Agreed insurance payout, now refusing to pay...
Discussion
Following on from my previous thread about the insurance company putting a very low value on my car which was stolen, we managed to come to an agreement on value after much too-ing and fro-ing. The 'engineer' made me an offer and I accepted that offer (over the phone, as all our correspondence has been), all that was left was for them to send me a cheque.
A week passed and still no sign of a cheque, or indeed any correspondence from the insurance company at all. Then the police rang me to say they have found my car (I'm impressed, I thought it was long gone!) so I told the insurance company that it had been found, in the same phonecall I asked why I hadn't received a cheque for our agreed settlement yet and was told there is a backlog in the payments dept and they would raise my case to be done ASAP.
I spoke to them again today as I still haven't heard anything, only to be told that they are now no longer going to pay me out, they say that now the car has been found they need to 're-examine' it to assess the value. I asked why as we already have an agreement/contract in place for the value. The guy on the phone didn't understand my point but he did say that there is no way they would decrease the value, they could only increase it on inspection. Although this sounds like it could go in my favour, it does not sound correct to me.
Any advice on how to proceed?
Even though the pay out I accepted was below the value I put on the car, I would rather have the money now then have the car back. I have seen the car and aside from some minor cosmetic damage, the suspension looks collapsed on one side, which would probably be a £5k fix along with a load of stress, also if the suspension is that badly damaged I assume there will be other damage to engine/drivetrain too.
A week passed and still no sign of a cheque, or indeed any correspondence from the insurance company at all. Then the police rang me to say they have found my car (I'm impressed, I thought it was long gone!) so I told the insurance company that it had been found, in the same phonecall I asked why I hadn't received a cheque for our agreed settlement yet and was told there is a backlog in the payments dept and they would raise my case to be done ASAP.
I spoke to them again today as I still haven't heard anything, only to be told that they are now no longer going to pay me out, they say that now the car has been found they need to 're-examine' it to assess the value. I asked why as we already have an agreement/contract in place for the value. The guy on the phone didn't understand my point but he did say that there is no way they would decrease the value, they could only increase it on inspection. Although this sounds like it could go in my favour, it does not sound correct to me.
Any advice on how to proceed?
Even though the pay out I accepted was below the value I put on the car, I would rather have the money now then have the car back. I have seen the car and aside from some minor cosmetic damage, the suspension looks collapsed on one side, which would probably be a £5k fix along with a load of stress, also if the suspension is that badly damaged I assume there will be other damage to engine/drivetrain too.
The car was being written off, as it wasn't around to consider repairing.
Now it IS around, so they're going to see if it's cheaper to repair than write it off. Only to be expected, really.
Looking at your other thread, your car books at £12k. Your insurer have already offered you £10k. You think it's worth £18-22k.
Frankly, with that sort of disparity, I'd be wanting them to repair it.
Now it IS around, so they're going to see if it's cheaper to repair than write it off. Only to be expected, really.
Looking at your other thread, your car books at £12k. Your insurer have already offered you £10k. You think it's worth £18-22k.
Frankly, with that sort of disparity, I'd be wanting them to repair it.
Edited by TooMany2cvs on Monday 3rd October 19:03
The thing I don't get is how they think they can simply ignore the agreement we had in place. Unless my University taught me wrong then I was told an offer and acceptance amounts to a contract, by refusing to send me the cheque they are in breach of that contract.
The book value of the car is largely irrelevant as it was insured for market value, not book value. The value at which near identical cars are selling for on the open market is quite far removed from the 'book' figure. The insurance ombudsman actually got back to me and said they had spoken to parkers etc and after looking at the price of the cars on the market they agreed their figures were incorrect, I used this information to pursuede the insurance 'engineer' to offer me a higher value which I was happy with.
Anyway, I look forward to arguing the toss with them on the phone tomorrow, hopefully the manager will understand me!
The book value of the car is largely irrelevant as it was insured for market value, not book value. The value at which near identical cars are selling for on the open market is quite far removed from the 'book' figure. The insurance ombudsman actually got back to me and said they had spoken to parkers etc and after looking at the price of the cars on the market they agreed their figures were incorrect, I used this information to pursuede the insurance 'engineer' to offer me a higher value which I was happy with.
Anyway, I look forward to arguing the toss with them on the phone tomorrow, hopefully the manager will understand me!
Hi said:
The thing I don't get is how they think they can simply ignore the agreement we had in place. Unless my University taught me wrong then I was told an offer and acceptance amounts to a contract, by refusing to send me the cheque they are in breach of that contract.
The book value of the car is largely irrelevant as it was insured for market value, not book value. The value at which near identical cars are selling for on the open market is quite far removed from the 'book' figure. The insurance ombudsman actually got back to me and said they had spoken to parkers etc and after looking at the price of the cars on the market they agreed their figures were incorrect, I used this information to pursuede the insurance 'engineer' to offer me a higher value which I was happy with.
Anyway, I look forward to arguing the toss with them on the phone tomorrow, hopefully the manager will understand me!
I am not sure what university you went to but their professor of reasoning wasn't up to much. The 'contract' you have with your insurance company is the one on your policy. The agreement you made in respect of that contract was in relation to the theft of your vehicle. Now your vehicle is no longer missing that agreement is null and void.The book value of the car is largely irrelevant as it was insured for market value, not book value. The value at which near identical cars are selling for on the open market is quite far removed from the 'book' figure. The insurance ombudsman actually got back to me and said they had spoken to parkers etc and after looking at the price of the cars on the market they agreed their figures were incorrect, I used this information to pursuede the insurance 'engineer' to offer me a higher value which I was happy with.
Anyway, I look forward to arguing the toss with them on the phone tomorrow, hopefully the manager will understand me!
If your policy includes cover for repairs after someone has damaged the vehicle then they may pay for that, otherwise they won't.
I think the problem you might have now is establishing if the damage you mention occured before or after your vehicle was 'borrowed'. Good luck with that.
Hi said:
The thing I don't get is how they think they can simply ignore the agreement we had in place. Unless my University taught me wrong then I was told an offer and acceptance amounts to a contract, by refusing to send me the cheque they are in breach of that contract.
The assumptions on which that offer and agreement were made have changed. The car is now available.Hi said:
The book value of the car is largely irrelevant as it was insured for market value, not book value.
You need to have a look at the definition of "market value".Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff