Insurance woes....
Discussion
Good morning PH collective!
Some may know that last week one of my vehicles was t-boned at a junction.
Liability has been determined by the insurance company and all are in agreement that the other party was at fault (simple case of someone pulling out of a junction from stationary into my vehicle which was doing ~20mph at the time).
The insurance company has given me a settlement figure to take the vehicle back from their bodyshop unrepaired as doors are no longer available from the manufacturer.
The damage amounts to a front wing, two doors, plastic mouldings that run underneath, a wheel, steering gubbins and indicators. The parts cost for the panels alone from the manufacturer (including back-ordered doors) is equal to the insurance company's settlement figure (which is around a third of the vehicles market value).
They've been really pushing for me to take back the vehicle, accept the settlement and have it repaired myself - due to the door situation. I've been refusing as I really don't want to have a totalled, undriveable vehicle sat outside my house for months on end while I try to find someone willing to take on the repairs.
The latest from the insurance company (today's mini-update) is that the 'engineers' are refusing to write off the vehicle.
What they will do, which is probably their latest tactic to make me just accept the settlement offer is repair the door when it comes back off back-order. The manufacturer says this is unlikely to ever happen and the insurance company is quoting a repair time of at least one year!
They're also demanding the hire car back (I'll have to read the terms of my hire car agreement with them) immediately as I either need to agree to the settlement, or wait without vehicle for a year for it to be repaired.
Do I have a leg to stand on?
Some may know that last week one of my vehicles was t-boned at a junction.
Liability has been determined by the insurance company and all are in agreement that the other party was at fault (simple case of someone pulling out of a junction from stationary into my vehicle which was doing ~20mph at the time).
The insurance company has given me a settlement figure to take the vehicle back from their bodyshop unrepaired as doors are no longer available from the manufacturer.
The damage amounts to a front wing, two doors, plastic mouldings that run underneath, a wheel, steering gubbins and indicators. The parts cost for the panels alone from the manufacturer (including back-ordered doors) is equal to the insurance company's settlement figure (which is around a third of the vehicles market value).
They've been really pushing for me to take back the vehicle, accept the settlement and have it repaired myself - due to the door situation. I've been refusing as I really don't want to have a totalled, undriveable vehicle sat outside my house for months on end while I try to find someone willing to take on the repairs.
The latest from the insurance company (today's mini-update) is that the 'engineers' are refusing to write off the vehicle.
What they will do, which is probably their latest tactic to make me just accept the settlement offer is repair the door when it comes back off back-order. The manufacturer says this is unlikely to ever happen and the insurance company is quoting a repair time of at least one year!
They're also demanding the hire car back (I'll have to read the terms of my hire car agreement with them) immediately as I either need to agree to the settlement, or wait without vehicle for a year for it to be repaired.
Do I have a leg to stand on?
Firstly - IANAL!
If I was in your position, I would be pushing the insurance company to repair the car, at their expense, including hire car charges until the return of your vehicle.
If they are not willing to do this, either because parts are no longer available, or the cost including the hire car charges is too high, then they should write off the vehicle, and give full market value.
The whole point of insurance is that it is then their responsibility to get you back into the position you were in before the accident, by offering a payout and getting you to repair the vehicle is not putting you back in that position.
Are you sure that they are not writing off the car, and offering you a market value payout minus scrap value for your vehicle, for you to dispose of? (I have had this done in the past, a long, long time ago - car was rear ended, but drivable. Their assessor came to my home, and wrote it off. They didn't want to take posession of the car, so knocked £200 off the pay out, and told me to sell it for scrap/parts/repair.)
If I was in your position, I would be pushing the insurance company to repair the car, at their expense, including hire car charges until the return of your vehicle.
If they are not willing to do this, either because parts are no longer available, or the cost including the hire car charges is too high, then they should write off the vehicle, and give full market value.
The whole point of insurance is that it is then their responsibility to get you back into the position you were in before the accident, by offering a payout and getting you to repair the vehicle is not putting you back in that position.
Are you sure that they are not writing off the car, and offering you a market value payout minus scrap value for your vehicle, for you to dispose of? (I have had this done in the past, a long, long time ago - car was rear ended, but drivable. Their assessor came to my home, and wrote it off. They didn't want to take posession of the car, so knocked £200 off the pay out, and told me to sell it for scrap/parts/repair.)
AndyNetwork said:
...including hire car charges until the return of your vehicle.
