Insurance Write off - Best approach
Discussion
An HGV professional lost his temper with a traffic queue and decided to 'make progress' - and managed to do this to my stationary vehicle...
Insurance company/engineers after two weeks of assessing have decided its a cat B write off.
Its a sept 2015 BMW 320GT FSH good condition 115k miles blah blah and they have offered £7950 as an opening offer.
What's my best approach/response to this?
Any thoughts for advice very welcomed never having - luckily- been in this situation before!
PS As an added bonus, it also had a new full engine courtesy of BMW goodwill at 49k miles due to a failed injector. To my simple mind then, this would increase the value of the car as its effectively 'done' only 66k miles, albeit the other components of the car have done the full miles, but at least the engine is quite young!
PPS. Ironically I had filled up with £80 of diesel literally 12 minutes before said Scania 500 flatbed scoured the side- would this also increase the value a touch...?
Insurance company/engineers after two weeks of assessing have decided its a cat B write off.
Its a sept 2015 BMW 320GT FSH good condition 115k miles blah blah and they have offered £7950 as an opening offer.
What's my best approach/response to this?
Any thoughts for advice very welcomed never having - luckily- been in this situation before!
PS As an added bonus, it also had a new full engine courtesy of BMW goodwill at 49k miles due to a failed injector. To my simple mind then, this would increase the value of the car as its effectively 'done' only 66k miles, albeit the other components of the car have done the full miles, but at least the engine is quite young!
PPS. Ironically I had filled up with £80 of diesel literally 12 minutes before said Scania 500 flatbed scoured the side- would this also increase the value a touch...?
Looking at Autotrader says their offer should be around £8900
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?channel=ca...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?channel=ca...
You won’t get anything added to the valuation for a replacement engine. Just as a buyer wouldn’t pay extra for a car fitted with a new engine. To be honest, it would raise more questions about the car and make it a kore difficult sell.
If you’ve got a receipt for the £80 of fuel, stick it in as a claim for special damages and see how you get on. It’s a fair claim to be honest.
If you’ve got a receipt for the £80 of fuel, stick it in as a claim for special damages and see how you get on. It’s a fair claim to be honest.
Joseph Ducreux said:
Cat B? Parts only, shell must be scrapped - for that damage??
Were the insurers smoking crack?!?!
Does look a bit strong doesn t it. I ve long ago stopped trying to figure out the logic used by insurance companies! Were the insurers smoking crack?!?!
If that was me (other than the cat B) I d have bought it back and patched it up and run it till it died.
To the OP, the first offer is always a low ball, just haggle hard with plenty of evidence to get the best possible settlement- it s all you can really do at this stage.
tt601 said:
Joseph Ducreux said:
Cat B? Parts only, shell must be scrapped - for that damage??
Were the insurers smoking crack?!?!
Interestingly they have arrived at their conclusion only from photos they asked me to send to me. No physical visit by an engineer Were the insurers smoking crack?!?!
If you had any interest in keeping the car I'd dispute the Cat B, maybe getting a report from a proper independent engineer.
Anyway I hope you get a good outcome.
You won’t get anything added to the valuation for a replacement engine. Just as a buyer wouldn’t pay extra for a car fitted with a new engine. To be honest, it would raise more questions about the car and make it a kore difficult sell.
If you’ve got a receipt for the £80 of fuel, stick it in as a claim for special damages and see how you get on. It’s a fair claim to be honest.
If you’ve got a receipt for the £80 of fuel, stick it in as a claim for special damages and see how you get on. It’s a fair claim to be honest.
I have had two like this and one in 2025. I sent all the cars closest to mine in age and moles from dealers. Pushed up the price by £2k.
Remember this will cost you most to insure over the next 5years as you have to declare the write off even if it’s not your fault and paid out but other insurer. So the extra money you squeeze out will pay your raised premiums on every vehicle you own. It sucks. I have 2 motorbikes and 3 cars and it pushed each premium up.
Remember this will cost you most to insure over the next 5years as you have to declare the write off even if it’s not your fault and paid out but other insurer. So the extra money you squeeze out will pay your raised premiums on every vehicle you own. It sucks. I have 2 motorbikes and 3 cars and it pushed each premium up.
This is (copied from other post) how I got on with my no fault write off 18 months ago.
E-bmw said:
Post copied from another post I made on a different thread of my personal experiences:
For those who don't need to read this look away as it is a long one for which I will apologise, but for the OP, take heed.
I was subject to exactly this (not yours, mine was parked at the side of the road) accident just over a year ago, you will have a fight on your hands but you need to be well prepared & willing to put up a fight.
I was up against Admiral, which is never a good start, and after telling my own ins. co. they said just to deal with the other company unless I had issues.
