behalf of their client 'Assured Group Ltd') could sort out the repair. Having had the damage assessed, they have decided they want to write it off as a category C total loss. Apparently their motor engineer has deemed it beyond economical repair. From what I can interpret they are offering us £2,700 (the 'market value' immediately prior to the accident) if we keep the vehicle or £2,025 (the 'vehicle valuation') if they retain it. I really don't know what to do with this information. Does this mean they reckon it would cost more than £2,700 to repair? What does the difference between £2,025 and £2,700 represent?

In case it helps, I am happy with the 'market value' they have arrived at, as it is broadly comparable with asking prices on Autotrader for the same model, trim, age and mileage (appreciating that the actual price they go for could well be less than the one they are advertised at). I just don't know how it fits in with the two options they have offered. It is my wife who has been having the various conversations so the little information I have is secondhand. I Think the car is currently at the insurer's preferred bodyshop but I don't know whether the 'motor engineer' alluded to is an employee of this bodyshop or a representative from Gallagher Bassett/Assured Group Ltd.

In practical terms, What happens if we choose to keep the vehicle? Are we at liberty to ascertain from the bodyshop it is currently at what they think it would cost to make it roadworthy? We are not bothered about it being in 'showroom' condition; just safe and legal for the next couple of years when we had planned to replace it anyway. Am I interpreting it right that we would get the knackered car back and a payment for its market value then use that payment towards getting it back on the road? I presume we could use the bodyshop it is currently at or choose one ourselves but the latter would involve us paying transportation costs?

The other option seems fairly straightforward; abandon the car and get £2,025 towards buying a replacement. This could either be a like-for-like replacement for roughly that price to hopefully last us about as long as the existing one would have or use it as a deposit on a newer vehicle that would last us longer. The disadvantage of the first option seems to be that we would likely have to fork out an extra £200-£400 to get a direct replacement (along with the lottery of not knowing whether it has been cared for in the same way the existing one has). The disadvantage of the second is that we had been hoping not to have to replace the existing car for a couple of years and buying a newer model now would mean immediate monthly repayments we haven't budgeted for.

Can anybody with experience of write-offs clarify that the above seems an accurate summary? I appreciate there are all sorts of facts and factors that you won't know. I may be able to provide some further context if needed.