Insurance total loss - non negotiable

[Hiks]

I was in a non fault last month, other party accepted liability. His insurance (AXA) sent me through an AMC called FMG, I wanted to go through my insurance but honestly I sent them 3 emails in a week and never got a reply from them, I tried phoning to which they said they can't handle claims over the phone. The claim on the website that I opened hasn't been updated since the 17th feb when I started it so I just got to the point of getting annoyed at being ignored and started dealing with FMG and figured I'd change my insurance at renewel as I wasn't happy with how they (didn't) dealt with it.

Cut to present and I've had an offer for total loss from FMG which they are adamant is non-negotiable, the vehicle hasn't left me in this process and I've only ever sent photo's of the damage (front wing/headlight/bumper area).

Your vehicle has been valued by an independent assessor, Tec Reports. They are a court-approved assessor and therefore their value is non-negotiable as this assessment would be upheld in a court of law.

Should you disagree with our offer, we would respectfully remind you of your duty to mitigate any ongoing costs (such as hire or storage charges) by accepting our offer on an interim basis, whilst any dispute is being resolved.

I replied saying I wasn't happy with the valuation offered and they replied...


Unfortunately, our offer is fixed due to the valuation being provided by an independent assessor.

Is this just a case of I've wasted a month and I need to chase up my insurance to actually do something? I guess I messed up going through the AMC to begin with.

Edited by Hiks on Wednesday 13th March 15:51

[pits]

Keep chasing and provide proof of your vehicles worth, having been forced through an AMC with our E31 I would never deal with them again, eventually filed with ombudsman to get the money out of them at the value of our car not their value.

[DaveCWK]

The spiel about it being a court-approved assessor, non negotiable offer, your duty requiring interim acceptance of their offer... is i''d suggest all total BS worded to pressurise a layman into accepting what they say so they can quickly close the case and move on (Happy to be corrected though)

[Hiks]

Yeah it was surprising their stance on it without even viewing the vehicle and only having photo's of damage to come up with their valuation.

It's only the work van (VW Caddy) but if it was one of my cars I'd be a lot more annoyed. I'll speak to my insurance and see if they have a different view on it if they bother to reply to me.

[Hiks]

DaveCWK said:

The spiel about it being a court-approved assessor, non negotiable offer, your duty requiring interim acceptance of their offer... is i''d suggest all total BS worded to pressurise a layman into accepting what they say so they can quickly close the case and move on (Happy to be corrected though)

They also ended the email with...

Should you disagree with our offer, we would respectfully remind you of your duty to mitigate any ongoing costs (such as hire or storage charges)

I didn't take a hire car through them so I wasn't bothered but yeah, accept the offer or you could be charged for all the costs is what it sounds like. Pretty bad.

[Mr Tidy]

I had the same st last year from Admiral when one of their policyholders hit me in the rear at a set of lights.

Took it to the bodyshop they recommended because the damage was so minimal you could hardly see it in photos!



BMW would supply a rear bumper cover in primer for less than £700, but their bodyshop managed to pad their estimate up to over £2K and it became a Cat N a couple of weeks before they bothered to tell me.

First offer was insulting so I sent some links to adverts and got another couple of hundred quid out of them, but they were adamant they weren't going to increase on that.

I gave up because I got to keep it and 50% of what I paid for it in 2019 and it still drives really well.

[vikingaero]

Hiks said:

I replied saying I wasn't happy with the valuation offered and they replied...


Unfortunately, our offer is fixed due to the valuation being provided by an independent assessor.

Is this just a case of I've wasted a month and I need to chase up my insurance to actually do something? I guess I messed up going through the AMC to begin with.

Edited by Hiks on Wednesday 13th March 15:51

It's tough enough being shafted by your own Insurer, but this Insurer and their "independent assessor" are taking the Michael. The whole theory in going through them is they keep their costs down and you get a smooth repair/hire car. Main problem with this is that you cannot complain to them as you are not their customer. So that takes out the formal complaint route and Ombudsman.

The only way now is to go through your insurance. I personally would be telling AXA and their assessor and all the court appointed ste to FRO.