confused over car claim and salvage.

jennypdolphin

Hi a couple of months agoI was in a small accident with a work colleague. I decided to go straight through her insurance without involving mInitially we were going to settle without going through insurance but after getting quotes she changed her mind.

I decided to go straight through her insurance since it was 100% no fault and they decided that the car was uneconomical to repair (it is perfectly fine to drive and has passed its MOT since the damage - dented rear passenger door and wheel arch)

They have sent me a cheque in settlement of the claim for the total loss value (apparently minus salvage value and I can keep the car - doesnt say this in the letter but they informed my OH of this on the phone) it says it is in settlement without prejudice.

Does this mean that the catergory for the car changes? is it still okay to carry on driving it as usual? Is it just a pay off and there is nothing else too it? My car insurance in due and I want to make sure that all is fine and dandy with this so the claim file can be closed and I can insure my car with my full no claims (I can then organise the repairs when I have time off work and would therefore not have any need for a hire vehicle.)

Quote

If it has passed its MOT then everything sound fine to me. You probably need to disclose (to a new insurer) that the vehicle as having been previously written off - being beyond economical repair - which I think is a category C. This may cause you a few minor headaches but it shouldn't be anything that prevents you insuring it again.

jaylu

Your no claims should be ok, as the accident was not your fault and your insurer has not had to pay anything to anyone. I'm not sure how it would affect your premiums now though as the vehicle is a previous write off. I'd also check with your insurer how they would view your car's value in the scenario of another accident (whoever's fault). The car will obviously still be not repairable following another prang and I'm not sure if your insurer or any third party's insurer would be happy to pay you a second total loss payment. As this would be the only real benefit to you on a Comprehensive policy if you were to claim on your insurance (in the event of an accident that was your fault), you could probably switch to a cheaper TPFT if you're not on it already. But as this site says elsewhere, going TPFT may well not save you money as it can turn out to the same price as fully comp anyway.
But you have a choice.

Actually thinking about it, it is prob best to go comp as if you have an an accident and there is a dispute about who's at fault at least you are covered to have your insurer fight your corner

jennypdolphin

The problem with the no claims is my current insurer wont put my no claims down as 5 years at present (it was unprotected) as the claim file is still open with the other insurer even though Ididnt go through my own insurers at all - I am currently TPF&T but had found a quote for this year for comprehensive that was very similar in costing lol)

The thing is that originally on the phone I got told that they do not "write off" vehicles (which is balls as of course they do if they need to) and no where does it say what catergory it would change to or anything which I feel they should really have put in the letter. I will query with them when I ring up on Monday.

Will it still be a cat C after I get it repaired or does this fix its catergory status?

Thanks for your help everyone!

dacouch

You need to send a copy of the letter the other Insurer sent with the cheque to your Insurer and ask them to close their claim file and reinstate your no claims bonus.

The other Insurer may have said they do not write vehicles off as they have made a payment to you in cash instead of writing the car off, it would be worth asking them to clarify this and also asking if they have / will be reporting the car as being written off

mcjordi

if they havent "wrote it off" then there wont be a damage marker on it.. may be worth a cheap text check to see if its listed..

my current insurer (NFU) said they wont touch anything previously written off which scuppered my plans for a nice focus (cat c- easily repaired by me) Grrr..

jaylu

As far as I'm aware any no claims status is not restored until the claim has been formally processed and finally settled between insurance companies. Until then the jury is still (technically) out on formal liability. You are clearly not at fault and this is confirmed by the fact that the other insurer has put their money where their mouth is and have paid out. The case should close imminently but I would chase it! The payment you received would have probably been a total loss payment for a write off (as is normal) but as dacouch says I would clarify this with their insurer (and also yours as they will put it on record). Incidently always make sure the people you are speaking to at both insurers are the actual insurance companies and not brokers who deal with the insurers on your (or the TP's) behalf. They can confuse the issue and don't always know what they talking about. You do need to hear these things direct from the claims department of the actual insurer.

jennypdolphin

Thank you all for your help. I shall definately ring up tomorrow to clarify the situation.

jennypdolphin

I have now found out that they have put it on the database as a Catergory D. I was a litle displeased that they hadnt told me this. Does anyone know if this will affect it getting re-insured anywhere? how would I calculate it's value now, it was worth around £2000 - 2500 before the incident/change in classification.

Also there is no point me really getting comp insurance for it now is there? as they wont pay out to the same level again will they?

this sucks. lol

vaio

Cat D is the lowest type, no need to do anything other than just carry on using it.

If future insurance companies ask as part of the proposal questions you do need to tell them, if they don’t ask then you don’t. Stay away from volunteering anything they haven’t asked about as it will only cause you grief

Any future payout will reflect the reduced value that a cat D has, expect a reduction in the 10 maybe 20% area if you have to make another total loss claim.

jennypdolphin

only 10 - 20% lower wow that is better than expected I was thinkking it would half the value or something! Also I thought you HAD to tell the insurers it was a Cat D as it could change the quote/ability to cover the vehicle, maybe that is only for Cat C cars?