Insurance Company refusing to payout

ProGo

Several weeks ago another driver failed to stop and drove into the back of me on the M6 at high speed. He accepted responsibility for the incident but damaged a lot of items (uninsured losses) that were in my car. I am negotiating with HIS insurance company to settle for the items but have had several items refused. I would be grateful for anyone's advice/ experience about how aggressively I should negotiate with them, or if I should just settle? Specifically;

1. My mobile phone was on the front passenger seat and was flung into the dashboard and the screen/speakers were damaged. The insurance company have refused to payout stating that it should have been secured in the glove compartment or other.

2. My laptop and suitcase were destroyed in the crash. My laptop was 3 years old and cost £340. My suitcase was around 2 years old and cost £60. I have been offered £300 and £30 respectively because of 'age, wear and tear'. Upon further questioning about how they came up with this figure, the insurance company said it was from 'experience in settling claims'

3. I put in a claim for a new bottle of aftershave costing £40 that had been bought as a birthday present only a few days before the crash. I had a reciept but no photo of the damaged item. I have been offered £10.

Do these seem fair, or should I keep pressing them? Grateful for any insights/ opinions

InsideInsurance

They are legally obliged to indemnify you, ie put you back in the same position you were immediately prior to the accident. All these items are secondhand and so you are basically looking at what you could have sold them on eBay for the night before the accident.

£300 for the laptop looks generous
£30 for a case looks ok to me
£10 for the aftershave looks low but you cannot actually prove it was damaged in the incident

You dont say what the cost of the repairs to the phone are or its secondhand valuation. It is arguable that there was some contributory negligence to its damage but I wouldnt go as far as 100%. Depending on its value would dictate if its worth the fight.

Retrogamer

I agree with all of the above and the amounts offered seem fair, except from the phone.
I'd state to them that the phone always sits there and it's never been an issue until their client crashed into you and it was his negligence that has caused the damage. I'd be pushing for that, but the laptop, aftershave and case seem reasonable offers.

rs65

Phone - they should pay. Where it was in the car is irrelevant - their insureds actions caused the damage - push for repair or cash equivalent to second hand value.

Laptop - very generous offer.

Case - ok offer.

Aftershave - at a few days old I would expect replacement cost. Difficulty is proving the damage so hard to argue with £10.

OnanTheBarbarian

As others have said, the Laptop and case seems decent offers, aftershave, push for another £10, as for the phone, go to a phone repair shop and get a quote for the full repair costs, if they say it is unlikely to be economic to repair get them to put it in writing.

If it is not economic to repair, you will only get the cost of what a 2nd hand one sells for on ebay etc.

maninthestreet

Sounds like the OP had a close shave....

Maz66Star

The person handling the claim for you should have asked for quotes for the repair / replacement of the laptop and phone.
If you send those quotes in and claim the max amount from the third party insurer's, they cannot actually dispute this.

Even though your laptop is 3 years old you have to replace or repair it, they have to pay it out. Also where your phone was in the vehicle is irrelevant. It wouldn't have broken had their client not been negligent in their driving.

I'd say get quotes for the Phone and send it in with photo's if you can.

As for the bag and aftershave it's not likely they will offer much more for those items.

I have heard of much more outrageous claims than yours that have been paid out becuase the person handling the claim knows how to negotiate with the 3rd Party Insurer.

InsideInsurance

Maz66Star wrote: »

The person handling the claim for you should have asked for quotes for the repair / replacement of the laptop and phone.
If you send those quotes in and claim the max amount from the third party insurer's, they cannot actually dispute this.

Even though your laptop is 3 years old you have to replace or repair it, they have to pay it out. Also where your phone was in the vehicle is irrelevant. It wouldn't have broken had their client not been negligent in their driving.

There is no requirement to provide estimates if the thing is clearly a total loss/ beyond economical repair. If the laptop is only worth £300 and has a broken screen, case, keyboard, motherboard etc whats the point asking the OP to get an estimate of £500 of repairs for it?

The insurer only has to provide indemnification which is the lower of the cost to repair it or replace it with another "secondhand" item of equal age and specification.

As to the "they are negligent so they have to pay", unfortunately the law doesnt work that simply. If you are rear ended but werent wearing a seatbelt you will not get 100% of the settlement for your injuries as your own actions are in part to blame for them despite the accident itself not being your fault.