Advise on Negotiating Total Loss Vehicle Value With Insurer

14sprocket

Hi all,

Would really appreciate some suggestions on how to negotiate with insurer re settlement offer on the vehicle deemed total loss.

To begin the story, two weeks ago we were driving our family's VW Transporter down M1, when we got rear-ended in our lane at speed by an SUV, whose driver didn't read the road signs.

Insurance immediately agreed that this is a no-fault accident and arranged for Copart to collect the van for assessment. The damage was mainly limited to crumpled rear door and broken tail light. 

However, Copart called me today to say that their engineer has identified a structural damage to the vehicle, therefore, placing it in the Total Loss "S" category. As the letter that they subsequently sent me says "The findings of this assessment have shown that your vehicle is not economical to repair and, as such, is
deemed a Total Loss"

Now, they gave me a settlement offer which I found rather underwhelming. The letter says "we obtain the Glass's Guide Adjusted Transacted Value and then conduct internet research to obtain examples of the vehicle that is of the same specification, age, condition and mileage. This is to obtain the average market value of the vehicle concerned." 

However, I feel rather underwhelmed with their offer when I research the prices for comparable vans on Autotrader, eBay and other resources. My van had a rather unique combination of characteristics (LWB, 6-seater, automatic) and low mileage and I feel that the company may have taken the average price of lesser vehicles. Realistically, should I take their offer and go to the market to buy the same van (year, characteristics, mileage) I'd be looking to put another 5-6 grand out of pocket.

So, what is the best approach to negotiating with Coplan/insurer?
Is it simply going back to them and saying "I won't take any less than X (your offer + 5 grand)"? Do I need to revert to Coplan or insurer or both?
I can obviously send them links to how similarly specced vehicles are priced on autotrader etc.
Is there any way to involve another independent party in the assessment? Again, it's a no fault claim, so my insurer won't be even responsible for the payment.
What happens if we disagree on the value?

Appreciate any help - thanks!

cw8825

If your not happy go back and negotiate providing evidence however just because a vehicle is listed for x amount Dosent mean that’s what it sells for 

Hoenir

What did you declare the value of the vehicle to be at when the insurance last renewed. How does this compare to the figure you have in mind now. 

Car_54

As above - nobody pays the advertised price.

Tony5896

In the past a search on auto trader within 35 mile radius of the exact make, model, year with links has proven to get me what I needed.

14sprocket

Hoenir said:

What did you declare the value of the vehicle to be at when the insurance last renewed. How does this compare to the figure you have in mind now. 

Does this value matter at all? FWIW, the figure is somewhere in the middle between what they offered in the settlement and offered prices I see on autotradet

14sprocket

Tony5896 said:

In the past a search on auto trader within 35 mile radius of the exact make, model, year with links has proven to get me what I needed.

Did you use this information to persuade the insurer to pay up? How did it work? Would appreciate few more details.

14sprocket

Car_54 said:

As above - nobody pays the advertised price.

How much do they pay then? Advertised price minus 5%?

Car_54

14sprocket said:

Car_54 said:

As above - nobody pays the advertised price.

How much do they pay then? Advertised price minus 5%?

How long is a piece of string?

Every sale is different.

Hoenir

14sprocket said:

Hoenir said:

What did you declare the value of the vehicle to be at when the insurance last renewed. How does this compare to the figure you have in mind now. 

Does this value matter at all? FWIW, the figure is somewhere in the middle between what they offered in the settlement and offered prices I see on autotradet

I'm asked the question every year when I renew my insurance. Under insuring the value could come back to bite you. 

14sprocket

Hoenir said:

14sprocket said:

Hoenir said:

What did you declare the value of the vehicle to be at when the insurance last renewed. How does this compare to the figure you have in mind now. 

Does this value matter at all? FWIW, the figure is somewhere in the middle between what they offered in the settlement and offered prices I see on autotradet

I'm asked the question every year when I renew my insurance. Under insuring the value could come back to bite you. 

Too bad that insured value has zero impact on the settlement offer... I extended my policy a month ago, and the offer I got is 2.5K below insured value. Don't think claim handlers at Coplan even looked at insured value when coming up with the offer