No fault car accident - car payout low

Amyyy_123

Hello

I could really do with some advice as I have no idea what to do. 

I was in a car accident which the other party has taken full liability for. My own insurance has offered me a payout of £7900 for my car (total loss) however this amount doesn't allow me to buy a like for like car with the same miles etc. I'm quite upset about this as I just want to get on with it and need a car. 

My insurance company have said this is their final (and first) offer and they have said that they can open a complaint and they can give me this amount as an interim payment and the rest after if found to be unfair. However in this time (8 weeks) I wont have a car at all! I have sent over adverts for my car that are a higher price but they won't budge. Any ideas what I should do?

I also had a dash cam in there which I'm not sure they have included. 

I have also been contacted by the other party insurer asking me to deal with them directly - is this a better option? Pros and cons? 

Any help will be appreciated!! 

400ixl

It may be too late to deal with the other insurer, but you can try. Some insurers have clauses that you have to allow them to represent you in full once you have opened a claim as they will want to recover their costs which they will have already accrued. Others don't and you could switch. I guess you have nothing to lose by speaking to them, you may have more leverage with them as you are not the insured party and it will cost them less to not have to pay your insurers costs. But do be careful that you don't end up in a position where your insurer comes after you for their costs because you settled directly further down the line.

The dashcam will not be something they include, it is a personal possession you should be arranging to retrieve from the car.

What make, model, year and mileage was the car? You have to remember they will not be offering you main dealer prices, but more of the general retail market (so non franchise).

Sandtree

Amyyy_123 said:

My insurance company have said this is their final (and first) offer and they have said that they can open a complaint and they can give me this amount as an interim payment and the rest after if found to be unfair. However in this time (8 weeks) I wont have a car at all! I have sent over adverts for my car that are a higher price but they won't budge. Any ideas what I should do?

I also had a dash cam in there which I'm not sure they have included. 

I have also been contacted by the other party insurer asking me to deal with them directly - is this a better option? Pros and cons? 

Any help will be appreciated!! 

Log a complaint and provide your evidence to support the higher price though obviously be conscious that an advertised price is not the same as a sale price... anyone can take an advert out on a car for £10,000 over what its worth, it just wont sell. If you aren't happy with their response (they have UPTO 8 weeks - normally much quicker) then you can go to the Financial Ombudsman.

Obv make sure you know if the offer is inclusive or exclusive of the Excess and who is keeping the car (if you are interested)

You should have an opportunity to remove personal effects from the car, assuming the insurer recovered it from the scene, which can include minor accessories like a dash cam assuming its not integrated. 

The problem is that your insurers may have incurred costs, engineering fees, recovery costs, storage, courtesy car etc... the second they have it really becomes too late to switch to the third party insurer because they will then refuse to reimburse your insurer for their costs to date and as such it counts as a fault claim on your record.

Note that if you were to go to the TPI to claim that you have no right of complaint to the FOS if their offer comes in at £7,500