Should I expect to be put back into pre-accident position

liltzero

You'll lose your no claims discount if you claim off your own insurance. Remember, it is a no CLAIMS discount, not a no FAULT discount

beardiedog

liltzero wrote: »

You'll lose your no claims discount if you claim off your own insurance. Remember, it is a no CLAIMS discount, not a no FAULT discount

Just had a letter from my insurance telling me that my NCD has been re-instated as the third party insurers have accepted liability for the incident.

AdrianC

beardiedog wrote: »

Just had a letter from my insurance telling me that my NCD has been re-instated as the third party insurers have accepted liability for the incident.

Yes, the claims that your insurer is interested in for NCB purposes are the ones they had to pay for, no matter whose fault it was. So if the other party pays in full? No problem.

Bigphil1474

Definitely worth looking at the buy back option. I had a fiesta written off as uneconomical repair a few years ago. They knocked off £23 on the settlement and I kept the car. It was still roadworthy, although it looked a mess, and I ran it for a couple of weeks, then scrapped it for £100. Probably could have run it longer, but our lass wasn't too keen.

facade

beardiedog wrote: »

Should I expect to be put back in the position I was financially before the accident?

Yes, to an extent.

Before the accident you were driving along say, in a well maintained green 2003 Focus. You might expect to be able to replace it, and continue driving in a well maintained green 2003 Focus.

What happens is they decide the market value of the example focus is £500, so they give you £500. Their reasoning is before you had an asset worth £500, now you have £500, where's the problem?

Except you won't ever be able to buy another the same for £500. You will at the minimum be out of pocket for going to see cars, likely having to pay for a couple of new tyres and servicing.

Best is to keep the salvage and fix it yourself, but then you have a category C car, which is worth less, and probably not the difference in worth left over as cash.

AdrianC

facade wrote: »

Before the accident you were driving along say, in a well maintained green 2003 Focus. You might expect to be able to replace it, and continue driving in a well maintained green 2003 Focus.

What happens is they decide the market value of the example focus is £500, so they give you £500. Their reasoning is before you had an asset worth £500, now you have £500, where's the problem?

Which is exactly what you agreed to when you bought your insurance, if you read the Ts & Cs.

It may well be that there is no well-maintained green 2003 Focus for sale. Obviously, this is fairly unlikely with something as common as a Focus, but with rarer vehicles, it's entirely possible that it simply cannot be replaced like-for-like. So then what? Market value is the ONLY sensible way to deal with it.

If you have a vehicle that isn't fairly represented by the usual price guides, then... that's what agreed value policies are for.

facade

AdrianC wrote: »

Which is exactly what you agreed to when you bought your insurance, if you read the Ts & Cs.

Agreed. My point is that in terms of a snapshot financial appraisal you are in the same position, but in practical terms you are not.

But the OP is a third party, so he didn't agree any terms with the other insurer

AdrianC

facade wrote: »

But the OP is a third party, so he didn't agree any terms with the other insurer

Except he's claiming from his own insurer.

beardiedog

AdrianC wrote: »

Except he's claiming from his own insurer.

Well, the way I see it, I'm not claiming from my insurance company, my insurance company is handling the claim on my behalf against the OPs insurance company to make sure, as they said, I don't lose out and they want to keep my business. I would rather have them involved in case there are any problems down the line.

Hoof_Hearted

I would wait and see. In a similar situation I got more for my write-off that I thought it was worth.