Catagory S

[Drawweight]

I was rear ended in my Panda a few months ago and just went direct to the third party who paid out without any problem.

Bumper and tailgate were damaged and the back panel was knocked in perhaps 10mm although the tailgate still closes fine.

I bought a s/h bumper and have been driving around in it since.

However I got a phone call from an ambulance chaser yesterday who mentioned 'Category C' so I thought I'd do a quick vehicle check and it's come back 'Category S' presumably due to the back panel deformation.

Would this mean my insurance is invalid (due in a couple of days anyway so I just won't drive till then)?

More importantly the car itself is fine and I'd like to keep using it.

Is it just a case of looking for a company that's willing to insure Cat S cars or does the car need any sort of inspection/certification to get it back on the road?

[TooMany2cvs]

Drawweight said:

However I got a phone call from an ambulance chaser yesterday who mentioned 'Category C' so I thought I'd do a quick vehicle check and it's come back 'Category S' presumably due to the back panel deformation.

S-Structural has replaced C. There's less implication of pre-collision value.

Drawweight said:

Would this mean my insurance is invalid (due in a couple of days anyway so I just won't drive till then)?

Depends on your insurer. Once they settle the claim, they may well close the policy.

Drawweight said:

More importantly the car itself is fine and I'd like to keep using it.

Is it just a case of looking for a company that's willing to insure Cat S cars or does the car need any sort of inspection/certification to get it back on the road?

Some may require a fresh post-collision MOT, but the old one isn't directly voided. No VIC these days.

[strain]

I repaired my own car after it was wrote off as a cat C, insurance stayed valid as i asked them to keep the insurance rolling, they just asked for a new MOT

[Durzel]

For the clueless among us.. why would it end up as Category S (or whatever) if it wasn't written off?

[TooMany2cvs]

Durzel said:

For the clueless among us.. why would it end up as Category S (or whatever) if it wasn't written off?

It wouldn't. It's been written off - they're not repairing it, but paying out instead. Cat S is the category of write-off, Structurally damaged.

Written off doesn't necessarily mean dead and crushed. They're giving the OP the option to keep the salvage, instead of passing it to copart to auction.

[Drawweight]

It's the same thing I believe.

Structural damage, although you'd struggle to see it on the Panda.

I went through the third part's insurance and got a pay out although nothing was ever said verbally or in writing so it was just as well I checked.

[Durzel]

TooMany2cvs said:

It wouldn't. It's been written off - they're not repairing it, but paying out instead. Cat S is the category of write-off, Structurally damaged.

Written off doesn't necessarily mean dead and crushed. They're giving the OP the option to keep the salvage, instead of passing it to copart to auction.

The impression I got from the OP was that he wasn't aware that it had been written off, hence his (and my) confusion as to why it had a marker. it seemed like he had just been given some cash towards a new bumper shrug

Appreciate as you say that something on the register as written off may well be structurally fine, or even completely unmolested (e.g. stolen recovered with no damage after payout, etc).

[surveyor_101]

I wondered about this as i had a car cat c by admiral in 2015. They said due to the car being more tha 7 years old they just write them off. They then told me cover was void and stop using the car. They also said if I wnated to us eth car again I needed new cover and a new MOT.

[The Rookie]

If you claim through your own insurer then yes they will cancel your policy in the event of a write-off, if your claimed is paid by the third parties insurer then no.

[Drawweight]

I just got onto my current insurer and they are fine with Cat S as long as it's been MOT'd and an engineers report.

My next question is what do they class as an 'engineer' and any idea on the cost?

[t400ble]

Ask them

Letter from a garge saying the car is sound would be my guess