Quick answers to some general insurance questions please
Discussion
Probably the wrong forum, but if anyone has quick answers to some questions posed by a friend.
Said friend had a shunt, (other driver's fault), which has resulted in the insurance company writing off his car.
He can borrow a friend's car, but apparently you cannot insure a car you are not the owner of, is this correct, I've never heard of that before?
The valuation offered for the scrapped car doesn't seem to be that much, can he demand a second opinion on the car's value?
The insurance company has a penalty clause for stopping the policy before 12 months, but how can you insure a car that no longer exists technically?
I've probably got some of the salient points wrong, but any input appreciated.
Said friend had a shunt, (other driver's fault), which has resulted in the insurance company writing off his car.
He can borrow a friend's car, but apparently you cannot insure a car you are not the owner of, is this correct, I've never heard of that before?
The valuation offered for the scrapped car doesn't seem to be that much, can he demand a second opinion on the car's value?
The insurance company has a penalty clause for stopping the policy before 12 months, but how can you insure a car that no longer exists technically?
I've probably got some of the salient points wrong, but any input appreciated.
Edited by HOGEPH on Monday 16th February 14:17
a) sort of - you usually need some sort of "insurable interest" in the vehicle to satisfy the mainstream brokers
b) yes - but he'd be better advised to find his own evidence
c) it's not a monthly policy, it's an annual policy with a credit agreement to pay for the premium. The full policy premium remains payable even if you write the car off on day one.
b) yes - but he'd be better advised to find his own evidence
c) it's not a monthly policy, it's an annual policy with a credit agreement to pay for the premium. The full policy premium remains payable even if you write the car off on day one.
Can't your friend's friend add your friend to the policy that's already in place on the car? Assuming there's already a policy on it, he probably wouldn't be able to insure it anyway - I think most companies have a rule stipulating that no other policy must be covering the vehicle.
As for its value, challenge the insurer to find an identical (or at least equivalent) car for the money they're offering. It might help if your friend finds few such cars for sale himself and sends details to the insurer.
As above, your friend took out a one year contract with the insurance company. As with any other contract, if he wants to cancel it or change the details, they have every right to charge him for the privilege. He might in theory be able to claim the fees back from the "at fault" driver's insurance if he considers it worth the effort.
As for its value, challenge the insurer to find an identical (or at least equivalent) car for the money they're offering. It might help if your friend finds few such cars for sale himself and sends details to the insurer.
As above, your friend took out a one year contract with the insurance company. As with any other contract, if he wants to cancel it or change the details, they have every right to charge him for the privilege. He might in theory be able to claim the fees back from the "at fault" driver's insurance if he considers it worth the effort.
Edited by kambites on Monday 16th February 14:38
xRIEx said:
HOGEPH said:
The insurance company has a penalty clause for stopping the policy before 12 months, but how can you insure a car that no longer exists technically?
I'm not sure what you're asking here - can you rephrase?Not got much to say about points 1 & 3, but "my" insurance company was trying it on when my car was written off last year. They provided adverts for cars literally at the other end of the country, with more miles, lower spec, less history and they were claiming that was the going rate and was all they'd be prepared to offer. They even went as far as saying I'd not been truthful about the value I'd given the car when I took out the policy because I bought it with only one key and a duff sunroof, and that they should only really be offering me a settlement figure for a car with those faults. This was despite the fact that I paid for a new key to be programmed and replaced the sunroof within a week of ownership and so placed a value on the car based on these items not being an issue.
Anyway, I had about 3 months of back-and-forth with them, each time with them refusing to budge on their derisory offer (half what I'd valued it as) until I stumbled upon the Financial Ombudsman's guidance for vehicle valuations for insurance purposes, particularly section 2.
I got a free valuation from Glass' Guide (which was actually £1000 more than I'd stated in the policy quote form) and sent evidence of this to the insurers, and told them I would be more than happy to refer my case to the Ombudsman. A cheque for the amount I was requesting was in the post the same day.
Anyway, I had about 3 months of back-and-forth with them, each time with them refusing to budge on their derisory offer (half what I'd valued it as) until I stumbled upon the Financial Ombudsman's guidance for vehicle valuations for insurance purposes, particularly section 2.
I got a free valuation from Glass' Guide (which was actually £1000 more than I'd stated in the policy quote form) and sent evidence of this to the insurers, and told them I would be more than happy to refer my case to the Ombudsman. A cheque for the amount I was requesting was in the post the same day.
Edited by The Flying Ox on Monday 16th February 15:40
Are you saying the Insurer is cancelling the policy after writing the car off and if so you indicate they're making a charge for cancelling the policy.
If they're doing either of the above after writing off the car then in most cases this would not be correct and it should be possible to appeal this and over turn it.
The Insurer are entitled to deduct any remaining instalments from the claims settlement or retain the year's premium, but in most cases they should offer you the option of replacing the written off car with it's replacement on your current policy until renewal. There may be an admin fee for changing the vehicle in line with the standard admin charges for swopping cars and a difference in premium if the new car is more expensive to insure
If they're doing either of the above after writing off the car then in most cases this would not be correct and it should be possible to appeal this and over turn it.
The Insurer are entitled to deduct any remaining instalments from the claims settlement or retain the year's premium, but in most cases they should offer you the option of replacing the written off car with it's replacement on your current policy until renewal. There may be an admin fee for changing the vehicle in line with the standard admin charges for swopping cars and a difference in premium if the new car is more expensive to insure
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