car insurence trying to screw me over

pinkpheinix

hi does anyone have info on claims on car insurence, i have been with my insurence swift cover for to years, my insurence was recently renewed on 28th aug, unfortunaltey i had a little bang no one else was involved except me, my car is insuredfor £2500, i made a claim and they wrote my car off saying it was a total loss as it had £3500 worth of damage, now i know it wouldnt cost this much to repair and that they would only offer me £800 book value for the car, plus minus the excess of £150 which leaves £650, they also want to deduct the rest of the years insurence of £325. WHICH LEAVES ME £325 payout, how am i supposed to get another car with that, i never knew that they could take out the rest of the years insurence and did not see this anywhere where i applied,so only 2 months into a new policy, they said it was written in my policy. is this right and allowed???? they have also disposed of my car saying i cant have it back, my stereo was still in there as well.

Anihilator

Firstly you don't insure a car for a value. At least not standard car insurance. Insurers normally ask value but this isnt a payout value. Its for underwriting purposes.

The payout value is always market value. Could you confirm the make, model, age and mileage of your car. Did it have any pre existing damage?

The excess is always deducted of course. As insurance is an annual policy when a claim is made the full premium becomes due. You pay monthly but this doesnt mean you can pro rate the premium if you claim. You could ask them to payout £650 and let you change the car over for the rest of the premium possibly.

Sadly you are another person who has not bothered to read his documents fully.

glider3560

The insurance is a one year contract - you have agreed to pay the entire policy upfront but they are just lending you the money and you are repaying it back over the year. Most insurers will let you continue with your current insurance if you replace the car.

Whatever value you put on your proposal form, the insurer will only ever pay out the current value of the car. To check the value, perhaps look in local papers/online for similar cars and see what their values are. Also check somewhere like Parkers or Glass's. If you aren't sure about the value, post the car's exact make and model and I'll see what I can find.

Finally, the £150 excess was agreed when you took out the policy. If you couldn't afford £150, then you should have asked for a lower excess.

pinkpheinix

im not bothered about paying the excess which i new i had to repay, i have pncd which they are now reducing, i have a bmw 318 ise m reg, 92,000 on the clock, imaculate (was) alloys etc, the cars he told me they were looking at on auto trader were ok condition for the year with a few scratch and dents. yet mine was immaculate not a scratch dent nothing, the ones i have seen are goin for about £1500 - 2000 average in the condition mine was in, i have asked to put the insurence on hold for when i get another car and to carry on with my insurence, but they have refused, as also getting rid of my car as well with my stereo etc still in it.

glider3560

What is the engine size and is it hatchback/coupe/saloon/etc?

You mention stereo - was this a non-standard stereo? If so, did the insurer know about this when you bought the policy?

pinkpheinix

its a 2ltr bmw 318 i SE saloon mint condition.no marks/rust/dents new re spray etc as for the stereo yes i put it in and yes they knew about it, i told them i wanted the car back, but they have sent it for disposal. my alloys were worth £500 on there own, so to get about £225- £250 back is shameless. i have never had a claim in my life and whats the point paying for insurence when it costs you more money than its worth.and to have no claims protection when they reduce it anyway and why ask a value of the car for insurence when they dont even go by this.

glider3560

If you didn't declare the alloys as a modification when you took out the policy, then they probably won't cover them.

This website reckons that the car is worth more: http://www.whatcar.com/valuations/result?makeId=6805&modelId=7360&editionId=7396&yearId=2&mileage=92000

If you aren't happy with the valuation, then get back onto the insurer and argue your point.

pinkpheinix

thanx for the reply, yes they knew about the alloys. i need to find two more ads now worth more to prove it and also what do i do about them disposing of my car when i asked them for it back and they said yes as it was a caterory c. but have disposed of it and i havent even agreed payment yet and recieved no moneys. this is my first ever claim, and i thought that having protected no claims meant they were protected yet there reducing mine by one year.

Christopher7

Your insurer needs to put you back in the same position as you were before the accident, so they need to pay you a fair market value for your vehicle. The standard insurance guide for this is Glasses guide and the value they need to pay you will be based on the private sale price.

I think you could extract a bit more from them if they have disposed through their salvage programme before you have given permission. did you sign anything or hand over the v5 (logbook) to them?

If you feel the valuation is unfair or feel they were wrong to dispose of the car and you cant resolve directly with them. Then contact the Financial Ombudsman and complain.