Insurance and providing a courtesy car when repair

richard-

Hi everyone,

Someone managed to scratch all the side of my car, broke headlight unit and ripped off my bumper today, they did not stop of leave any details, the car is now undriveable, I contacted insurance and they told me they wont give me a courtesy car because I wanted to use my approved bodyshop (car manufacturers).

Is there any right for my insurance to provide me a car while mine is in for repair, after all I pay for a guaranteed hire car if mine is out of use.

The approved garage they selected for it to go has the worst reviews of any bodyshop i’ve seen. I can’t believe they send vehicles to this site for repair (LV) insurance. So there is no way I would take my vehicle here, as previously I have had a bad repair at one of my cars from the “insurances approved” bodyshop.

forgotmyname

No. Your choice to use your preferred bodyshop so speak to them about the courtesy car.

Check the terms of your insurance, does it say that the courtesy car is only available if you use their repairer?

The bodyshop maybe the ones offering the free car whilst they repair yours.

onomatopoeia99

Generally insurers only provide courtesy cars if you use their approved insurer wen you claim through your own insurance - if you were claiming direct from a third party's insurer they tend to be more flexible but since you aren't that won't happen.

If you read your policy it will tell you what they will and won't do. They are not legally obliged by statute to provide you with a courtesy car when you use your own choice of bodyshop, they are only obliged to do what they contractually agreed to, which is what the policy document sets out.

Alter_ego

Try asking the bodyshop you are using for a courtesy car.

AdrianC

richard- wrote: »

Is there any right for my insurance to provide me a car while mine is in for repair, after all I pay for a guaranteed hire car if mine is out of use.

What do the Ts & Cs of that "guarantee" say?

The approved garage they selected for it to go has the worst reviews of any bodyshop i’ve seen. I can’t believe they send vehicles to this site for repair (LV) insurance. So there is no way I would take my vehicle here, as previously I have had a bad repair at one of my cars from the “insurances approved” bodyshop.

Your insurer might not provide a courtesy car, but will your preferred bodyshop?

This is something you need to take into account in making the choice to step away from the insurer's preferred repairer. It doesn't sound as if it's going to be a long repair, so it may be worth simply hiring a car - remember, since you have no way of passing the bill to the other driver, you're claiming from your own insurance, so your excess and NCB are already being dinged.

missile

Get a dash cam with parking mode option.

richard-

Great thanks for the help I managed to get one from my dealer free of charge. I was also wondering, can I ask for any parts back from the bodyshop.. such as headlight as a spare because there is only 1-2 scratches and I can keep for a spare?

The bodyshop said no because they may need it to provide evidence to the insurance if required, but is there a time after I can request the headlight back

AdrianC

If the headlamp's usable as a spare, does it need to be replaced? Either it's !!!!!!ed - so there's no point in them not binning it - or it's usable...