Can I insist my insurance company does the repair?

Madmonk

Hi,

Short story - last week my beloved clio (1997) was side swiped by a car that did not stop. I contacted my insurers (Saga - Fully Comp) they said it was a write-off and that appeared to be the end, but on advice I rang them back and insisted that that wasn't what i wanted so they arranged for an assessor to have a look. He duely came yesterday and I'm now waiting to hear what Saga are going to offer. I just need to know wether I can insist on a repair rather than a write -off which I suspect will leave me with nothing(£200 excess)! It seems totally wrong that I have been dutifully paying my insurance and I have paid out over £600 in repairs on my Clio and I end up with nowt!

MM:mad::mad::mad:

glider3560

You won't end up with nowt, you'll end up with the value of the car less the excess (which you agreed to pay when taking out the policy). Even if it is repaired, you'll still have to pay the excess.

The insurer will choose to do the cheapest option: either repair the car or write it off.

stator

No you can't force them to repair it, if they deem it not worth repairing then they will write it off and send you the value minus your excess, if the other party accepts liability you should be able to get the excess back too though.
You can usually buy the car off them for a nominal sum and get the repairs done yourself using the settlement money if you like, but you might have problems insuring it again depending on what the write off category is that they use.

Madmonk

:mad:Great ! So how do they decide how much my cars worth? I am pretty sure it won't be the same as it's replacement value! It was insured for £800 - I paid £900 for it in August 09! I bet I don't get anyway near the £800 minus the £200 excess!

Unfortunately as the B*****d that did the damage didn't stop so I can't claim of his insurance. So I end up carless, very little cash and my no-claims up the spout! Can someone explain why anyone bothers to pay insurance!

MM:mad:

glider3560

Madmonk wrote: »

:mad:Great ! So how do they decide how much my cars worth? I am pretty sure it won't be the same as it's replacement value! It was insured for £800 - I paid £900 for it in August 09! I bet I don't get anyway near the £800 minus the £200 excess!

They pay the current market value. Not sure how different insurers do things, but I understand that many use the value in Glass's guide as their guide price. Try looking in some motoring magazines, e.g. Parkers for ideas of the market value for your car.

TonyMMM

Madmonk wrote: »

It was insured for £800 !

No it wasn't ...unless you took out an "Agreed Value" policy (usually used for Classic/Rare cars).

Your insurance will pay out what they deem to be the current replacement value of the car -less the excess. You need to prepare yourself to argue with them by finding examples of cars, identical to yours, on somewhere like Autotrader to quote back at them when they make their offer.

cajef

Madmonk wrote: »

Can someone explain why anyone bothers to pay insurance!

Because not only is your car covered for damage, other vehicles or injuries to third parties that may run into many thousands of pounds are covered, unfortunately your vehicle is a low value car and it does look like you may end up out of pocket.

stator

Do you have a receipt for the car? If it's recent you will have a good case that the £900 is the exact market value of the car. Usually they use their standard tables for cars taking into consideration the age of the car, the mileage etc and then adjusting it for the condition of the car. You can always appeal their offer if you think it's incorrect. I would send them a copy of the receipt straight away if I were you.

adamc260

Also, saga are rubbishly slow at everything so touch wood you get payment quickly! If the car was bought in 2009 and the accident was middle of 2010 having a receipt for £900 isn't a reflection of the market value stator... because it was the price THEN not now.

corbyboy

If you stated that your car's value was £800 when you took out the policy does that not limit the payout to a maximum of £800 despite what the market value is? Or am I mistaken in thinking this?

adamc260

I don't think so because you may have no clue about vehicle valuations, it's just so they have a 'rough estimation'