Insurance claim on finance

johngent19

Hi, I bought a van back in December 19 privately.

I’ve had an accident in it that could possibly be a write off however my insurance company has told me there’s finance outstanding on the vehicle, not mine but it turns out i bought a van that wasn’t paid for and I have no way of getting hold of the previous owner now! I know I should have checked. My question is, if it is written off will my insurance pay me out or will they pay the finance company?

RBN20

Hi,
it’s likely that your insurer will have to pay the finance company as they have an outstanding financial interest in the vehicle. 

Your insurer should call the finance company to try and find out some additional information first, it may just be that the marker wasn’t removed when the finance was previously paid off, in which case everything is fine, or there may be more to it, the finance company may be doing investigations their end (it’s likely that if someone has sold a vehicle with finance on they may not be making payments anymore). They may be willing to remove the marker and pursue their client directly. 

It may be though that they tell the insurer they are expecting payment as it is their vehicle - if that is the case then it will all depend on what the settlement figure is, if it’s low then you may get a lot of the payment still once your insurer has cleared the finance, but if it’s high you may end up with very little/nothing. 

It’s an open book at the moment without extra information. You can always call the finance company yourself, you won’t be able to pass dpa for the finance holder but if you explain the situation the finance company may be able to help/advise you 

I hope it gets sorted for you