Who insures CAT D cars???

Who insures CAT D cars???

Author
Discussion

ritch

Original Poster:

513 posts

186 months

Friday 8th April 2011
quotequote all
I know this has been done to death, but I cant actually find an answer to this on any of the other posts!

So what companies will insure a CAT D car? for info, the car was written off due to parts backlog (19 weeks!!!) and the estimated hire car costs - not the actual damage (minor panel).

Comparison websites return decent premiums of £350ish, but one quick phone call to confirm the premium and advise of CAT D quickly leads to "sorry sir, we won't insure a CAT D".

help!!!

Edited by ritch on Friday 8th April 20:26

billzeebub

3,862 posts

198 months

Friday 8th April 2011
quotequote all
I had no problems with a car I had that had been cat D because some twunt had nicked the recaro electric leather seats out of it..when I bought it I merely faxed a copy of the letters/corespondence from the incident (betwixt insurer, VAG and owner). The car was subsequently insured with no qualms at the price originaly quoted. I suppose it depends on the circumstances of the incident?!

DannyVTS

7,543 posts

167 months

Friday 8th April 2011
quotequote all
I've never had a problem insuring write offs

I don't see why they would not insure it

I've admiral and ecar

Who told you that ?!

ritch

Original Poster:

513 posts

186 months

Friday 8th April 2011
quotequote all
DannyVTS said:
I've never had a problem insuring write offs

I don't see why they would not insure it

I've admiral and ecar

Who told you that ?!
My current insurers - Allianz, Direct Line, Priviledge, Tesco, etc etc.

I have only found one insurer so far and they want nearly £600, which pee's me right off when the comparison websites are around the £350 mark.

Will look into admiral and ecar - thanks

SeeFive

8,280 posts

232 months

Friday 8th April 2011
quotequote all
I have heard that you can get an engineers report on the car that will effectively state that the repair has been done to an appropriate standard, and that the car is able to go back on the road. Some insurers will insure the car with an engineers report, some won't. It is a bit of a minefield, and that is why the cars are cheap. If you think it is hard to insure, wait till you try to sell it.

Most of the sellers talk about "light panel damage, car hire cost" and so on, but have a look on fleabay and see some of the Cat D salvage for sale - light panel damage indeed... and mostly put back together by back street grease monkeys who will not state the recording in their advert, and will not tell you until you lever it out of them.

In the last two weeks, I have spoken to a number of dodgy car dealers who when I call and I ask if it is "recorded cat C or D" respond with "what is that?". After an explanation, they eventually mention that it had "a bumper replaced" and is recorded Cat C/D. If they cannot be honest about the fact it is on the register, then how honest will they be about the extent and quality of the repair? Needless to say that was the end of the conversation in every case.

If I would buy a damaged repaired car (and I wouldn't consider it at all unless I knew who did the repair), I would want to see pictures before the repair at the very least.

blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
If a repaired cat C/D is involved in another accident I wonder what sort of payout you may be offered ?.

ritch

Original Poster:

513 posts

186 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
and which insurance companies can you recommend or suggest?

cheadle hulme

2,457 posts

181 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
If the online quote thing asks you if its a Cat D, then answer it truthfully. If it doesn't ask you, then you can't tell it can you?

How many Cat D cars are insured without the owners or insurers knowledge do you think?

Financially, the only issue with a Cat D is the lower value than a straight car. As long as both parties accept this and adhere to it in the case of another loss, then all OK.

Remember, insurance companies write off cases, ie the total cost of a claim, not the car itself. Being recorded as total loss has no legal status.

ritch

Original Poster:

513 posts

186 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
cheadle hulme said:
If the online quote thing asks you if its a Cat D, then answer it truthfully. If it doesn't ask you, then you can't tell it can you?

How many Cat D cars are insured without the owners or insurers knowledge do you think?

Financially, the only issue with a Cat D is the lower value than a straight car. As long as both parties accept this and adhere to it in the case of another loss, then all OK.

Remember, insurance companies write off cases, ie the total cost of a claim, not the car itself. Being recorded as total loss has no legal status.
thats part of the problem - the online search/quote engines don't have a provision for stating CAT D and they are happy to provide competative quotes, but when phoning and clarifying with them the car is CAT D - it all changes. Reallly frustrating considering they are supposed to have access to all these insurance databases, the police and DVLA systems too.....

