Paying finance on a stolen car

Daeganc

Hi,

I couldn’t find the exact category so hope somewhere here can maybe help.

I’ve been organising finances (spending etc) for myself and my girlfriend as we look towards saving for a property. After noticing that my girlfriend has an outgoing every month for £200 I asked about this in which she confessed she it still paying the finance costs for a car she had, but was stolen over a year ago. She has a crime reference number regarding this situation with the Police, as they actually ended up finding the engine of the car, but nothing else.

As she was going through a lot of personal issues at the time she never ended up filling in the relevant insurance documents and sending them off. She now feels very anxious talking about the situation and guilt regarding that she never resolved it at the time and has just accepted that she will have to pay.

Does anyone have any advice at all on where we can go from here? She still has two years of the finance to pay which would result in around £5000 in total lost on a car that doesn’t actually exist. I would think with a crime reference number this would act as total proof towards not having to pay the rest?

Many thanks in advance

Grumpy_chap

Claim on the insurance and use the payout to repay the finance.

Swoosh84

Finance company will have no interest in it being stolen, an amount has been borrowed and needs paid back regardless of the situation. She should have claimed on her insurance and used these funds to pay off the finance.

She has not done so, its highly likley any claim would now be declined as a result of the time passed so will have little choice but to continue paying or default.

J

flashg67

surely worth asking the insurance company at the time though - you'll be no worse off if they say no

Thrugelmir

Daeganc said:

As she was going through a lot of personal issues at the time she never ended up filling in the relevant insurance documents and sending them off. 

She did inform the insurance company of the loss? 

dunstonh

As she was going through a lot of personal issues at the time she never ended up filling in the relevant insurance documents and sending them off. She now feels very anxious talking about the situation and guilt regarding that she never resolved it at the time and has just accepted that she will have to pay.

She should put the claim into the insurance company.   They may query with why it took so long but she can blame anxiety of covid and the stress of theft and then anxiety about making a claim. 

mattyprice4004

This is what insurance is for - the fact the car was stolen is of no relevance to the finance company.
She was in control of the asset at the time, and it’s her duty to insure it against loss or theft and claim if this happens. 

macman

So is she still also paying premiums for insuring a vehicle she no longer has?

A_Lert

Better late than never.

First problem is her current policy, if any. Did she inform her current insurers about the theft? If not, was she supposed to, or was the language in the quote process such that there was room for doubt about putting down a theft that wasn't claimed for? If she has given incorrect information to her current insurer that could be a very costly mistake.

Any claim for the stolen car needs to be against the insurance policy at the time of the theft. Read the paperwork for that policy to find out if there's any absolute deadline on reporting incidents. Then report the incident to the relevant at the time of the incident. They may be suspicious at it being reported so late, but the police report being promptly after the incident helps your partner's case.

Bear in mind that if the insurance does pay out, it will be market value minus excess, which is often less than the outstanding finance. (That's what gap insurance is for). There will also be no refund of insurance premiums, even if the theft happened in month 1 of a 12 month policy. (If you pay insurance monthly and your car is stolen or written off, you similarly need to keep paying the instalments anyway.)