Car insurance - accidental damage and engine seized

bitsy30

I've just had a minor accident in which the oil sump was damaged. I didn't realise this at that time and a few hundred metres down the road the car stopped. The engine is now seized as a result of the oil loss and driving the car. Am I able to claim for this off my car insurance?

Quentin

You won't know their view on this till you ask them!

forgotmyname

Did the oil light not come on to warn you there was no oil left?

have you made a claim yet?


Is it worth claiming? Or sell the car for scrap, Or replace the engine yourself.

Dont forget a claim is likely to increase your premiums for 5 years whether they pay out or not.

Its a claim/incident.

InsideInsurance

Ultimately you need to read your policybook and a lot will come down to what the engineer says when they come out to view it (or the garage says if it has delegated authority). What sort of distance did you cover/ what time passed between the initial accident and the car breaking down?

There is a chance that they do cover both bits but consider it two incidents and so 2 claims and 2 excesses etc.

VictorM_2

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Ultimately you need to read your policybook and a lot will come down to what the engineer says when they come out to view it (or the garage says if it has delegated authority). What sort of distance did you cover/ what time passed between the initial accident and the car breaking down?

There is a chance that they do cover both bits but consider it two incidents and so 2 claims and 2 excesses etc.

Surely only one proximate cause though?

InsideInsurance

Will depend on a number of factors but if the damage was done and the OP continued driving around for a week before it seized up I believe the case will be viewed differently than if they drove 100 meters down the road before it died.

Quentin

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Will depend on a number of factors but if the damage was done and the OP continued driving around for a week before it seized up I believe the case will be viewed differently than if they drove 100 meters down the road before it died.

In this case the problem developed after a few hundred metres.

This is all just one claim.

InsideInsurance

No idea, I am not a mechanic to know. The ex drove her car after knocking the oil filter off for a few weeks before it starting having problems

VictorM_2

Thanks, I was just interested to know as I only really know about home insurance.

I am guessing that if the OP had driven around for a week with the oil light on then it would be declined due to the loss not being mitigated.

InsideInsurance

If he had been driving around for a week there is a chance of the claim being rejected as most motor policies have a maintenance condition if not also a due care which driving around with the low oil light on may be considered a breach of.