Having just read through the relevant section and exclusions in my insurance policy documents, they state:Insurance said:
...you will get FREE use of a courtesy car whilst your car is being repaired ... Courtesy cars are not provided if your car has been stolen, is beyond economic repair, if you choose a repairer not on our approved repairer panel, your own car was originally produced for sale outside the EC, or is a classic car or camper van.
... Which sounds pretty straightforward.
AndyNetwork said:
Are you sure that they are not writing off the car, and offering you a market value payout minus scrap value for your vehicle, for you to dispose of? (I have had this done in the past, a long, long time ago - car was rear ended, but drivable. Their assessor came to my home, and wrote it off. They didn't want to take posession of the car, so knocked £200 off the pay out, and told me to sell it for scrap/parts/repair.)
They are refusing to write off the car (they deem it to be repairable by myself) and the settlement figure they're offering is around a third of the vehicles market value.marshalla said:
And your or your repairer's estimate differs by how much ?
My insurance company is arguing that the settlement figure is what they'd pay to have it repaired at their garage. The quote for me to repair it is equal to the settlement figure in parts alone - it doesn't include labour or paint, nor any of the other parts that would no doubt be needed to fix it.
BarringtonBrown said:
marshalla said:
And your or your repairer's estimate differs by how much ?
My insurance company is arguing that the settlement figure is what they'd pay to have it repaired at their garage. The quote for me to repair it is equal to the settlement figure in parts alone - it doesn't include labour or paint, nor any of the other parts that would no doubt be needed to fix it.
BarringtonBrown said:
They are refusing to write off the car (they deem it to be repairable by myself) and the settlement figure they're offering is around a third of the vehicles market value.
they cant "deem it to be repairable" by yourself, it is insured for damage and they are responsible for the repair of that damage, not you! If they are unable to repair then they MUST deem it a total loss.marshalla said:
Who provided the quote ? Is it just the figure your insurance co. are giving you, or have you actually costed up parts & time so you can provide the insurer with a proper figure and negotiate properly ?
The insurance company quote is from the authorised repairer that the vehicle is in at the moment (who are refusing to do the repairs)My quote is directly from the manufacturers parts department, and doesn't include labour.
BarringtonBrown said:
marshalla said:
Who provided the quote ? Is it just the figure your insurance co. are giving you, or have you actually costed up parts & time so you can provide the insurer with a proper figure and negotiate properly ?
The insurance company quote is from the authorised repairer that the vehicle is in at the moment (who are refusing to do the repairs)My quote is directly from the manufacturers parts department, and doesn't include labour.
They are offering to give you the money that they say it would cost from their own repair company?
Good... give it to them to repair then with new parts if thats what they think it cost and know they can do it.
If you are not at fault and the other party is at fault, their insurance company has NO say in how its dealt with, its your choice to get the repair at a company you see fit and if the repair is not economical then they write it off at full price.
They are not allowed to dictate to you what you do as they are at fault.
(above is correct last time I looked)
Good... give it to them to repair then with new parts if thats what they think it cost and know they can do it.
If you are not at fault and the other party is at fault, their insurance company has NO say in how its dealt with, its your choice to get the repair at a company you see fit and if the repair is not economical then they write it off at full price.
They are not allowed to dictate to you what you do as they are at fault.
(above is correct last time I looked)
BarringtonBrown said:
The other party is insured with the same company unfortunately.
Can you talk to AnniesDad?http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?mem...
He has accident management company and will have dealt with this kind of thing many times.
Probably getting him involved with focus their mind as they are only costing themselves money then pissing you around.
AndyNetwork said:
The whole point of insurance is that it is then their responsibility to get you back into the position you were in before the accident, by offering a payout and getting you to repair the vehicle is not putting you back in that position.
Nope, they put you back into the sane FINANCIAL position. Which isn't the same thing at all. Indemnity makes good your loss, nothing more.The canonical example being losing a pound coin off the side of ship. Your loss is £1, you cannot force them to hire a deep sea salvage vessel to go searching for your quid.
Sorry but I call bull on this. The insurer will either repair it or write it off if they can't source parts.
It is that simple. Are you complicating matters by demanding it is repaired? If so they are well within their rights to take you out of hire. A like for like hire car is not a courtesy car btw.
It is that simple. Are you complicating matters by demanding it is repaired? If so they are well within their rights to take you out of hire. A like for like hire car is not a courtesy car btw.
Edited by LoonR1 on Friday 24th August 14:12
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