Insurance Company Not Offering Enough To Replace Vehicle
PaulMNorth
Posts: 12 Forumite
Hi,
I hope someone might be able to help me here. 2 Weeks ago I had a non fault accident and the other person took full liability. They collected the car for assessment and have come back saying that it is not economical to repair so intend of writing it off.
However, they have made an offer which they say is final but is nowhere near enough to replace the car like for like. They have offered £3900 even though a very poor example of the same vehicle on the same year and mileage is about £4500. They also said that the offer will expire and 2pm and after that I would have to accept or reject it. If I reject it I have to claim off my own insurance.
Any advice on what they are doing here is even legal and what I can do would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
I hope someone might be able to help me here. 2 Weeks ago I had a non fault accident and the other person took full liability. They collected the car for assessment and have come back saying that it is not economical to repair so intend of writing it off.
However, they have made an offer which they say is final but is nowhere near enough to replace the car like for like. They have offered £3900 even though a very poor example of the same vehicle on the same year and mileage is about £4500. They also said that the offer will expire and 2pm and after that I would have to accept or reject it. If I reject it I have to claim off my own insurance.
Any advice on what they are doing here is even legal and what I can do would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
0
Comments
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You can't use Autotader as they are normally private sales and therefore the price given will not be the purchase price (Yes you can say the same for other sales but from experience this is what they go by)
Insurance companies use 3 sites and take an average off all 3, apparently they are not accessible to the general public (BS?)
If it's a non-fault claim I don't see why you would have to claim off your insurance? Giving you a deadline to accept is a pressure tactic, if you feel this is unfair causing you issues in making a correct choice I’m sure this can be visited later via a complaint, I’m confident the Ombudsman what not take a shine to them doing this.
Best bet is (although I said you can't use it) to check all the available sites, highlight all the vehicles that are in the same category as yours and work out the average (AT, Pistonheads, Parkers etc) then see how differennt the value really is, if it's a massive difference then submit it but on mine it was within £500.0 -
As a third party, you are not an eligible complainant and will therefore not benefit from the protection of the Financial Ombudsman.
There are essentially 4 options.
1. Take their offer
2. Try and persuade them to increase the offer by showing them auto trader adverts etc (these are not entirely persuasive but could help if there is a big difference). They may refuse to enter into further negotiations
3. Claim via your own insurance and hope you get a better offer (and if not, potentially pursue a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman)
4. Take them to court to try and get a better offer. Unlikely to be worth the risk for the sake of a few quid, but it is there as an option.0 -
As above the Ombudsman will have no opinion whatsoever - the OP is not a customer of the third party's insurer so he cannot complain to the Ombudsman about them. The Ombudsman will only entertain a complaint you make about the way your own insurance company (or bank, or finalising adviser etc) has treated you as a customer - not a complaint about someone else's insurer. If the third party insurer ain't give you a price that your happy with, your only recourse is to court.If it's a non-fault claim I don't see why you would have to claim off your insurance? Giving you a deadline to accept is a pressure tactic, if you feel this is unfair causing you issues in making a correct choice I’m sure this can be visited later via a complaint, I’m confident the Ombudsman what not take a shine to them doing this.0 -
Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes it seems I have to accept their offer, i asked them to re-evaluate but they stood firm on the price.
My big issue with them was giving me time limits of a couple of hours to accept or reject, turns out they cannot do that and I had to be given 24hrs minimum.
Anyway, had to take the offer as I was not going to ruin my own no claims for the sake of a few quid.0 -
You have an incident to report to your insurer so claiming would probably make zero difference as it seems it was not your fault.
Your insurer would claim the costs from the 3rd party insurer.Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...0 -
forgotmyname wrote: »You have an incident to report to your insurer so claiming would probably make zero difference as it seems it was not your fault.
Your insurer would claim the costs from the 3rd party insurer.
Definitely this. Your insurer claims everything back from the 3rd party insurer, so it is still a no fault claim. You can then take as long as it takes to negotiate a price.
