Insurance claim help needed!

[hairy]

Hi,

I will try not to let this turn into a rant as I am not a happy chap.

My girlfriend was recently given a Mk2 polo as her first car so she could learn to drive, sorts out her insurance(paying monthly) and taxes it.

couple of weeks some scumbag steals it and burns it out, police inform her that a local recovery company has taken it away.

she does as she is told by the police and informs her insurance company, who are now saying that the value of the car is less than the excess (£150) and her outstanding insurance premium of about £800!

they have also said that unless she buys another car and puts it on that policy they will charge £310 "holding fee"!

Now i can understand the car not being worth a lot, but to say that the full amount for a years insurance has to come off the value sounds a bit suspect, not to mention the extra "Holding Fee"

I can think only the company that the police instructed to recover the car is where the charges have come from, surely the whole point of having insurance is so that they sort all of this out?

Thanks in advance.

[Crusoe]

If you pay monthly for your insurance you still need to pay the full amount if you make a full claim for the car being written off. Doesn’t matter if it is in the first week or the last month of the policy you have taken out a year of insurance and just paying it monthly.

Edit, sounds like they are being very fair allowing you to continue the cover as they don't have to pay out as the car is worth so little, they could be asking for the full outstanding insurance amount.

Edited by Crusoe on Wednesday 3rd November 14:56

[halo34]

The insurance company will go with book value for the car and yes sometimes you have to pay the policy in full before getting a payout.

How much was the car worth at market value - have a look at similar cars.

As for the holding thing, that doesn't quite make sense to me - if she has claimed as assuming no claims bonus is kaput then might be easier just to let the policy lapse and take out a new one with a different company when she has a new car lined up.

Remeber that insurance is a yrly premium normally to cover the risk - the fact you can spread payments monthly is irrelevant if you make a claim and the full policy comes to bear - if you dont claim then normally you can get a porportion of the yr back.

[hairy]

thanks for the replies, have just left a msg with the chap who is dealing with her claim to give me a ring so he can explain what the holding fee is.

I can understand them wanting the policy paid in full, but to charge a holding fee if she doesn't carry on with the policy sounds very suspect to me!

i thought the whole point of having an insurance policy is so if your car does get stolen they look after all the loose ends, so to speak.