Car Insurance - My Car is a Write Off

stripeyshirt

Hello Everybody,

I'm in a strange position and feel like I am being totally doneover!

A van driver left his handbrake off and his van rolled back into my parked (unattended) car and crushed the front of it.

As a result, my car is a total loss as the insurance company deem it uneconomical to repair it.

Because my car is old (although in perfect working order and good condition) I doubt i'll be getting much for it.

However, I pay my insurance by installments - and have got 9 installments left.

The driver of the van is claiming that someone must have stolen it (and parked it 50m behind where he left it). So I have to pay excess.

If the excess, and the remaining 9 months of my insurance is deducted from the total loss value of my car I'm going to end up OWING my insurance company money for someone who crashed into it when I wasn't even there!

Is this right?! It feels completely and utterly unfair - I doubt the van driver has any idea what he has done to me.

Badger_Lady

Will you be getting a replacement car? If so, then your remaining 9 months can still be paid in installments to cover that car (at least this is usually the case - obviously I don't know your insurer).

They will need to pay you the market value of the car.

stripeyshirt wrote: »

The driver of the van is claiming that someone must have stolen it (and parked it 50m behind where he left it). So I have to pay excess.

Is this right? Surely his insurance company still has to cover the theft and third party damage..? Or at the very least question his story!

vaio

I’d say cancel your claim with your insurance company and peruse the van driver direct.

Either he left the handbrake off and so his insurance company are liable or the van was stolen and did the damage so the MIB will be liable under the untraced drivers scheme.

System

If the van owner can prove it was stolen (likely story ) then you would still be able to claim off the Motor Insurance Bureau since the van would probably be classed as uninsured whilst driven by a thief, so eventually you would get compensation.

If you claim via your own insurer, they should pay market value less your excess, so it may not be worth claiming. You could claim directly from the van driver's insurance who may pay out even if the owner says it was stolen.

P.S.
When you pay in monthly installments, you still have an annual policy, so it is likely that you would have to pay the full annual premium after making a claim but if you do not get a replacement car and do not claim you may just have a cancellation charge to pay.

stripeyshirt

Thank you for your quick replies!

I can't afford to get another car - the insurance haven't declared how much they think my car was worth but I doubt it actually be enough to get an equivalent. Also, getting a car that is 12 years old (which mine was) I would end up having to pay a lot for repairs etc. which I can't afford at the moment. When I bought it 4 years ago I spent hundreds on repairs and servicing it to keep it going which doesn't get factored in in the value.

The insurance have already collected the car and arranged for scrapping. The van driver is insured and it is a company van. He hasn't reported it as stolen but his company are disputing my claim. My insurer has warned me that if they can't prove he is liable then I will have to pay excess, and lose my NCB.

I'm gobsmacked that this is the way it works! I should not be out of pocket (and without a car) because someone forgot to put the flaming handbrake on!

stripeyshirt

Ok, so now I have the valuation (first offer) from the insurance - how do I go about disputing it? Has anyone been in this position before?

any tips greatly appreciated!