Telling the 3rd party insurer that you intend to do this if they don't come back with a reasonable offer within 24 hours could be worth a try. Play them back at their own game.I'm a Forum Ambassador on The Coronavirus Boards as well as the housing, mortgages and student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.0 -
The third party are preying on your unwillingness to contact your insurer. I will claim through my own insurer as they will be less partial (they will claim everything back from the third party) and you won't lose your non claim discount since you are not at fault. You also have the options to complain and escalate it to the Ombudsman.0
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As a third party, you are not an eligible complainant and will therefore not benefit from the protection of the Financial Ombudsman.
There are essentially 4 options.
1. Take their offer
2. Try and persuade them to increase the offer by showing them auto trader adverts etc (these are not entirely persuasive but could help if there is a big difference). They may refuse to enter into further negotiations
3. Claim via your own insurance and hope you get a better offer (and if not, potentially pursue a complaint with the Financial Ombudsman)
4. Take them to court to try and get a better offer. Unlikely to be worth the risk for the sake of a few quid, but it is there as an option.As above the Ombudsman will have no opinion whatsoever - the OP is not a customer of the third party's insurer so he cannot complain to the Ombudsman about them. The Ombudsman will only entertain a complaint you make about the way your own insurance company (or bank, or finalising adviser etc) has treated you as a customer - not a complaint about someone else's insurer. If the third party insurer ain't give you a price that your happy with, your only recourse is to court.
I'm sorry but this is not correct, you have every right to make a complaint to any company regardless if you're a customer or not.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insurance/insurance-claims/an-insurer-approaches-you-to-settle-a-claim/
"If you’re unhappy with the other person’s insurer
You can complain to the other person’s insurer if you think they’re being unfair or putting pressure on you. You should be able to find the insurer’s contact details on their website or on any paperwork they’ve sent you"
Whilst it may not increase the price they are offering you, you have every right to complain if they are making you feel the way you have mentioned.
Edit:PaulMNorth wrote: »Thanks for all the replies guys. Yes it seems I have to accept their offer, i asked them to re-evaluate but they stood firm on the price.
My big issue with them was giving me time limits of a couple of hours to accept or reject, turns out they cannot do that and I had to be given 24hrs minimum.
Anyway, had to take the offer as I was not going to ruin my own no claims for the sake of a few quid.
Are you able to go back on this? I feel you've been pressured into this decision it's not the correct choice to have made with a limited information you have been provided, have you spoken to your own insurer about this? (This is of course my opinion and I only have the information provided by you)0 -
I'm sorry but this is not correct, you have every right to make a complaint to any company regardless if you're a customer or not.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insurance/insurance-claims/an-insurer-approaches-you-to-settle-a-claim/
"If you’re unhappy with the other person’s insurer
You can complain to the other person’s insurer if you think they’re being unfair or putting pressure on you. You should be able to find the insurer’s contact details on their website or on any paperwork they’ve sent you"
Whilst it may not increase the price they are offering you, you have every right to complain if they are making you feel the way you have mentioned.
Edit:
Are you able to go back on this? I feel you've been pressured into this decision it's not the correct choice to have made with a limited information you have been provided, have you spoken to your own insurer about this? (This is of course my opinion and I only have the information provided by you)
You can complain all you want to a third party Insurer, but the Ombudsman will not get involved except in extremely exceptional circumstances0 -
You can complain all you want to a third party Insurer, but the Ombudsman will not get involved except in extremely exceptional circumstances
I worked for a credit card company, we once had a complaint about an advert that we ran, it had a young girl picking a flower (this was is illegal apparently) someone complained to us about this, we sent a letter etc and paid some compensation (I think we also gave some money to charity), this person took their complaint to the ombudsman because they were still not happy about it.
It was upheld, you call that extreme? I have dealt with the Ombudsman on a daily basis for many years and I can assure you, the Ombudsman WILL get involved if they deem the outcome of the complaint from the 3rd party company as unacceptable or fair on the individual in question, the extremity of it is irrelevant.
I'd also say pressuring someone into accepting a undervalued offer would count as 'extreme'.
I'm going to stop going into this now as it is diverting from the OP.
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/insurance/motor-insurance/vehicle-valuations-write-offs0
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