Car Insurance Claim - Would Like Some Advice

sane01

I recently had to claim my insurance as there had been a rat living in my car for a week which caused a few holes in the car upholstery and one behind my dash as well as my kids seats etc.

To my surprise they have written my car off as a total loss - catergory A. It is only 3 years old and I only bought it 6 months ago from a dealer which I also bought a warranty for the car from. I also got finance from the same dealer.

So now I do not really know what will happen next as it has already taken about two weeks for them to get this far and as I live in the middle of no where with no bus service, I need to be able to get a car as soon as possible, it is fully comprehensive insurance but I am not sure what to expect next and also if they should cover the cost of the warranty. Any help or advice would be much obliged.

greyteam1959

Is this a wind up ??????

MarkyMarkD

I doubt it's a wind up. Apologies for sounding melodramatic, but if a rodent has been behind the dashboard, chewing the wiring, then there's no knowing when there might be a catastrophic failure of the car's electrical systems leading the owner to crash and die.

I'd rather have the car written off than drive around a car which was repaired in a suspect way. And finding all the damage caused would probably be prohibitively expensive.

To the OP, I think that you are likely to lose out financially. There's no reason why (IMHO) the insurers should reimburse you for the warranty - you insured the car, not the warranty. You will also (possibly) have early settlement issues with the car finance.

The car seats should be covered separately for replacement.

If the car is on HP or equivalent, the settlement will go to the finance company, not to you, and then you'll get paid out any remaining money (if there is any). Then you'll have to start from scratch with a new car. So, given that is what you are going to have to do anyway, there's no reason to delay replacing your car IMHO.

sane01

I wish that it was a wind up but it is not because if it was I would be laughing and I am definately not laughing.

Thanks for the advice but when it comes to the childs seat they said they were classed as personal belongings and would only cover upto £100.00 which does not even cover the cost of one car seat, which I do not think is right but who am I to judge they seem to make up there own rules as the go along.

Thanks

Elaine

sane01

Also does it make a difference then that the finance for the car was under my husbands name and not mine as it was always going to be mine but my husband bought it for me.

MarkyMarkD

IMHO it doesn't matter whose name the finance is in.

I can understand the application of a £100 personal possessions limit to the car seats. Do you have "all risks" cover on your household insurance, as that would cover things like this when they were outside the home (i.e. in the car)?

blue_monkey_2

It might be worth checking to see if he has Shortfall cover on the HP, this wuld 'top up' any difference in the amount of finance due on the car and the amount the insurance comapny pays you.

IMHO, if there is an excess due on the household policy it would not be worth claiming for the car seats, there are some good ones out there at the moment and fairly good prices tht I am sure you can replace them with.

sane01

Thanks to you, I have already checked my house insurance they will not cover it because it was a rat that done the damage and vermin are an exclusion on the policy. I have not heard of shortfall cover before, do you get it from the hp company or what.

I know this is probably a really stupid question but what does IMHO mean, I know it is going to be simple but that is probably me at the moment.

Thanks