Stolen car insurance claim tips ?

[jackal]

Hi, i sadly had obe of my cars stolen a few days ago. I am gearing up to battle the loss adjusters and their offers and ideas of market value and naturally fearing the worst. Can anyone who has been through this or who works on the insurance side of things offer any help or tips ? I would be most grateful.

I had only had the car 3 months and it was used to start with. Looking at BMW main dealer listings, the same car today would almost cost me the same as I paid.

[justanother5tar]

Mine was written off 3 weeks ago.

I read various horror stories of low offers etc.

When the guy valued it he offered £50 less than what I wanted!

He said to email 5 similar cars to him and he'll get me the extra little bit too. 6 (working) days later, I had a cheque on my doormat.

Don't be too worried about everything you read/are told, you could be pleasantly surprised. It wouldn't hurt to research some cars that are similar to yours though. Stuff like mileage, condition, service history and options all make a big difference.

Edit: I think you'd have a good argument anyway, you didn't have the car long at all.

[Poopipe]

When mine was stolen I told them i wanted the amount i'd insured it for.

I got exactly that minus my excess - as you'd expect really given that Id entered a contract at least partly based around the value of the vehicle.

[ooo000ooo]

When mine was written off just before xmas, the loss adjuster rang me, asked a few questions about mot (was due up for mot a few days later) and service history, asked what i thought it was worth. I'd had a look on autotrader, gave him an average price and got a cheque a few days later for the value agreed less my excess. Pretty painless.

[ZOLLAR]

Read this, it's all that matters.

Ignore posts suggesting handbags at dawn with insurer's.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications...

[jackal]

Ok thanks, my fear is they may look at back steet garages/prices. My car (M5) was from bm main dealer with main dealer prep, 1 yrs bm warranty etc. and impeccable main dealer SH so i would want that reflected in the value.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Poopipe said:

When mine was stolen I told them i wanted the amount i'd insured it for.

I got exactly that minus my excess - as you'd expect really given that Id entered a contract at least partly based around the value of the vehicle.

I suspect the contract you'd entered into stated they would pay you the market value, not the value you declared. Perhaps you just happen to have declared a fair market value.

[wiliferus]

When mine was written off last year their first offer was £150 more than I paid for it 18 months earlier. No fuss at all. I was expecting call and had built myself up to go into battle.
Cheque came through 3 days later. Was very impressed overall.

Moral is, don't panic until you've got something to panic about, they might surprise you.

[archie456]

When I wrote off a 2 year old bike, I was offered more than dealers were asking for the same.

I never did understand that, so wait and see what they say.

[Poopipe]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I suspect the contract you'd entered into stated they would pay you the market value, not the value you declared. Perhaps you just happen to have declared a fair market value.

I guess that's possible as i wasnt taking the piss when i put the value in but it was quite high on account of modificatIons.
i might go read through my current contract later.
Thanks for the heads up

[barchetta_boy]

Sorry to hear your M5 was nicked. Scumbags. My friend's E61 M5 Touring was stolen too. Seems these modern BMWs are not very secure at all.