Can car be CAT S with new MOT

DangerfieldM

Had a no fault accident and insurance company told me it was to be a total loss. Whilst they were determining the valuation I got quotes for repairs and an MOT done to see if there were any other possibly costly issues with my car.
Insurer has now determined that it is a CAT S, structural, but they are happy for me to keep driving the car. Surely the MOT over-rules the CAT S status especially if it is considered safe to drive. Of course we would be looking to repair anyway but can it really be a CAT S if it has a valid MOT in the damaged condition?

forgotmyname

No the MOT does not invalidate the CAT S insurance category.  A structoral item on the car has been damaged. 

Whether you repair it or not that is a fact.  MOT does not crash test your car and see how much it affects the
vehicles strength in a crash.  It maybe a minor dent in the sill which to repair properly maybe costly but it can
still pass an MOT if the area is not visibly weakened.  Whether it's weaker in a crash is a different matter.

fwor

DangerfieldM said:

Had a no fault accident and insurance company told me it was to be a total loss. Whilst they were determining the valuation I got quotes for repairs and an MOT done to see if there were any other possibly costly issues with my car.
Insurer has now determined that it is a CAT S, structural, but they are happy for me to keep driving the car. Surely the MOT over-rules the CAT S status especially if it is considered safe to drive. Of course we would be looking to repair anyway but can it really be a CAT S if it has a valid MOT in the damaged condition?

There's a fundamental difference between an insurance category marker and an MOT certificate. The Cat marker is a record of the car's insurance history, while the MOT is a certificate of the car's roadworthiness (in the view of the MOT tester) at the time the MOT was issued. The two are not related in any meaningful way.

fatbelly

As above, two separate things.

One is a decision made by an insurance company related to repairabilty of the car

The other is the view of an MOT tester working to the limited criteria of MOT guidance

MyRealNameToo

fatbelly said:

One is a decision made by an insurance company related to repairabilty of the car

Less about repairability and more about safety of repair, cost of repair -v- value of vehicle and in the new world if damage was structural or not. 

A or B - its not safe to repair
S or N - is safe to repair but not economical to

S - the car suffered some structural damage, doesnt opine on if the structural damage must be repaired or not
N - there was no structural damage

Mildly_Miffed

A write-off, any write-off, simply says that the insurance company has declined to repair the car, and has paid out the value instead.

You have chosen to forgo a proportion of that payment, basically buying it back from the insurer for the salvage value.

Cat S says that in their opinion, the damage is structural. That doesn't mean it's terminal - it is still repairable, but the bodyshell has structural damage, rather than just bolt-on bits (Cat N - non-structural).
Cat A and B are deemed non-repairable, with the difference being that Cat B cars can have parts sold, but Cat A must be crushed whole.

That marker stays on the car for life, because... it happened. Repaired or not.

On the other hand, the MOT looks at whether the car is roadworthy according to a strictly defined set of criteria.
There are MANY ways in which a car could be an unrepaired Cat S, but pass an MOT.

Let's assume that it's been hit in the rear, and the panel behind the bumper and the boot floor have crumpled. That's structural damage. The insurer have declined to repair, because the car is low value. Cat S write-off.
Mr MoT just looks and says... Do the lights work and show the right colours? Is the exhaust leak-free? Is the boot or tailgate secure? No sharp edges? No suspension damage? Then it's a pass.

MyRealNameToo

Mildly_Miffed said:

the difference being that Cat B cars can have parts sold, but Cat A must be crushed whole.

That marker stays on the car for life, because... it happened. Repaired or not.

On the other hand, the MOT looks at whether the car is roadworthy according to a strictly defined set of criteria.
There are MANY ways in which a car could be an unrepaired Cat S, but pass an MOT.

Let's assume that it's been hit in the rear, and the panel behind the bumper and the boot floor have crumpled. That's structural damage. The insurer have declined to repair, because the car is low value. Cat C write-off.
Mr MoT just looks and says... Do the lights work and show the right colours? Is the exhaust leak-free? Is the boot or tailgate secure? No sharp edges? No suspension damage? Then it's a pass.

Only certain parts as identified by the insurer and the shell still has to be crushed, to be a pedant on B

You slipped into old habits then though... Cat C went when S and N replaced C and D. 

Mildly_Miffed

MyRealNameToo said:

Only certain parts as identified by the insurer and the shell still has to be crushed, to be a pedant on B

Not quite. It's anything bar bodyshell and seatbelt/SRS, and anything listed by the manufacturer as single-use-only...
https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/motor/2025/codepracticecategorisationmotorisedvehiclesalvagemay2025.pdf

"4.2 Non-reusable part
A non-reusable part is one whose future operational performance cannot be assessed or confirmed as not being compromised or contaminated, therefore warranty against the part’s correct future operation cannot be applied.
Parts that must never be re-sold or re-used include, but are not limited to:

• Airbags

• Seat belts
• Seat belt pre-tensioners
• Seat belt stalks
• Seat belt buckles and associated fixings
Note: It is the salvage disposers’/agents’ responsibility to:
Refer to vehicle manufacturers repair information when making decisions on the re-use of safety critical/performance related components that are not listed above.
Ensure that safety-critical/performance related components are inspected and only re-used if undamaged and warranty can be applied.
Ensure that any components deemed by the vehicle manufacturer as sacrificial are not re-used and are disposed of correctly"

You slipped into old habits then though... Cat C went when S and N replaced C and D.

Guilty! And corrected... Ta.