Cash in lieu with insurance
Discussion
Hi chaps needing some advice, had a bump last month on drive it day with my classic RS Turbo escort, went over a bump in road bonnet’s came up and smacked the roof. The classic lotus in front of me seen it happening and slammed their brakes on and I’ve went into back of that too! My car is a mess and of course I’m at fault but insurance are playing hard ball! My car is mint after an 8 year restoration and it’s a lot of damage on my car bonnet, vents, hinges, scuttle panel, front panel, rad, intercooler, slam panel, headlights, bumper etc. Insurance sent out an assessor and he deemed the car repairable but not by them as they can’t get the parts to fix so are offering a tiny amount to repair the car “cash in lieu” I don’t want that as I can’t repair the car as the parts are not available to me either. The bonnet is the major stumbling block as you can’t get a good one, they are offering the tiny bit of cash or nowt. Any help or guidance?
Aircooled_kris said:
had a bump last month on drive it day with my classic RS Turbo escort,
Shirley, you've got classic car insurance for your classic RS Escort?Therefore you've got an agreed value. Let them write it off, then agree that you want to keep the car as part of the settlement.
The "cash in lieu" you refer to must echo the agreed value.
Then source the parts and fix it.
Aircooled_kris said:
Yes classic policy but no agreed value, cash in lieu is a 3rd of the value and that’s all they are offering to repair the car. They are refusing to repair or write it off all they are offering is the cash in lieu.
Surely the 'cash in lieu' IS because they have written it off? Then allowed you to buy it back.The offer might be a 3rd of what you value it at but that is obviously not the value they put on it.
This is a timely reminder to anyone with a non-standard car that 'agreed value' cover is essential, unless you want to end up in the same situation as the OP and discover the true cost of cheap insurance.
Yellow Lizud said:
Surely the 'cash in lieu' IS because they have written it off? Then allowed you to buy it back.
The offer might be a 3rd of what you value it at but that is obviously not the value they put on it.
This is a timely reminder to anyone with a non-standard car that 'agreed value' cover is essential, unless you want to end up in the same situation as the OP and discover the true cost of cheap insurance.
No not writing it off, not buying it back, I value the car at 20k they value it at 25k (I think they are wrong) CIL is 7k. They can’t repair it due to lack of parts available. Totally standard car! Insured with Ageas so not cheap insurance either!The offer might be a 3rd of what you value it at but that is obviously not the value they put on it.
This is a timely reminder to anyone with a non-standard car that 'agreed value' cover is essential, unless you want to end up in the same situation as the OP and discover the true cost of cheap insurance.
Aircooled_kris said:
No not writing it off, not buying it back, I value the car at 20k they value it at 25k (I think they are wrong) CIL is 7k. They can’t repair it due to lack of parts available. Totally standard car! Insured with Ageas so not cheap insurance either!
Thank you for replying to my earlier post, but I'm even more confused now!Surely if it can't be repaired, for whatever reason, then it is a write off?
If it's not insured for an 'agreed value' then where do they get their 25K from? or is it just a figure plucked out of the air?
And where do they get the 7k from?
By non-standard' I didn't mean it had been tuned or modified, I just meant it's not the average car an insurance co would deal with. However as it's insured as a 'classic car' then I would assume that they would take all that into account. There are loads of older cars around with no spare parts available, so the insurance co must be used to dealing with this situation. Usually Owners Clubs can source parts, although they don't come cheap.
Hope you can get it sorted. I know I haven't been much help - just curious!!
I feel your pain.
A few years ago I had the cat nicked from my car, and despite me saying they were no longer available from the manufacturer (or even easily aftermarket) they insisted it went to their typical repairer rather than the marque specialist who makes their own cats that I suggested. After weeks of failing to source parts, and then saying they were unable to fit non-oem parts I was offered cash in lieu to repair myself although the offer wouldn't cover the parts from the specialist.
I escalated this with a complaint (although I did have the "benefit" of having warned them about all of this at the start of the claim process), and they relented and allowed the car to go to the specialist to be repaired although they did grumble at the labour rates.
So based on my experience, I can only say it might be worth complaining and keeping pushing to get it repaired at somewhere of your choosing who can help with the parts situation.
A few years ago I had the cat nicked from my car, and despite me saying they were no longer available from the manufacturer (or even easily aftermarket) they insisted it went to their typical repairer rather than the marque specialist who makes their own cats that I suggested. After weeks of failing to source parts, and then saying they were unable to fit non-oem parts I was offered cash in lieu to repair myself although the offer wouldn't cover the parts from the specialist.
I escalated this with a complaint (although I did have the "benefit" of having warned them about all of this at the start of the claim process), and they relented and allowed the car to go to the specialist to be repaired although they did grumble at the labour rates.
So based on my experience, I can only say it might be worth complaining and keeping pushing to get it repaired at somewhere of your choosing who can help with the parts situation.
