Engineer's Total Loss / Write Off Valuation Lowered by Insurer

InsideInsurance

OshayAway wrote: »

Good to know, thanks. Would they be entitled to see / obtain a copy of the report?

TBH, I dont know the definitive answer but almost certainly if they were to do a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection Act then it would be included in the paperwork they receive either from the insurer or from the engineering firm.

Simply asking for it from either firm would probably be responded to initially with a no, it is the insurers property as they commissioned it, but some are more reasonable and if you start asking for their Data Controllers name and address to do a statutory SAR request under the DPA can also get things moving.

OshayAway

mikey72 wrote: »

The FOS are clear on valuations
The forecourt price, based on
" valuations given in motor-trade guides, such as Parker, Glass and CAP."

They don't normally look at ads and similar.


http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html

Thanks Mikey, I'd rather get my friend to proceed on the basis that they were given a valuation which has now been revised with seems to fly in the face of Treating Customers Fairly." Otherwise, it feels like we're back-tracking.

BertTheRaccoon

That may be the ombudsman's approach, but my day to day experience is that insurers do entertain submissions from adverts. Often that is their response when challenged over the valuation of a vehicle.

After all, the Glass' Guide and CAP Black Book are confidential "trade only" publications which the typical punter does not have access to.

mikey72

OshayAway wrote: »

Thanks Mikey, I'd rather get my friend to proceed on the basis that they were given a valuation which has now been revised with seems to fly in the face of Treating Customers Fairly." Otherwise, it feels like we're back-tracking.

Which valuation is the correct one?

InsideInsurance

Lee_Jones wrote: »

After all, the Glass' Guide and CAP Black Book are confidential "trade only" publications which the typical punter does not have access to.

Glass' you can do online yourself on their website glass.co.uk though helpfully the value they give isnt identical to their commercial software.

Parkers you certainly used to be able to buy.

CAP you wouldnt want if your car is in Glass' as Glass' is almost always higher

OshayAway

mikey72 wrote: »

Which valuation is the correct one?

They acted on the one they were given by the insurance company's appointed engineer as they had no reason to think it was incorrect or would be revised.

As it was in the ball park of what they were expecting I'd say that they needn't get into a debate over valuation but rather that they should receive what they were expecting based on the expert's report.

Quentin

OshayAway wrote: »

......As it was in the ball park of what they were expecting I'd say that they needn't get into a debate over valuation but rather that they should receive what they were expecting based on the expert's report.

Their "debate" can only be on the valuation!

They cannot simply say we want what the engineer said, (as already has been advised), he may have made a mistake!

(If he had been on the other side of the "ball park", and the subsequent official offer was higher, would you still want to use the "expert's report"?)

They should start collecting their evidence that the official offer is wrong.

They cannot force the insurer to honour a valiation given if it was based on a mistake.

OshayAway

Quentin wrote: »

Their "debate" can only be on the valuation!

They cannot simply say we want what the engineer said, (as already has been advised), he may have made a mistake!

(If he had been on the other side of the "ball park", and the subsequent official offer was higher, would you still want to use the "expert's report"?)

They should start collecting their evidence that the official offer is wrong.

They cannot force the insurer to honour a valiation given if it was based on a mistake.

Thanks Quentin, there's been no admission of mistake or explanation why the disparity has come about. They were told the vehicle was a write off and given a valuation and acted on that in good faith.

OshayAway

In cases I've dealt with, the offer by the insurer has been as stated by the engineers report and I've negotiated up from there.

Had the report valuation been the same as the offer, in this case £2,100, that is £900 short of the £3,000 declared value so no, that would not have been accepted on that basis as that's not in the ball park.

Quentin

OshayAway wrote: »

.........Had the report valuation been the same as the offer, in this case £2,100, that is £900 short of the £3,000 declared value so no, that would not have been accepted on that basis as that's not in the ball park.

But the "declared" value is meaningless unless it was agreed!