Insurance claim rights
Discussion
I have a couple of insurance questions for you all, I have claimed on my insurance as a wet road and a heavy right foot put me in a slight incident. I have claimed on my insurance and a very well known and trusted company are doing the work so I hope my worries are in vain.
I didn't inspect the vehicle after the accident and the only photos I have are from when I first bought it.
It did have the odd stone chip and two chips where inconsiderate gits open their car door into it!
(But I'm not worried about these!)
What I'm worried about is that the garage have estimated/fixed it as a front end knock but what about other damage. Yes the front is being sorted and I'm sure that they will do a v.good job but what about other things that could be wrong? Bent alloys, cracked catalytic converters, geometry, oil leak, engine damage, the list could go on and on.
How can I ensure I have claimed for the appropriate mechanical damage!!! I don't want to drive it down the road to find it has a damaged cat and fails the MOT???
TIA
I didn't inspect the vehicle after the accident and the only photos I have are from when I first bought it.
It did have the odd stone chip and two chips where inconsiderate gits open their car door into it!
(But I'm not worried about these!) What I'm worried about is that the garage have estimated/fixed it as a front end knock but what about other damage. Yes the front is being sorted and I'm sure that they will do a v.good job but what about other things that could be wrong? Bent alloys, cracked catalytic converters, geometry, oil leak, engine damage, the list could go on and on.
How can I ensure I have claimed for the appropriate mechanical damage!!! I don't want to drive it down the road to find it has a damaged cat and fails the MOT???
TIA
As well as the garage doing the inspection the insurance company should have sent an assessor to look at the car. Between the two it is highly unlikely they would miss something important. If it is a major front end rebuild involving suspension etc. I would expect them to use a chassis jig to get the alignment correct.
A simple check you can make is to measure the distance between front centre and rear centre of the wheels with the steering straight ahead. These should be the same both sides (obviously
). Combine this with a visual check to see if the front wheels appear to be in the same place within the wheel arches on both sides (and as before if you can remember) and you should be reasonably happy with the work.
A simple check you can make is to measure the distance between front centre and rear centre of the wheels with the steering straight ahead. These should be the same both sides (obviously
). Combine this with a visual check to see if the front wheels appear to be in the same place within the wheel arches on both sides (and as before if you can remember) and you should be reasonably happy with the work.kevinday said:
As well as the garage doing the inspection the insurance company should have sent an assessor to look at the car. Between the two it is highly unlikely they would miss something important. If it is a major front end rebuild involving suspension etc. I would expect them to use a chassis jig to get the alignment correct.
A simple check you can make is to measure the distance between front centre and rear centre of the wheels with the steering straight ahead. These should be the same both sides (obviously
You're putting a lot of faith in insurance assessors and dealers.
I hit a kerb at about 30mph (in the process of avoiding a numpty coming out of a side road and only looking one way) and the front tyre blew out and the rear wheel was bent.
I took it to a BMW dealer and they told me the front suspension had been damaged as well. The insurance assessor came out and didn't even look at the suspension, he just wanted receipts for the two new tyres I had to buy!
When the BMW dealer tried to claim for extra parts that had been damaged in the accident they insurance company refused as they hadn't been informed of these extras before the repair had been authorised.
Now the BMW dealer could not know what other parts were needed until the suspension and steering had been stripped, yet was told that anything found after the initial authorisation would be down to me!
I ended up paying about £2k (1 wheel, 2 tyres, 2 wheel hubs and bearings, 2 thrust arms, 1 anti-roll bar, 2 KDS alignment checks, and £500 excess) for a supposedly comprehensive insurance claim (they paid £2.5k and negotiated a lower labour rate as well) all because the assessor couldn't assess to save his life!
This is one of the reasons why I don't use Adrian Flux anymore - they assessor also took three weeks to write up his (basic) assessment about the condition of the body, paintwork, wheels & tyres (FFS!)
If you're not happy with your insurance company ask for their complaints procedure and follow it. Once you've gone through that, if you're still unhappy, the Financial Ombudsman will help arbitrate.
In the first instance, ask nicely for an independent assessor who is a member of the Institue of Automotive Engineers and Assessors to view your car.
Damian, bad luck (you might want to remove the comment about needing more horsepower from your profile
). Hope it's back soon. If you're really worried, make sure the garage test drive it, make sure the wheel alignment has been done (it should be done as a matter of course in any major accident repair). If you don't drive it before being asked to sign the satisfaction note, don't sign it, on the grounds that you haven't had a chance to properly inspect it. If the garage insists you do before returning the keys, write anything that you're not happy about on the satisfaction note AND on the credit card slip for the excess. DO NOT pay the excess without doing this, it is a signal that you've accepted the repairs and you will find it difficult to take it back if any further problems are found.
The garage won't be paid (well not always!) until you've signed this satisfaction note, so if you've refused to the garage will be keen that the insurance company's assessor comes back to approve repairs. In which case, you haven't and are in a better position to make sure the repairs were good first time.
Tony, sounds like you've definitely got a complaint if it wasn't so long ago that your evidence is gone.
You are not bound by incompetent assessors, claiming to be Engineers, when they are employed to cut costs. They can try to demand that a damaged part is not renewed if it's not broken and is still fit for purpose, in which case you ask your insurance company for any associated loss of value (diminution). If they refuse then don't accept the cost cutting on repairs. You pay for your insurance to cover the cost of repairing damage. Don't accept a car that still has damage.
In the first instance, ask nicely for an independent assessor who is a member of the Institue of Automotive Engineers and Assessors to view your car.
Damian, bad luck (you might want to remove the comment about needing more horsepower from your profile
). Hope it's back soon. If you're really worried, make sure the garage test drive it, make sure the wheel alignment has been done (it should be done as a matter of course in any major accident repair). If you don't drive it before being asked to sign the satisfaction note, don't sign it, on the grounds that you haven't had a chance to properly inspect it. If the garage insists you do before returning the keys, write anything that you're not happy about on the satisfaction note AND on the credit card slip for the excess. DO NOT pay the excess without doing this, it is a signal that you've accepted the repairs and you will find it difficult to take it back if any further problems are found. The garage won't be paid (well not always!) until you've signed this satisfaction note, so if you've refused to the garage will be keen that the insurance company's assessor comes back to approve repairs. In which case, you haven't and are in a better position to make sure the repairs were good first time.
Tony, sounds like you've definitely got a complaint if it wasn't so long ago that your evidence is gone.
You are not bound by incompetent assessors, claiming to be Engineers, when they are employed to cut costs. They can try to demand that a damaged part is not renewed if it's not broken and is still fit for purpose, in which case you ask your insurance company for any associated loss of value (diminution). If they refuse then don't accept the cost cutting on repairs. You pay for your insurance to cover the cost of repairing damage. Don't accept a car that still has damage.
rat said:
Tony, sounds like you've definitely got a complaint if it wasn't so long ago that your evidence is gone.
It was over a year ago now, and they were dragging the feet over authorising a BMW dealer repair rather than their 'approved' garage (Ford). Took them 3 months to get it fixed, all the time without a courtesy car (because I didn't take it to the Ford garage - I paid because I wanted my car back ASAP.
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