In the first instance they told me to get quotes for repair, which I couldn't even get a quote for over 2 weeks, so when I got a call from them & said that the car was also pushed into the next one down the road they said it is very rare that a front & rear won't be written off.
I had a look behind both bumper covers & realised that there was damage underneath so agreed to the car being a write off and then the problems started.
They said I could get a hire car replacement but that if I didn't need one the (maximum) £400 for that would be added to the settlement, we have another car, and I was off work for another 3 weeks, so decided to go this way.
They asked for pictures & replacement costs via a specific email address, so I took them found some similar cars to back up the claim of £5500 I was asking for and sent them off.
3 days later I had still heard nothing so spent the next 3 days trying every email address & phone number I could find and even raised a complaint via their website, but still nothing.
Then randomly on the next day the person I had spoken to & asked for the info phoned me & asked why I was delaying? Obviously I said I wasn't delaying & had actually done exactly what she asked for, so she said she will get back to me later that day.
By this time I was already looking for a replacement & went for a couple of test drives on a different car as what I previously had was a very rare spec (although not rare as in valuable) when I had a call back to say that they had agreed the write off and the pick up for my car was happening the next day & I needed to remove my personal plate, which I did.
On the way to seeing another car we stopped off for my wife to get some stuff from asda & while I was waiting inn the car they phoned back to agree a settlement.
She initially said (after some pre-amble) that they were willing to offer £2600, which I obviously declined in the strongest possible terms.
I then told her what to look for in autotrader & she said she had found one for £2850, and I told her to read the ad to me.
Wrong model, wrong age, wrong engine, wrong spec!
I reiterated that the closest ones in spec that I had found (not identical) were all £5500 to £5800 and that as I was the innocent third party who was legally parked on the side of the road before their clint decided to use my car instead of his brakes that I wanted to be in the same position as beforehand.
She swiftly upped the offer to a random £3800.
I then asked her where this valuation came from, to which she said "Glass's Guide" so I then asked her what the word "guide" meant and did it mean that it was a complete pricing quotation device for all exact cars or just a guide to aid valuation? Did it list my precise spec & did it give a price for my car? Which obviously it didn't.
I repeated the above about my personal valuation & insisted that I would not settle for under £5500 and was willing to enlist the Insurance Ombudsman and my own insurance company & legal assistance if needed to do so.
She then upped the offer to £4850 & added the £400 mentioned above for a hire car, then £250 for allowing just them to deal rather than accident management/my ins.co. etc £80 for transferring my personal plate which came to £5580 and I accepted.
This all took about 30 min on the phone & whilst I was VERY firm & insistant & would not be talked over no matter how many times she tried I never lost my cool & never used any obtuse language.
This is the only way to deal with them, you need to be FULLY armed & prepared to do battle, because it WILL happen.
ETA. I forgot to say that just over a week after the payout, I got an letter from Admiral saying that the complaint I raised had been found in my favour and here is a £100 cheque to compensate you, which was a nice little bonus.
For those who don't need to read this look away as it is a long one for which I will apologise, but for the OP, take heed.
I was subject to exactly this (not yours, mine was parked at the side of the road) accident just over a year ago, you will have a fight on your hands but you need to be well prepared & willing to put up a fight.
I was up against Admiral, which is never a good start, and after telling my own ins. co. they said just to deal with the other company unless I had issues.
In the first instance they told me to get quotes for repair, which I couldn't even get a quote for over 2 weeks, so when I got a call from them & said that the car was also pushed into the next one down the road they said it is very rare that a front & rear won't be written off.
I had a look behind both bumper covers & realised that there was damage underneath so agreed to the car being a write off and then the problems started.
They said I could get a hire car replacement but that if I didn't need one the (maximum) £400 for that would be added to the settlement, we have another car, and I was off work for another 3 weeks, so decided to go this way.
They asked for pictures & replacement costs via a specific email address, so I took them found some similar cars to back up the claim of £5500 I was asking for and sent them off.
3 days later I had still heard nothing so spent the next 3 days trying every email address & phone number I could find and even raised a complaint via their website, but still nothing.
Then randomly on the next day the person I had spoken to & asked for the info phoned me & asked why I was delaying? Obviously I said I wasn't delaying & had actually done exactly what she asked for, so she said she will get back to me later that day.
By this time I was already looking for a replacement & went for a couple of test drives on a different car as what I previously had was a very rare spec (although not rare as in valuable) when I had a call back to say that they had agreed the write off and the pick up for my car was happening the next day & I needed to remove my personal plate, which I did.
