Stolen car - Admiral insurance total loss valuation is much lower than current market value

murfy92

Hi,

My car got stolen last week and it was caught on CCTV.

I've handed over the v5, keys, proof of purchase and CCTV footage to insurers Admiral.

Admiral have accepted a total loss and have given an initial valuation of £14,450, I phoned back saying that was too low and they came back with another calculation of £15,060.

Again this is too low. I have searched autotrader and other websites where a like for like replacement for my car is going for £17,300 and above.

I originally paid £16,200 for my car purchased over 9 months ago from a dealership in Sep 2021. The car was in great condition.

What can I do to ensure that I receive reasonable market value for my stolen car.

In order to purchase a like for like replacement today, I would need £17,000 at the very least. Also, there is an excess of £350.

Any advice and help would be much appreciated as I desperately need a car (my cover didn't include courtesy car for stolen vehicle, I thought this was standard?).

Initial offer wording

" We have decided to settle your claim on a ‘total loss’ basis. We have based our valuation on the

current market value of your vehicle, calculated as follows:

Market Value:

£14,450.00

Less Excess:

£350

Net Settlement Figure:

£14,100.00

The settlement amount shown is subject to our completion of all necessary checks and

we reserve the right to amend this amount should further information come to light.

The payment will follow shortly. Please be assured banking any payment will not prejudice your ".

SaverRate

You agreed to the excess. They shouldn’t increase the valuation because you have to pay the excess!

Where are you looking to get figures of £17000? If its auto trader etc this has the dealerships profit etc added to it.  Have a look at WBAC or motorway - how much can you actually sell your car for? If its close to the insurance payout figure (BEFORE EXCESS) then that’s right. 

Sandtree

As above on the excess point, you generally choose to reduce premiums by taking a higher excess you then have to disregard the excess when it comes to settlement. You agreed for the first £350 of any claim to be uninsured.

A traditional courtesy car is provided by the garage that's doing the repair. They aren't paid directly for providing the car but in theory the cost is within the labour rate (we used to pay £1/hr more if a courtesy car was included). Stolen unrecovered, total loss etc all dont result in any labour for the garage and so they dont provide a courtesy car. Some insurers offer a guaranteed replacement car as an optional extra in which case its a hire car and is given even in the case of a stolen vehicle etc however its duration is normally capped and so its possible with part delays etc that it goes back before your car is ready. 

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/motor-insurance/vehicle-valuations-write-offs 

I'd suggest you have a look at the above article and their section on complaints about vehicle valuation. As it points out adverts contain an asking price not a selling price and its what cars are selling for that determine its value.

murfy92

@SaverRate I checked the websites and they are valuing my car at a sale price of £15,500.

But my issue is that I cannot buy a similar car for that much. Like I said £17,000 is the cheapest I can find online.

I'd be happy for the insurers to arrange a like for like replacement for the amount they are paying out, it's impossible!

diystarter7

Are you look at cars of the same reg/age/mileage/colour/spec?

What is your excess and is that deducted from what they are giving you.

What car is it and colour if you wish.

murfy92

@diystarter7
yep I'm looking at the same spec car. The condition was very good.

Kia Niro
First Edition
2016 (my one was 67 plate),
mileage 60k,
black/white/grey

My excess is £350 and the valuation of £15,060 is before the excess is taken off, so final payout to me would be £14,710.

I would say it's not a fair valuation as it's nowhere near the value of similar cars currently on the market, cheapest I can see is £16,899 which is a year older than my car (I'd be losing out on a year's worth of Kia warranty which I would say is worth £500 at least) see link below:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-asc&radius=1500&make=Kia&model=Niro&aggregatedTrim=First Edition&include-delivery-option=on&price-from=500&maximum-mileage=50000

Sandtree

Just spotted that its Admiral Insurance, in which case remember that no optional extras are covered by the insurance even if present at the time of original build. Don't think Kia do many high value optional extras but things like metallic paint etc are all things that wont be covered by Admiral.

murfy92

Sandtree said:

Just spotted that its Admiral Insurance, in which case remember that no optional extras are covered by the insurance even if present at the time of original build. Don't think Kia do many high value optional extras but things like metallic paint etc are all things that wont be covered by Admiral.

Thanks @Sandtree I had no optional extras on the stolen car.

Grumpy_chap

murfy92 said:

Admiral have accepted a total loss and have given an initial valuation of £14,450, I phoned back saying that was too low and they came back with another calculation of £15,060.

Again this is too low. I have searched autotrader and other websites where a like for like replacement for my car is going for £17,300 and above.

I originally paid £16,200 for my car purchased over 9 months ago from a dealership in Sep 2021. The car was in great condition.

Also, there is an excess of £350.

Used car prices are holding up very firmly at the moment.

In normal times, bought a car for £16.2k, used it for nine months and then sold for £15k would be a low depreciation.

In current times, depreciation might well have been NIL and that is an argument to take to the insurer.  It may be possible that the cars advertised at £17k can be actually purchased for £16.2k.

Whatever settlement value is agreed, the excess is deducted from that.  The excess does not increase the settlement value to then deduct the amount.

I assume the OP does not have GAP insurance.  Unlikely as it is not mentioned, but could have been bundled in and forgotten about.

Silvertabby

Hasn't this always been the case?  ie, theft/full write off insurance only covers the sale value of the actual vehicle, and not what it would cost to buy a similar car from a dealer.

Otherwise there would be no need for GAP insurance.  

murfy92

Grumpy_chap said:

murfy92 said:

Admiral have accepted a total loss and have given an initial valuation of £14,450, I phoned back saying that was too low and they came back with another calculation of £15,060.

Again this is too low. I have searched autotrader and other websites where a like for like replacement for my car is going for £17,300 and above.

I originally paid £16,200 for my car purchased over 9 months ago from a dealership in Sep 2021. The car was in great condition.

Also, there is an excess of £350.

Used car prices are holding up very firmly at the moment.

In normal times, bought a car for £16.2k, used it for nine months and then sold for £15k would be a low depreciation.

In current times, depreciation might well have been NIL and that is an argument to take to the insurer.  It may be possible that the cars advertised at £17k can be actually purchased for £16.2k.

Whatever settlement value is agreed, the excess is deducted from that.  The excess does not increase the settlement value to then deduct the amount.

I assume the OP does not have GAP insurance.  Unlikely as it is not mentioned, but could have been bundled in and forgotten about.

You're defintiely right, today used cars are not depreciating at all especially electric or hybrids such as my car.

In fact, the prices of used cars are going up moreso cars less than 7 years old.

Unfortunately, I did not have GAP insurance.