We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
How much should insurance payout?
How much money should my insurance company payout if they write off my car?
The car was driven into from behind while I was stationary.
I was present when one of the assessors from the company subcontracted to do the assessment came to my house to look at the car.
He assessed the car as being worth £2000 (I'm sure he said "at the date of the accident"), the repair would cost 2000. He decided that the car was a right off [I'm happy with that]. He then gave me the option of the £2000 or keeping the car [it was still drivable] and getting the £2000 less the 20% scrappage the insurance company would claim. I decided to take the money.
I have since been written to and the insurance company valued the car at £200 - and less my excess - they would pay nothing.
Parkers and Which both suggest a value in excess of £1000.
The fly in the ointment is that the accident happened September 2012 - I was given (and foolishly accepted) the offer of getting a claims management company to deal with the claim since it was not my fault. They were somewhat useless [though I could have chivvied them along a bit better]. As a result of delays - they ended up assessing the car twice and in July 2013 they decided it was a right off and as such they were unable to handle the claim and passed it back to my insurance company - so it was August 2013 when they wrote it off - I had been able to use it since the accident as the damage had not made the car unroadworthy or undrivable. So I suspect that the car at the poiint it was written off was worth £200 since it was still damaged.
So how much should I have expected?
The car was driven into from behind while I was stationary.
I was present when one of the assessors from the company subcontracted to do the assessment came to my house to look at the car.
He assessed the car as being worth £2000 (I'm sure he said "at the date of the accident"), the repair would cost 2000. He decided that the car was a right off [I'm happy with that]. He then gave me the option of the £2000 or keeping the car [it was still drivable] and getting the £2000 less the 20% scrappage the insurance company would claim. I decided to take the money.
I have since been written to and the insurance company valued the car at £200 - and less my excess - they would pay nothing.
Parkers and Which both suggest a value in excess of £1000.
The fly in the ointment is that the accident happened September 2012 - I was given (and foolishly accepted) the offer of getting a claims management company to deal with the claim since it was not my fault. They were somewhat useless [though I could have chivvied them along a bit better]. As a result of delays - they ended up assessing the car twice and in July 2013 they decided it was a right off and as such they were unable to handle the claim and passed it back to my insurance company - so it was August 2013 when they wrote it off - I had been able to use it since the accident as the damage had not made the car unroadworthy or undrivable. So I suspect that the car at the poiint it was written off was worth £200 since it was still damaged.
So how much should I have expected?
0
Comments
-
can you tell us what car you had? and the number plate? if its after 2001, just the 2 digits, like 52 or 020
-
yep, like Tasticz said, need details of the car.. make, model, trim, age etc or nobody can give an rough idea of what it's worth and what you should get back.
Although the accident management company sounds strange. I've used one twice, both times the car was a write off, they dealt directly with the third party insurer and when it was decided that the cost would end up having the car written off, I got a cheque for the car and also the car back. It's your own insurance company who keep the car and the claims management company deals direct with the third party and have no interest in your car0 -
53 reg FOCUS DIESEL HATCHBACK 1.8 TDCi 100 Ghia 5dr 130000 miles
Note the insurance company wrote to me with their offer in September.
@scheming gypsy - I can only go by my experience: wont bore you with all the details here - but it sounded to me like they made some errors - though I should have chased them more than I did0 -
Definitely not a £200 car then. Depending on how much damage there is, it's probably worth more than that in its current condition.0
-
But the payout ism word to the effct off, "to replace the car in its current conidtion"
Now should that be a car with that damage as that is what I drove for a year - or a car in the condition before it was damaged - I kinda assumed that you paid insurance to get the car rapaired back to the previous state.
So where/why might they have got the value of £200? [other than being unreasonably pessimistic about the cars value]0 -
PS I imagine the current state of the car is a cube of metal - the insurance company had it a couple of weeks or so back0
-
it should be the car at the time of the accident - well, seconds before the accident.0
-
maybe a typo and it should have read £2000. Phone them and say the assessor told you £2000.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0
-
thanks all - so it should be the value of teh car just before the accident [regardless of how long it takes for them to settle and the state of the car after?]
Big typo mistake if it was one - they then pointed out that my ecess was £200 therefor I'd get nothing
... and that also is a bit wierd cause I was given the impression that they assessed that the accident was no fault on my part - I was stationary waiting for a car in front of the car in front to turn right into a side road - so I was told that my excess would be recovered and my No Claims Discount would not be decreased0 -
... and that also is a bit wierd cause I was given the impression that they assessed that the accident was no fault on my part - I was stationary waiting for a car in front of the car in front to turn right into a side road - so I was told that my excess would be recovered and my No Claims Discount would not be decreased
That would have been the position had your claim handling company dealt with this, as they would have dealt with the third party directly.
After they were unsuccessful the claim has reverted to your own insurer and will mean paying your excess (and you having to recover it from the third party) and loss of ncd until your insurer is fully reimbursed by the third party.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.4K Life & Family
- 258.8K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards