Write-off Valuation Dispute
Discussion
Hi All,
My daughter was driving to work on a motorway one morning when she heard a 'pop' from the engine, the rear (driving) wheels locked instantly, putting the car into a skid, and by the time she had managed to wrestle it to a halt on the hard shoulder, the rear corner of the car had swiped the Armco pretty hard.
The reason for the wheels locking was that the engine threw a rod through the block and seized instantly. The car was worth around £7300, and the assessor said it would cost over £6000 just to repair the bodywork, so has declared it a write-off.
The insurance company are now saying that they will deduct £2000 from the value of the car, because at the time it hit the barrier, it had a blown engine, and the £2000 is their estimate of the cost of a replacement secondhand engine. They are essentially saying that it had pre-existing damage. My interpretation of pre-existing damage is that it relates to things like serious rust in the bodywork or badly ripped seats, not a sudden catastrophic engine failure that actually starts the accident in motion.
They are also quoting the policy condition that the policy does not cover mechanical breakages, which I accept, but we are not asking them to fix the engine. I don't know of any policy condition that allows such damage to be taken into account when valuing the car.
We have rejected their offer and are awaiting their response, but in the meantime I thought I'd seek some views from the PH experts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
My daughter was driving to work on a motorway one morning when she heard a 'pop' from the engine, the rear (driving) wheels locked instantly, putting the car into a skid, and by the time she had managed to wrestle it to a halt on the hard shoulder, the rear corner of the car had swiped the Armco pretty hard.
The reason for the wheels locking was that the engine threw a rod through the block and seized instantly. The car was worth around £7300, and the assessor said it would cost over £6000 just to repair the bodywork, so has declared it a write-off.
The insurance company are now saying that they will deduct £2000 from the value of the car, because at the time it hit the barrier, it had a blown engine, and the £2000 is their estimate of the cost of a replacement secondhand engine. They are essentially saying that it had pre-existing damage. My interpretation of pre-existing damage is that it relates to things like serious rust in the bodywork or badly ripped seats, not a sudden catastrophic engine failure that actually starts the accident in motion.
They are also quoting the policy condition that the policy does not cover mechanical breakages, which I accept, but we are not asking them to fix the engine. I don't know of any policy condition that allows such damage to be taken into account when valuing the car.
We have rejected their offer and are awaiting their response, but in the meantime I thought I'd seek some views from the PH experts. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Stevie_P said:
No real advice but I suppose they are obligated to put you back in the same position as pre-accident which is basically with a blown engine.
Any ideas why the engine blew?
Steve
Unfortunately this is AFIK correct .Any ideas why the engine blew?
Steve
The car blew its engine. Had it not had an accident, you’d have a car with a blown engine. So insurance company needs to put you in the position you would have been in had it not been for the accident, that is, a car with a blown engine.
So although probably not what you want to hear, having spent 35 years in the industry, the settlement approach is right.
But of course whether £2k is the correct level of deduction is an entirely different matter.
Glad daughter was OK, and hope you negotiate a settlement that you’re happy with.
seems fair to me, youre not asking them to fix the engine but you are expecting them to pay out the value of a car with a good engine, so you would be in a substantially better position, if they did fix the body work you would then have to find a new engine and get it fitted, id much rather be in your position and have a nice chunk of money cash towards a new car than a blown up BWM on the drive.
I guess you would have better of saying you crashed the car and that's what blew the engine (hard to explain i guess) or even hoping they didn't notice the big hole in the engine block,
i do wonder what the insurer would do in this situation if the car had been stolen and someone else was driving it !!
I guess you would have better of saying you crashed the car and that's what blew the engine (hard to explain i guess) or even hoping they didn't notice the big hole in the engine block,
i do wonder what the insurer would do in this situation if the car had been stolen and someone else was driving it !!
Similar thread is similar...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
dMack14 said:
Similar thread is similar...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
Well spotted; that's her. The reason for the new thread is that the story has moved on, and I'm now trying to deal with most of it for her. She's 36 weeks pregnant, and can do without the hassle (and being £2k out of pocket). https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
Sorry. She's not 2k out of pocket. The insurance doesn't cover mechanical breakdowns. Imagine how it would be if the car had just gone bang and stopped on the hard shoulder. No insurance money and a nearly worthless car this way she's disposed of the wreck and got 5k to replace the car. Quids in.
Bert
Bert
Edited by BertBert on Wednesday 10th October 20:45
S7Paul said:
Thanks for the responses so far. I think the thing she's most annoyed about is that if she had gone into a bend too fast, lost it, and stuffed it into the Armco, they would have paid the full value. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances, I guess.
If she hadn't hit the barrier, she'd be a lot worse off. A blown engine and no claim at all.I think she's done very well out of it, and the insurance company have been more than fair.
Cold said:
Why can't she claim for the engine too? People who drive through floods do.
Because it's a mechanical failure, and insurance doesn't cover mechanical failures - it covers accidental damage. Similarly you can't claim on your car insurance for your worn out brake pads, your snapped drive belt, or your exhaust falling off. A similar scenario would be brake failure - your insurer would not pay to fix your duff brakes, but they would pay for the damage caused by the resulting accident, and in the event of a write-off they'd be entitled to take the duff brakes into account when valuing the car.
Flooding your engine by driving through water is a completely different situation. It's accidental damage (albeit a pretty silly way to have an accident), so barring a "don't do bloody stupid things like driving through floods" clause in the policy it will be covered.
I have seen it work where pre accident value was recognised, but I accept this is rare.
Gearbox siezed at 40mph and spun the car into the curb.
Damage to rear bumper and wheel.
Car was written off on the following basis;
The main dealer had “spent” £11,000 taking the car apart to identify the gearbox was at fault.
Adding up a bumper, exhaust they damaged taking it off, shock and rear disc, and they still didn’t know if the engine was ok.
Car written off and I bought it from the owner.
Result for me.
Gearbox siezed at 40mph and spun the car into the curb.
Damage to rear bumper and wheel.
Car was written off on the following basis;
The main dealer had “spent” £11,000 taking the car apart to identify the gearbox was at fault.
Adding up a bumper, exhaust they damaged taking it off, shock and rear disc, and they still didn’t know if the engine was ok.
Car written off and I bought it from the owner.
Result for me.
They are putting you back to the position you were in before the accident, which is a car with a blown engine. As stated totally fair from an insurance POV.
However they are saying that a blown engine affects your financial position by minus £2000 by estimating the cost of an engine swap or rebuild (probably pessimistically) at £2000.
All you can do is to find the absolute cheapest way of putting the car back to its position just before the incident i.e. an engine that is 5 seconds from blowing. Obviously you can’t predict and purchase an engine with 5 seconds of life in it so look for a very very used engine and find out if the cost of swapping this in is less than £2k.
However they are saying that a blown engine affects your financial position by minus £2000 by estimating the cost of an engine swap or rebuild (probably pessimistically) at £2000.
All you can do is to find the absolute cheapest way of putting the car back to its position just before the incident i.e. an engine that is 5 seconds from blowing. Obviously you can’t predict and purchase an engine with 5 seconds of life in it so look for a very very used engine and find out if the cost of swapping this in is less than £2k.
S7Paul said:
dMack14 said:
Similar thread is similar...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
Well spotted; that's her. The reason for the new thread is that the story has moved on, and I'm now trying to deal with most of it for her. She's 36 weeks pregnant, and can do without the hassle (and being £2k out of pocket). https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
In all seriousness, hope everyone is ok!
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