insurance paid on stolen car but too low - can anyone help?

KK

I had an accident earlier this year in my car, when a young lad pulled out right in front of me and I crashed into him. He admitted liability, but my car was deemed uneconomic to repair (a 7 year old Peugeot 306 in perfect condition) so his insurance sent me a cheque for the so called value. It was derisory so I trawled local ads and sent in ads for similar cars - this got me another £100 out of them. I was still left with a car which had been well maintained and had done below average mileage (and it was diesel turbo!) and needed repairing, though it was driveable. I was actually so fed up about the accident that I decided to accept the offer, they also granted me ownership of the vehicle which I then sold for another £500. In the end I think it worked out OK as I was able to replace it with a newer car, more suited to my present circumstances, plus I got a smaller engined car which is cheaper to insure and tax. I still feel a bit miffed that despite the accident not being my fault at all, I was left with the problem to sort out.

I had previously had an incident with the same car which was hit outside my house by a neighbour (his car was parked near mine and the next day had my paint all over it and a matching scrape) but he denied it and I had to have it repaired on my insurance. The police and my insurance company could do nothing about it and he got away scot free.

I keep paying the premiums and drive carefully, but insurance does feel like it doesn't protect you as much as it should. Good luck with your car.

Bossyboots

Which is what we did johndglynn with good results.

KG

A similar thing happened to me when a tanker* pulled into the side of my 7 year old daewoo which was in immaculate condition with one previous owner (my grandfather).

Unfortunately I had to do a lot of leg work to get any more money. The best thing to do is provide proof that their estimated 'market value' is incorrect - i.e. print copies of ads for similar cars in a similar condition with similar milage.

Also highlight if you have anything 'extra' like full service history, tax, etc.

When I queried the first (rather naff**) offer I was told one of the reasons the value was so low is because the car had no service history. I pointed out that I had it sitting there in front of me. (Never having had an accident before I didn't know to send it in).

A combination of sending in all the documents and the adverts got me about £300 more.

KG

* I know - I shouldn't have been driving in a shipping lane.
**sorry can't swear on here can I...

losgiganteskid

Easy peasy to get another £40 or so from the insurers - state that you had a full tank of petrol !! :j