It’s a negotiation. You are at liberty to take your car to a couple of different appropriate restoration companies and obtain quotes for repairs. Then present these to your insurance company. If they then fail to play ball you can take it through their complaints process, then, if necessary, the insurance ombudsman. The issue is that without an agreed valuation, this process might result in the car being written off for a lower value than you’d like.
So they can’t get the parts and are giving you £7k for you to fix it yourself.
Are the parts completely unavailable because I can find front panels, bonnets etc readily available. I’m unfamiliar with classic Escorts but is there a substantial difference with the RS Turbo and the basic body shell?
Aircooled_kris said:
Hi chaps needing some advice, had a bump last month on drive it day with my classic RS Turbo escort, went over a bump in road bonnet’s came up and smacked the roof. The classic lotus in front of me seen it happening and slammed their brakes on and I’ve went into back of that too! My car is a mess and of course I’m at fault but insurance are playing hard ball! My car is mint after an 8 year restoration and it’s a lot of damage on my car bonnet, vents, hinges, scuttle panel, front panel, rad, intercooler, slam panel, headlights, bumper etc. Insurance sent out an assessor and he deemed the car repairable but not by them as they can’t get the parts to fix so are offering a tiny amount to repair the car “cash in lieu” I don’t want that as I can’t repair the car as the parts are not available to me either. The bonnet is the major stumbling block as you can’t get a good one, they are offering the tiny bit of cash or nowt. Any help or guidance?
Shame the 8 year resto didn't include basics like the bonnet catches.Your car wasn't basically safe.
Not in fact roadworthy.
You are lucky you didn't kill someone.
Shame you didn't out-brake the car in front.
What is your car worth in its present state or as parts?
Some vehicles are not economically repairable by buying individual parts, but can economically be repaired or used to repair another, by turning two vehicles into one.
If the parts are that unobtainium, there must be value in what you have?
Insurance company's offer is an opening gambit. You can make a counter-offer.
They don't want to get involved in an open-ended, blank cheque repair, they want to settle the matter quickly as a well as cheaply.
I suggest pricing up the various ways forwards, like independent repairers, replica parts etc, selling the remains as a project or breaking it.
Present the insurers with some well reasoned, justifiable options with numbers you'd stand behind in court.
You should also assemble evidence of the pre-accident value.
You might want to consult a solicitor if this drags on.
OutInTheShed said:
Aircooled_kris said:
Hi chaps needing some advice, had a bump last month on drive it day with my classic RS Turbo escort, went over a bump in road bonnet’s came up and smacked the roof. The classic lotus in front of me seen it happening and slammed their brakes on and I’ve went into back of that too! My car is a mess and of course I’m at fault but insurance are playing hard ball! My car is mint after an 8 year restoration and it’s a lot of damage on my car bonnet, vents, hinges, scuttle panel, front panel, rad, intercooler, slam panel, headlights, bumper etc. Insurance sent out an assessor and he deemed the car repairable but not by them as they can’t get the parts to fix so are offering a tiny amount to repair the car “cash in lieu” I don’t want that as I can’t repair the car as the parts are not available to me either. The bonnet is the major stumbling block as you can’t get a good one, they are offering the tiny bit of cash or nowt. Any help or guidance?
Shame the 8 year resto didn't include basics like the bonnet catches.Your car wasn't basically safe.
Not in fact roadworthy.
You are lucky you didn't kill someone.
Shame you didn't out-brake the car in front.
What is your car worth in its present state or as parts?
Some vehicles are not economically repairable by buying individual parts, but can economically be repaired or used to repair another, by turning two vehicles into one.
If the parts are that unobtainium, there must be value in what you have?
Insurance company's offer is an opening gambit. You can make a counter-offer.
They don't want to get involved in an open-ended, blank cheque repair, they want to settle the matter quickly as a well as cheaply.
I suggest pricing up the various ways forwards, like independent repairers, replica parts etc, selling the remains as a project or breaking it.
Present the insurers with some well reasoned, justifiable options with numbers you'd stand behind in court.
You should also assemble evidence of the pre-accident value.
You might want to consult a solicitor if this drags on.
I think that duty is for the Lotus you hit, but your entitlement is based on the contract (terms and conditions) you signed. In a very broad sense, if you had a third party policy they'd not need to fix your car. But I'm guessing you have an agreed value comprehensive policy (in which case the below applies, less the excess).
They'll all be slightly different, but here's a few quotes from my policy (Sterling):
"We will either:
• repair or replace your vehicle; or
• refund you for the amount of loss or damage"
So they clearly have the option to pay cash in lieu of fixing it (in my case). Whether its the same in yours, will depend on your terms and conditions.
They'll all be slightly different, but here's a few quotes from my policy (Sterling):
"We will either:
• repair or replace your vehicle; or
• refund you for the amount of loss or damage"
So they clearly have the option to pay cash in lieu of fixing it (in my case). Whether its the same in yours, will depend on your terms and conditions.
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