Car Insurance Value Of Vehicle

louiethomas2000

My insurance company has given me a price for total write-off which is £1,200 less than the car's value as stated on the policy. How can I get either the figure I'm insured for or an increased figure?

JonathanA

I'm not an expert, but when an insurance company pays out on a write off, they pay the market value of the car at the time, not the amount of the car's value as stated on the policy. Otherwise you could buy a £3000 car and insure its value as £10,000.

If you think the figure is low, ask them how they calculated it & look in the classified ads to see what similar cars are for sale for. Take into account factors such as does it have a full service history etc.

What sort of car is it, what age / mileage etc?

lisyloo

You can often negotiate a better deal with them.
You could try this over the phone.
If that fails then I would write into them with some evidence.

Note that asking prices for cars are not the same as sales prices, so you may not get the price that is "advertised" as most people knock these down.

You should be able to get a fair price though.

If you fail then there should be a complaints procedure you can follow and if that fails you should be able to go to the insurance ombudsman.

Astaroth

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=304590

This has been covered off in the above thread.

The valuation given at purchase is actually no longer used by many insurers for anything at all as they system can do a rought valuation based on model and age for the purposes of premium calculation.

For the insurers that actually still use it they will pay the lower of the maximum sum insured and the pre loss market value

louiethomas2000

thanks to all who have replied so far! What I don't get is why insurers ask what the car's value is when you take out insurance if they then make up their own minds when it comes to paying out a claim. Sorry, am just really cross that due to some idiot crashing into me I will now be out of pocket because there's no-way I can find a like-for-like with what I'm being offered! Meanwhile he gets off scot-free and probably hasn't even lost his no-claims bonus if he's got it protected. I AM NOT HAPPY!!!

lisyloo

What I don't get is why insurers ask what the car's value is when you take out insurance if they then make up their own minds when it comes to paying out a claim.

They ask you when you insure because they need it to work out your premium.
Between them asking you and you having an accident (which could be 355 days later) there could be a difference in value for a number of reasons.

there's no-way I can find a like-for-like with what I'm being offered!

If this is the case then you should definitely complain (start off by asking nicely).
I know of several cases where people get offered an increased value straight off over the phone - in fact this almost seems to be standard these days.

Do you have legal cover?
If all your loses are not covered by the insurance then why not ask your legal cover to sue for uninsured losses?

Meanwhile he gets off scot-free and probably hasn't even lost his no-claims bonus if he's got it protected.

Accidents will still count against him even if his no claims is protected.

I AM NOT HAPPY!!!

Insist on what you paid for when you took out the policy i.e. enough money to get a like-for-like replacement.
Start off by being chraming and pleasant (people are more likely to help you this way).
If that doesn't work then use the complaints procedure, legal insurance, ombudsman etc.

It's a shame you have to fight for what should be rightfully yours, but you need to fight for it and not just give in to what they say.
They have a contract with you and legally they now need to provide you with what they have contracted to provide.

Howellers_2

louiethomas2000 wrote:

My insurance company has given me a price for total write-off which is £1,200 less than the car's value as stated on the policy. How can I get either the figure I'm insured for or an increased figure?

If its any help in your case.. You can post here or PM me the car type, any extras on it, mileage, reg date, registration etc. and I can get get you a trade valuation and retail pricing on it.

Pete

Astaroth

Or, depending on the age, you can check either the Glass guide (newer vehicles) or Parkers (both new and old vehicles but iGlass is the industry standard for newer vehicles) online for a valuation.

A motor insurer should provide you with a gross sum of money that would enable you to go out and buy the identical vehicle in private sale (not a garage forecourt) with the same mileage/ extras/ re-accident marks etc.

The 2 big mistakes people make when valuing their vehicles is 1) looking at garage forecourt prices 2) taking the advertised price in the likes of autotrader as the price it will actually sell for - obviously people advertise high as they know people will negotiate down

You need to resolve the matter with your insurers (for one you have more options for complaint) rather than trying to get the money from the TP/ TPI as you then run into difficulties of 2 parties attempting to get the same head of claim from them

Howellers_2

Astaroth wrote:

Or, depending on the age, you can check either the Glass guide (newer vehicles) or Parkers (both new and old vehicles but iGlass is the industry standard for newer vehicles) online for a valuation.

A motor insurer should provide you with a gross sum of money that would enable you to go out and buy the identical vehicle in private sale (not a garage forecourt) with the same mileage/ extras/ re-accident marks etc.

The 2 big mistakes people make when valuing their vehicles is 1) looking at garage forecourt prices 2) taking the advertised price in the likes of autotrader as the price it will actually sell for - obviously people advertise high as they know people will negotiate down

Was gonna use CAP m'self

Pete

Astaroth

Howellers wrote:

Was gonna use CAP m'self

FOS still use Glass so is really the best one to use.... certainly if the vehicle is older than the Glass guide covers then one guide is good as another... Parkers just tends to be a touch higher

hechizero

GAP insurance is the only way to get to get the desired value for your vechile if written off/stolen etc. Google "GAP insurance" and you will find plenty of info on this.