Should I claim for / write off my car after accident?

axioman

I haven't made an insurance claim before and am looking for some advice (apologies for long post). A couple of days ago I ran into the back of a car at a junction, causing £500 + damage to the car in front and bending the radiator on my car. I am clearly at fault, so I've had to put a claim in through my insurance for the damage to the other car. Total excess on my policy is £250 (£100 compulsory, plus £150 voluntary). The only question is whether or not I should claim for the damage to my own car.

My car is a 15 year old convertible BMW in pretty poor condition - electric roof no longer works and has turned slightly green (!), and it has a few scratches and minor dents to the bodywork. On the plus side, the engine is great and has done a relatively low 89,000 miles. Having spoken to the guy from Admiral, he encouraged me to not make a claim - but this must surely be in their interest to keep the cost low? He also said that it would almost certainly be a write-off given the age and value of the car. The resale value of a pristine version is around £1200-£2000, so mine can only realistically be about £500-£800. I was looking to get rid of it ASAP anyway, either by sticking it in an auction or scrapping it. So the questions I have are:

1) How do the insurers value the car and how much of this am I likely to get back?
2) Does the damage to both cars count as 1 claim, therefore only incurring excess once? Is it also only 1 claim against my no claims discount?
3) Is there any disadvantage to having a written off car on my records?
4) If my garage says they can repair it for, say, £200, would the insurers just give me a cheque for this amount (even though they advised they would probably write it off)?
5) If I make a claim and they write it off but only want to give me £200, can I reverse the decision and just keep the car?

Overall, I'd rather just have the car written off if it means I get a cheque for £500+ as this is all that I'd have been looking for when selling it anyway.

Any help appreciated - thanks!

InsideInsurance

You only pay the excess if you claim for your own vehicle.

There is no write off against your name but there is one against the vehicle so that can be a consideration as it will impact its value, though given the low value and the fact you were considering scrapping it anyway it may not be an issue. You would need to speak to Admiral about what hoops they would make you jump through if it were a Cat C or Cat D total loss (ie it is repairable and its an issue with economics of it) as some will require an MOT type inspection etc.

If the repairs are only £200 then you could not claim for them anyway as they are below that of your excess but naturally the insurers own garage will be massively more expensive than that for the repairs given just the one comment that the radiator of a BMW is bent

axioman

Thanks for the quick response! I must admit that I didn't realise that the excess only applies if I make a claim on my car. If that's the case, then it makes the decision much easier - no point in claiming for £500 if I'd immediately lose £250 anyway. Maybe the Admiral guy was being more helpful than I realised...

vaio

Yep, but the insurance companies must used dealer retail prices from glasses, cap & parkers to value your car so before you make a decision I’d look at those to see what a replacement would cost.

Actually, as the third party is claiming on your insurance anyway you’d be foolish not to claim for your car as the damage to your insurance record/NCB is done already and won’t be significantly worsened by you claiming for your car.

axioman

So would the insurance company not inspect the actual car to value it? I'm pretty sure the guy from Admiral said they would need to value the car themselves. So, even though Parker's valuation may be £1,500 for a car in decent condition, would the insurers not value mine much lower based on its defects?

mikey72

If the third party makes a claim, you're lose your ncd, and have to declare the accident for the next 5 year or so, and your insurance will go up.

If you don't claim for your car, nothing will change.
If it's not repairable and you do claim, at least you're get £250+ as the payment.
Unless you can repair it yourself for less than the excess I can't see any reaon at all not to claim.
Get the quote and post it back up.

vaio

axioman wrote: »

So would the insurance company not inspect the actual car to value it? I'm pretty sure the guy from Admiral said they would need to value the car themselves. So, even though Parker's valuation may be £1,500 for a car in decent condition, would the insurers not value mine much lower based on its defects?

The probably will "view" yours via the garage that produces the repair quote. I'm guessing they won't do an in depth examination and will likely just offer you an average value which I'd have thought would be a grand plus.

What does Parkers value yours at?

Hub

mikey72 wrote: »

If the third party makes a claim, you're lose your ncd, and have to declare the accident for the next 5 year or so, and your insurance will go up.

NCD won't be lost if it's protected. Claims do not necessarily have to be disclosed for 5 years - it depends on the insurer. The insurance might and is likely to increase with the existing insurer but not necessarily with every insurer for an isolated claim.

How do you get away with making these sweeping and public statements when they are blatantly wrong?

axioman

Glass's values the car as follows:

Trade-in - excellent: £970.00
Trade-in - average: £835.00
Dealer Retail price: £1,790.00
Private Sale price: £1,640.00

My car's condition could only be described as "poor". So if I want it written off, I'm probably best not going to a cheap mechanic who can repair it for under £250 and asking the insurance company to deal with it. How much they would then pay me for it would depend upon whether they blindly follow the Glass's guide (in which case I'd get private sale?), or they inspect the car (in which case the amount would be anyone's guess). Hmm.

vaio

the starting point will be £1790, and that reflects the fact that any 15 year old car is going to have a few battle scars.

If they actually come and see it (rather than relying on the inspecting garage) and do spot the roof issues then expect a reduction but I’d still say you will get a grand plus

thenudeone

Also - if your car is written off the policy may cease from that point, with no refund, although some insurers will allow you to use the remaining months for a replacement car.