Car been declared cat s write off

robdex1

My insurance company have declared my car as a cat c write off. Managed to get a payout instead of them claiming the car of me and I can just keep the money as its only bumper damage and I've had someone manage to attach it on. Suddenly started to worry that firstly will this make my premium shoot up and also will the insurance want proof of repair or will it not matter? Also read that maybe I have to re register with the dvla? 

robdex1

robdex1 said:

My insurance company have declared my car as a cat c write off. Managed to get a payout instead of them claiming the car of me and I can just keep the money as its only bumper damage and I've had someone manage to attach it on. Suddenly started to worry that firstly will this make my premium shoot up and also will the insurance want proof of repair or will it not matter? Also read that maybe I have to re register with the dvla? 

Cat s not c

400ixl

Category C was deprecated in 2017 so it won't be that category.

The categories are now:

• Cat A – Car has suffered severe structural damage and cannot be repaired
• Cat B – Car cannot be repaired, but it can be stripped for parts to use on other cars
• Cat S – Structural damage that can be repaired
• Cat N – Non-structural damage that can be repaired

I would assume it is a CAT N from your description. DVLA need to be notified but it doesn't need re-registering or a new MOT. If it is a CAT S then you are in a different ball game.

Insurance wise, yes any write off is possibly going to see an increase in premium, but a CAT N should not see it shoot up. Other factors at the moment will see the renewal shoot up unfortunately, but this is the same for everyone.

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You don't notify anyone or do anything with a cat N except check it is safe- no sharp edges etc  and continue to drive it. The insurance company should return the V5, if they don't. you have to apply for a duplicate (you pay for the duplicate because the insurer lost it, it didn't have to be returned)

See the latest (probably completely wrong- it is dotGov) here  https://www.gov.uk/scrapped-and-written-off-vehicles/insurance-writeoffs

Keeping the vehicle

If you want to keep a vehicle in category C, D, N or S, the insurance company will give you an insurance payout and sell the vehicle back to you.

To keep a category C or S vehicle, you also need to:

• send the complete log book to your insurance company
• apply for a free duplicate log book using form V62

DVLA will record the vehicle’s category in the log book.

You can keep the log book if you want to keep a category D or N vehicle.

To put a CAT S back on the road you simply apply for a new V5 (free) which comes back marked CAT S, because the tax will have cancelled when the old V5 was sent back to DVLA

Then tax it and drive it.

I suppose it would be a good idea to repair it first, as if the accident made it un-roadworthy it would be an offence to drive it on the road.

 

You don't need any reports, new MOTs or anything to put a CAT N or S back on the road. The MOT does not cancel when it is written off.

Because CAT S replaced CAT C, there are plenty of CAT S cars that have no structural damage, they still get categorised S because of the total cost of repair

Nobbie1967

It basically has no effect if you keep the car and V5. Mine was written off as a Cat S last year by the third party insurers who paid out minus salvage value. I repaired it and continue to drive it. Insurance was renewed without any noticeable increase in premium over the general rises this year. I never needed to send off the V5 so it is not marked as a Cat S on there, but I am obliged to tell anyone who I sell it to as it will appear when a new V5 is issued.

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Nobbie1967 said:

It basically has no effect if you keep the car and V5. Mine was written off as a Cat S last year by the third party insurers who paid out minus salvage value. I repaired it and continue to drive it. Insurance was renewed without any noticeable increase in premium over the general rises this year. I never needed to send off the V5 so it is not marked as a Cat S on there, but I am obliged to tell anyone who I sell it to as it will appear when a new V5 is issued.

Did the tax not cancel because the V5 was never surrendered to DVLA?

Nobbie1967

facade said:

Nobbie1967 said:

It basically has no effect if you keep the car and V5. Mine was written off as a Cat S last year by the third party insurers who paid out minus salvage value. I repaired it and continue to drive it. Insurance was renewed without any noticeable increase in premium over the general rises this year. I never needed to send off the V5 so it is not marked as a Cat S on there, but I am obliged to tell anyone who I sell it to as it will appear when a new V5 is issued.

Did the tax not cancel because the V5 was never surrendered to DVLA?

No, there’s no requirement to surrender the V5, I think this is something you do when your own insurer writes it off and they may ask you to send the V5. I did just check the tax after finding my other car’s insurance had lapsed. Lots of misinformation around online on this subject not helped by changes to procedures over the years.

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I think the confusion is because people keep thinking that the procedure for putting a write-off back on the road has anything whatsoever to do with safety, when it is all about money.

They did away with the VIC as it was unnecessary now that it is completely impossible for anyone to produce a "ringer" or a "cut & shut", presumably that meant they could sack a load of people and turn off a record keeping pc somewhere.

You'd think that a vehicle written off due to supposed structural damage should at least need an MOT as a basic safety check before it can go back on the road, but when did common sense ever apply?

Like I said, you could just carry on driving it with one of the wheels missing and it wouldn't be picked up until the next scheduled MOT.

(unless of course, it drove past a Police Car who noticed there was a wheel missing, but vanishingly unlikely- when did you last see one?.)

Nobbie1967

facade said:

Nobbie1967 said:

It basically has no effect if you keep the car and V5. Mine was written off as a Cat S last year by the third party insurers who paid out minus salvage value. I repaired it and continue to drive it. Insurance was renewed without any noticeable increase in premium over the general rises this year. I never needed to send off the V5 so it is not marked as a Cat S on there, but I am obliged to tell anyone who I sell it to as it will appear when a new V5 is issued.

Did the tax not cancel because the V5 was never surrendered to DVLA?

However, my other car also got written off by a third party in March and the tax was due in May, but I never received any reminder like I normally do. Only noticed yesterday and taxed it immediately. Maybe DVLA assumed it was off the road and hence didn’t send a reminder. Maybe just coincidence. I’ll have to wait and see if I get a fine for the period the car was untaxed.