On the way to seeing another car we stopped off for my wife to get some stuff from asda & while I was waiting inn the car they phoned back to agree a settlement.
She initially said (after some pre-amble) that they were willing to offer £2600, which I obviously declined in the strongest possible terms.
I then told her what to look for in autotrader & she said she had found one for £2850, and I told her to read the ad to me.
Wrong model, wrong age, wrong engine, wrong spec!
I reiterated that the closest ones in spec that I had found (not identical) were all £5500 to £5800 and that as I was the innocent third party who was legally parked on the side of the road before their clint decided to use my car instead of his brakes that I wanted to be in the same position as beforehand.
She swiftly upped the offer to a random £3800.
I then asked her where this valuation came from, to which she said "Glass's Guide" so I then asked her what the word "guide" meant and did it mean that it was a complete pricing quotation device for all exact cars or just a guide to aid valuation? Did it list my precise spec & did it give a price for my car? Which obviously it didn't.
I repeated the above about my personal valuation & insisted that I would not settle for under £5500 and was willing to enlist the Insurance Ombudsman and my own insurance company & legal assistance if needed to do so.
She then upped the offer to £4850 & added the £400 mentioned above for a hire car, then £250 for allowing just them to deal rather than accident management/my ins.co. etc £80 for transferring my personal plate which came to £5580 and I accepted.
This all took about 30 min on the phone & whilst I was VERY firm & insistant & would not be talked over no matter how many times she tried I never lost my cool & never used any obtuse language.
This is the only way to deal with them, you need to be FULLY armed & prepared to do battle, because it WILL happen.
ETA. I forgot to say that just over a week after the payout, I got an letter from Admiral saying that the complaint I raised had been found in my favour and here is a £100 cheque to compensate you, which was a nice little bonus.
OP, I had a car written off by an HGV with similar damage last year. Did have an engineer's visit though. He said it was entirely repairable, which it was, but insurer wrote it off anyway. Cat S, even though there was no structural damage. Just panels and rear bumper.
Funnily enough the car was back on the road within a month or so.
I assume this is because insurance approved repairers load their estimates so much it becomes 'uneconomical' in the eyes of the insurer v quickly. Whereas a repairer looking to buy write offs and fix them has a more, ahem, realistic view of costs.
Funnily enough the car was back on the road within a month or so.
I assume this is because insurance approved repairers load their estimates so much it becomes 'uneconomical' in the eyes of the insurer v quickly. Whereas a repairer looking to buy write offs and fix them has a more, ahem, realistic view of costs.
Familymad said:
I have had two like this and one in 2025. I sent all the cars closest to mine in age and moles from dealers. Pushed up the price by £2k.
Remember this will cost you most to insure over the next 5years as you have to declare the write off even if it s not your fault and paid out but other insurer. So the extra money you squeeze out will pay your raised premiums on every vehicle you own. It sucks. I have 2 motorbikes and 3 cars and it pushed each premium up.
Might - might, might might.Remember this will cost you most to insure over the next 5years as you have to declare the write off even if it s not your fault and paid out but other insurer. So the extra money you squeeze out will pay your raised premiums on every vehicle you own. It sucks. I have 2 motorbikes and 3 cars and it pushed each premium up.
It doesn't always!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Familymad said:
Remember this will may cost you most to insure over the next 5years as you have to declare the write off even if it s not your fault and paid out but other insurer.
Don't assume that a non-fault claim will increase your insurance, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.Do you want it repaired, or are you happy to have it written off is the question?
Did an insurance assessor physically inspect the damage, or did they just go from your photos?
Difficult to tell from 1 photo, but that does not look like a structural write off, however the insurance company will always want to take the path of least resistance.
If you'd like to keep the car and get it repaired because you know its a good car otherwise and you will struggle to get something as 'known good' for similar money, then you could push them to get it repaired, it is a negotiation.
Or you could get them to downgrade it to Cat S and settle for a partial settlement and the car and get it repaired yourself at a reputable body specialist.
It depends on how much hassle you want, remember you've paid for a service and these people 'should' be working to get the best outcome for you, especially in a no-fault situation.
Did an insurance assessor physically inspect the damage, or did they just go from your photos?
Difficult to tell from 1 photo, but that does not look like a structural write off, however the insurance company will always want to take the path of least resistance.
If you'd like to keep the car and get it repaired because you know its a good car otherwise and you will struggle to get something as 'known good' for similar money, then you could push them to get it repaired, it is a negotiation.
Or you could get them to downgrade it to Cat S and settle for a partial settlement and the car and get it repaired yourself at a reputable body specialist.
It depends on how much hassle you want, remember you've paid for a service and these people 'should' be working to get the best outcome for you, especially in a no-fault situation.
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