Accident: buying the write off?

Who owns the vehicle? You or the insurance company? Of course they can insist on keeping the vehicle as part of the settlement, but you can equally refuse to let them.

being

Knock for knock, is simply agreements between Ins Co's, that each will deal with it's own clients claims, rather than claim off each other. Not all Co's are party to the scheme.

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Your Ins Co may not allow you to keep the car. They may say that under the terms of your policy, that if they pay out for a write-off, the car becomes their property, and not entertain the option of a part pay out, with you keeping the car. You might have to be very insistant to get them to agree. At the end of the day though, until you reach an agreement, the car is still your property. Mike.

"Mike G" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@despina.uk.clara.net:

Thanks, Mike, my impression too. I suspect we have a situation here where when something is repeated often enough it becomes "The Truth".

Interestingly, I found the following on the Claims Management & Adjusting Ltd's site:

about the vehicle?s ?present value? undoubtedly causes confusion for many customers. For most transactions, the question has little relevance for the underwriting of the policy. So it would help if firms left this question out, or clearly explained its limited relevance to the settling of claims.

my mate had this just the other week wrote off his turbo technics sierra no other vehicles involved, he just had a brake pipe go and the car ended up in a ditch he told the insurance company, like you should he recovered the car himself the insurance company went and picked up the car moved it about 100 miles away then told him he had to accept their offer of £200 he went to pick the car up (it's got a fair few quids worth of bits on it that would cost you at least a few £k to get) and the guy at the salvage yard said he'd sell him back his own engine for £1,000 all this and he didn't even MAKE a claim in the end he's had to fork out almost £800 to get his car back because the insurance company said they were going to charge him "storage" for keeping the car for so long don't know what the deal is at the moment but it just goes to show you, if you have had the vehicle recovered to your place, then don't let it go till you get a satisfactory result from the insurance firm

when I wrote off my saph I didn't let it out of my front garden till the insurance company sent me the cheque (second offer was a grand above what I'd paid for the car 3 years earlier :) )

You'll certainly not get the retail value of a write off - ie the actual cost to go and replace it from a dealer - without a fight.

It's a common scenario - the car is removed (usually from the scene of the accident) and after negotiating a deal with the insurance company where you keep the wreck, they slap on a storage charge, and since they always drag their heels before settling, this can be pretty large.

If you intend keeping the car, *don't* let them take it away, or as soon as possible arrange for your own storage.

Remember the golden rule with insurance. They're out to get you and your money in every which way.

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No doubt referring to 'Fixed valuation' policies. AFAIK these policies are restricted to cars that have a value, either due to their 'collectability' or rarity, or some other factor that is not purely dependant upon their age or condition.

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Would probably help to get an estimate of it's 'pre-accident' value from a reputable dealer, and examples of the retail price of LR's in a similar pre-accident condition. At least that gives you some ammunition when they offer you an absurdly low settlemant figure. Mike.

Why did he let the car go if it was in his drive? If someone turned up and tried to collect my car I know what I would do.

it was parked up at an airfield the insurance company took it away I still don't know if he's got the money sorted or if he will have to pay for it

it's an agreed value and you have to get a report fiolled in to say it's worth that much and then give it to the insuarance comapny, providing they are going to offer you a policy that has an agreed value as a stipulation

Slightly OT, but I had a real surprise when I had my Cav T boned a few years ago. I thought it would be touch and go as to whether it was a write off, but the insurance inspector informed me I had undervalued it, and added another grand to its relative value, making rapair viable!

Ian

Don't let it out of your possession, possession is 9 10th's of the law (ask a squatter). Once you let someone tow it away they can and will send it wherever the insurance co say. The chances of being able to get it back from the breakers the insurance co will have sold it to are nil. If you have kept it then you can phone the insurance co and ask for salvage - usually not a lot. They send you a cheque less excess and salvage.

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dojj ( snipped-for-privacy@dojj.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I think I'd have been very tempted to report it stolen to the plods, and say that you'd heard it was in storage at the yard.

If he hadn't made a claim, the insurance company had absolutely NO right to even look at the bloody thing.