Insurance claim advice

[OwenP]

After my little run in with a tree on Thursday I called the insurance company who have arranged for someone to come and take my car away to assess it so that they can make a total loss offer. I am now wondering if that was the right thing to do.

The car was a 406 Estate HDi 90 Rapier, 51 plate with 157000 miles on it. I paid £1500 3 years or so ago for it. Average price on Autotrader for something similar seems to be around £1100 ish.

My excess is £600, and my no claims were not protected, so I am wondering if it might be a better idea to call the insurance claim off and sell the car privately, thus keeping my no claims bonus? Or if I should let them take the car, make an offer and refuse it if it isn't any good, then ask for it back?

Any thoughts please?

Thanks in advance.

[RichardW]

Sadly no way is the insurance co going to offer you more than £600 for it - £250 would be my guess - little more than scrap value

Best ask for it back, cancel the claim and fix it with 2nd hand bits or e-bay it for spares.

Insurance will go up nonetheless, since you've had an accident, although dubiously your fault.... bad luck all round

[OwenP]

Yeah I was figuring I wouldn't get much. They don't have it yet, not being picked up for assessment till tomorrow.

I think ebay for spares is the only way to go, there is - I think - too much damage for it to be repairable. One side of the car is shorter than the other, there is damage to both the cooling system and the aircon system. The radiator is bent and has been torn off some of its mounts, there is also significant panel damage, the list could go on.

Yeah I know the insurance will go up, but figuring if I can limit the damage to the 8 years no claims I have currently it won't be too bad.

[Chlorate]

I'd definitely tell them to do one, weigh it in (or break for parts) and cut your losses. It's a shame, but given that you'll almost certainly make a loss on the insurance claim it's better to make a couple of hundred through scrap and hunt for a cheap runaround.

Alex

[addo]

I hate insurers. Tickled up my Xantia's rear bumper the other week on a post; $2K damage give or take but the five year increase on all my policies if I claim on one (plus the $600 excess) makes it cheaper to eat the repair cost.

[andmcit]

It's scandalous and frankly a ridiculous farce that now faced with a genuine need for insurance for an
accident where you were pretty much powerless to avoid, all advice, and mine too is telling you there's
no point in persuing the sharks for the modest money you are legitimately entitled to.

Your claim would only ever amount to anything if you could demand damages to the party that directly
caused your damage, in this case the owner of the land whose tree fell on you. Chasing your own insurance
won't see the economics work out remotely in your favour - if your car had been a 6 month old BMW, rather
than a 12 year old Pug there'd still be some profit in it for them to be interested in repair or payout. I'd wager
you're paying a premium the same/more than a 6 month old BMW driver too.

Like I say, sharks.

[Northern_Mike]

It's scandalous and frankly a ridiculous farce that now faced with a genuine need for insurance for an
accident where you were pretty much powerless to avoid, all advice, and mine too is telling you there's
no point in persuing the sharks for the modest money you are legitimately entitled to.

Your claim would only ever amount to anything if you could demand damages to the party that directly
caused your damage, in this case the owner of the land whose tree fell on you. Chasing your own insurance
won't see the economics work out remotely in your favour - if your car had been a 6 month old BMW, rather
than a 12 year old Pug there'd still be some profit in it for them to be interested in repair or payout. I'd wager
you're paying a premium the same/more than a 6 month old BMW driver too.

Like I say, sharks.

I had the same last year. One of those massive 5ft wooden cable reels was rolled down the hill my mum lives on by some vandals. It went across my mum's garden and smashed into the side of my car.
Police were called, name of company who's reel it was was noted, my insurance were informed. They repaired my car, I paid the £250 excess.

The company's insurer's argued it wasn't their fault for leaving the reel out where little sods could get at it. E-Sure tried to continue, but then Flexicomms, who's reel it was, went into administration.

I now have a claim against me that affects my insurance. Utterly ridiculous.

[addo]

...a 6 month old BMW driver...

Many act with such maturity!

My current job is actioning a Health and Safety audit on a highrise. It's money for jam in many ways, but I do think that now the building's corporation have accepted responsibility for some things, anything else misadventurous could be thrust legally against them too. In the same vein, if the body who "own" the tree at fault have prior embarked upon a program of identifying and managing hazardous trees, they might be made to wear an oversight. Would take some legal testicles to press the claim, though.

[handyman]

If the tree was blown down by the high winds, you do not stand an icelolly's chance in hell of pursuing a case. Considered an act of God! I had the same in the '87 storms, when a Peugeot I had was damaged by falling roof tiles off somebody's house. Neither my insurance nor the house owners agreed to pay out on the damage.

If the tree was rotten and had been condemned, then you may have a cause to pursue.

I am mystified that, with eight years NCD, you did not bother to protect it on your insurance. You can stand to loose all of it on your next insurance renewal, whether you have a recourse to recover the damages or not, because the insurers are aware of an unresolved claim.

H

[handyman]

...a 6 month old BMW driver...

I was wondering how they see over the dash and touch the pedals. Maybe that's why they are always so aggressive?

H

[OwenP]

Thanks all for the advice. I have now cancelled the claim. In doing so I have kept my no claims bonus at 8 years (will be 9 by the end of this year) instead of it dropping to 4 as it would have if I had pursued the claim, this was confirmed by the insurance company when I spoke to them this morning.

The insurance co took the same view as Handyman with regards to the tree claim, not a snowball's chance in hell. As for the lack of protected no claims, partly down to cost (at the time cost was a big issue having been out of work for quite a while, and still trying to recover financially from that) and a "It won't happen to me" style of thinking. I think maybe in future I shall no be quite so blase about, lesson learned.

I'm pretty sure I've seen some 6 month olds who would be better drivers than some down here!

Now to decide on either scrapping the car, selling as is or breaking it for parts and selling stuff that way.