Problem with an insurance claim...
Discussion
To set the scene, I had a low speed accident in the Elise a couple of months ago, entirely my own fault.
The Elise being an Elise, the repair estimates were easily high enough to make it worth claiming off the insurance so I phoned the insurers. They said I can either take it to one of their garages or pick one of my own, but that if I pick one of my own I wont get a hire car while it's being fixed. I don't need a hire car so I picked a couple of highly regarded places in the area, got quotes and sent them off to the insurance company.
The insurers sent out an independent assessor to look at the car and he said he was happy to authorise the repair. He then phoned back a few days later to ask whether I'd mind having it repaired somewhere else as they have a lower lead time for parts. The garage he recommended was another well regarded place so I said "OK". I took the car up there to be repaired last week. They warned me that there might be a problem getting the insurance company to pay for the Armourfend protection.
Today I get a call from the garage saying that they've had the Armourfend fitted but that the insurance company were refusing to pay for it. Both sides seem to be trying to blame the other and it looks like I'm going to get stuck with a bill for nearly 800 quid because of it. At no point was I asked whether I wanted the Armourfend replaced if I had to pay for it myself. If I don't pay for it, the garage wont give me my car back. I assume the garage is technically in the wrong and that I need to pursue them through the courts?
The Elise being an Elise, the repair estimates were easily high enough to make it worth claiming off the insurance so I phoned the insurers. They said I can either take it to one of their garages or pick one of my own, but that if I pick one of my own I wont get a hire car while it's being fixed. I don't need a hire car so I picked a couple of highly regarded places in the area, got quotes and sent them off to the insurance company.
The insurers sent out an independent assessor to look at the car and he said he was happy to authorise the repair. He then phoned back a few days later to ask whether I'd mind having it repaired somewhere else as they have a lower lead time for parts. The garage he recommended was another well regarded place so I said "OK". I took the car up there to be repaired last week. They warned me that there might be a problem getting the insurance company to pay for the Armourfend protection.
Today I get a call from the garage saying that they've had the Armourfend fitted but that the insurance company were refusing to pay for it. Both sides seem to be trying to blame the other and it looks like I'm going to get stuck with a bill for nearly 800 quid because of it. At no point was I asked whether I wanted the Armourfend replaced if I had to pay for it myself. If I don't pay for it, the garage wont give me my car back. I assume the garage is technically in the wrong and that I need to pursue them through the courts?
I guess it depends on whether or not you told the insurance company that it was fitted with Amourfend at the time that the policy was taken out - or after you had it fitted if it was after the policy started
If you didn't tell them, theHighwaymen insurance company will go down the 'Undeclared modification' route and refuse to pay out for it.
If you didn't tell them, the
kambites said:
Indeed. I have no argument with the insurance company not paying for it now that I know that it's not OEM. The question is how the garage ever got it fitted without first checking that the insurance company were happy to pay for it.
They probably put it on hoping that the insurance would go along with it, in which case you might have been very happy?Wouldnt most people have hoped to have their car repaired to pre accident condition - i.e. with the armourfend ?
Mattt said:
kambites said:
They warned me that there might be a problem getting the insurance company to pay for the Armourfend protection.
How did this conversation happen, what was said?It went something along the lines of:
Me: By the way the car has Armour Fend.
Garage: Oh yes, we hadn't noticed that, the insurance company sometimes have a problem with that but it's usually OK.
And that was about it. Now in hindsight I should obviously have made it clear that I did not want Armourfend fitted if I was going to have to pay for it, but it never occurred to me that they might fit it without even asking me.
I have a colleague who had his car done over, all windows smashed, tyres slashed, tailgate battered and panel damage all round, (it seems his daughter might have upset someone..), anyhow, when he insured the car, a Focus Estate, he failed to declare the aftermarket alloys, the window tints, the silly back-box etc so...
The car is recovered and taken to a local bodyshop, colleague receives a phone call from his insurers to say that it has been written off, he is offered a settlement for the car, and starts looking for its replacement.
Days afterwards, he receives another call about the car, telling him that the car has been inspected, and that 'modifications have been found' making the insurance void from its inception. Best of all, the car is now in a salvage yard 30 miles away.
He has had to recover the car himself, repair it himself, and now finds himself with a car that has been 'written off' forklifted onto a truck, forklifted off a truck and a black mark against him to re-insure it, as he now has had an insurance policy cancelled, affecting his new premium somewhat.
It's a big mess, that's in the hands of the ombudsman now, but the bottom line is, should have declared it....
The car is recovered and taken to a local bodyshop, colleague receives a phone call from his insurers to say that it has been written off, he is offered a settlement for the car, and starts looking for its replacement.
Days afterwards, he receives another call about the car, telling him that the car has been inspected, and that 'modifications have been found' making the insurance void from its inception. Best of all, the car is now in a salvage yard 30 miles away.
He has had to recover the car himself, repair it himself, and now finds himself with a car that has been 'written off' forklifted onto a truck, forklifted off a truck and a black mark against him to re-insure it, as he now has had an insurance policy cancelled, affecting his new premium somewhat.
It's a big mess, that's in the hands of the ombudsman now, but the bottom line is, should have declared it....
COMMEN SENSE if you have a car and you modify it in any way! chip it wide wheels and arches BIG exhaust and you dont notifty them of any changes to that car !you then crash it in to the back of a ferrari 458 £250.000 ................... then your car is taken away and mr insurance has a look at it and sees you have modified it and not decleared it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!he works for his insurance company to save them money and cover scams,...................................................first thing monday morning you had better see the bank manager and ask for a £250.000 loan ! cause you is now liable personally for the repairs on that 458 if not the price of a new one,.....................the moral of this story is BE VERY CAREFUL!
charlie croaker said:
COMMEN SENSE if you have a car and you modify it in any way! chip it wide wheels and arches BIG exhaust and you dont notifty them of any changes to that car !you then crash it in to the back of a ferrari 458 £250.000 ................... then your car is taken away and mr insurance has a look at it and sees you have modified it and not decleared it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!he works for his insurance company to save them money and cover scams,...................................................first thing monday morning you had better see the bank manager and ask for a £250.000 loan ! cause you is now liable personally for the repairs on that 458 if not the price of a new one,.....................the moral of this story is BE VERY CAREFUL!
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