Its quite clear with some that they will not cover CAT D so not informing them will end in tears if the insurance ever needs to be claimed against.

paulshears

804 posts

196 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
My Polo is Cat C, so "worse" than a Cat D

I've never had a problem with insurance ... I bought the car off my brother & he had no problems either

DannyVTS

7,543 posts

167 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
I had quotes from tesco and direct line when I was looking for insurance on my Corsa CatD

I'm confused as to what you're doing it wrong - I don't think an insurer has ever asked me if my cars have been previous write offs

Dog Star

16,079 posts

167 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
SeeFive said:
I have heard that you can get an engineers report on the car that will effectively state that the repair has been done to an appropriate standard, and that the car is able to go back on the road. Some insurers will insure the car with an engineers report, some won't.
The company that does it is called Autolign http://www.autoligninspections.co.uk/

The Cat C/D will then NO LONGER BE RECORDED AS A CAT C/D
It will be recorded on HPI as "CATEGORY INSPECTED". That's not Cat C or D.

They check everything - even down to the number of clips holding the stuff like the undertray on.

So I totally fail to see how it is "a minefield" as "some insurers will insure the car with an engineers report, some won't" - I've never even been asked about a cat C or D - let alone a "category inspected".

Schermerhorn

4,342 posts

188 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
My first car was a CAT D car. Never had a problem with the insurance or it(until the engine mounting came off on a busy main road and the engine scraped the pavement for half a mile and I got it home biggrin)

Kiltox

14,615 posts

157 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Dog Star said:
The company that does it is called Autolign http://www.autoligninspections.co.uk/

The Cat C/D will then NO LONGER BE RECORDED AS A CAT C/D
It will be recorded on HPI as "CATEGORY INSPECTED". That's not Cat C or D.

They check everything - even down to the number of clips holding the stuff like the undertray on.
Does this mean insurers are more likely to pay out a proper amount if it's written off a 2nd time?

tr7v8

7,186 posts

227 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Quinny said:
I have a Cat D jeep, and have just sold a Cat C TVR. Which I owned for 10 years.... Never had problems insuring any of em..... The subject doesn't come up..

They don't ask the question so I don't declare it...... And before anyone says "your not insured then" I'd just like to say that my Cat C TVR was involved in a second accident, and the insurance company paid out for repairs in exactly the same way as if it hadn't got a Cat C against it.....

They valued the car, assessed the damage, and declared it to be an economical repair, and gave the garage authorization to proceed...smile
My experience as well. My Porsche is Cat C (but not shown on V5C incidentally) and I've only been asked once if it was & they declined to insure. Everyone else hasn't asked the question!

rallycross

12,747 posts

236 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Are you phoning them and asking do you insure cat d?

It makes no difference other than the value of the car is lower.

I've had a few cat d cars in some cases the previous owner did not even know and would not have told their insurer as they simply had no idea of it's history.

ritch

Original Poster:

513 posts

186 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Got insurance at last! the following companies are ok with CAT D - highway, LV, Admiral and various specialist brokers.

Everyone has touched on the exact issue I have - they don't ask if the car is CAT D, and it obviously doesnt get flagged up by the reg, but when I offer the info - some decline. The various ones that do decline make it VERY clear that if they insured the car without knowing its CAT D, the insurance would be invalidated once they find out.

Its all very ridiculous considering they should have access to that type of info straight off, and yet another reason for them to find a way not pay in the event of a claim.

Bedford Rascal

29,469 posts

243 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
To those that do not offer the information that their car is Cat D when they buy insurance, are you aware that insurance contracts are not "buyer beware", but "utmost good faith"? You must declare all facts that a reasonable/prudent underwriter would want to be able to consider when choosing whether to accept a risk, or the premium to charge.

The OP has gone about it in absolutely the right way, IMO.

frosted

3,549 posts

176 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Directline and Tesco are the same company i think . They me different underwriters but it's the same staff that takes calls , sometimes I call Tesco and they answear with hello direct line

saaby93

32,038 posts

177 months

Saturday 9th April 2011
quotequote all
Many people may not know their car is cat D anyway

Dog Star said:
The company that does it is called Autolign http://www.autoligninspections.co.uk/

The Cat C/D will then NO LONGER BE RECORDED AS A CAT C/D
It will be recorded on HPI as "CATEGORY INSPECTED". That's not Cat C or D.
Thanks I didnt realise you coud do that with cat D, I thought it was only C that needed inspecting