Cat C despite not claiming - advice please

[mk1matt]

A friend has had his (damaged) car assessed by his insurer. They've said the repair would be uneconomical and have offerred him a payment, as well as a buy-back option.

He's done his sums and based on some estimates of future premium increases due to a claim, he's decided not to claim and fix it himself. The insurers have said this is ok, though it'll still be recorded as a Cat C.

I thought this last bit was incorrect. I was under the impression that a marker was only applied if the car is written off. Can anyone confirm if this is the case?

Matt

[MrChips]

I've done this recently with my pug. Minor ignition damage and the insurers didn't want to touch it as their system showed that recent repairs had come in a well above the original estimates. Something about fix one problem...create two new ones!

It was done as a Cat 'X', which was a new one on me, but essentially it means i could get the car back off them, plus some money to repair it myself.

When you say "he's decided not to claim" does that mean he's not getting any payout from the insurer at all?

Edited by MrChips on Tuesday 4th October 13:20

[clarkey328is]

This happened to me once, albeit with a Cat D. I crashed the car into a fence and rang up my insurance company. Damage was minor but they wanted to write it off. I said no thanks and fixed it myself. Damage not recorded. I think, but don't quote me, that the insurers have to actually come and get the car and do an assessment before writing it off.

[mk1matt]

The problem is that they've already collected it, so that may prove to be an issue. He wasn't going to take any money for it, just repair it himself and move on.

If they record it, it looks like a VIC will be necessary, plus it'll have a reduced future value.