Could be OT: Insurance 'write off' issues?

Hi all,

A mate had his 93 (ish) Astra estate broken into and they broke the side window, took the radio and did a bit of minor body damage.

He contacted his insurance Co (and the Police) and was informed of the excesses on the various parts ..(he has fully comp on it).

50 quid for the glass 50 quid for bodywork 100 quid for 'audio'.

He got the glass done the next day and to it to their preferred garage for an estimate for the (minor) body repairs. He withdrew the claim for the audio equip.

He got a letter today saying the car had been written off and the insurance cancelled?

He was annoyed because he had done over 1000 miles over the last couple of days .. potentially un-insured?

He asked them to reverse the 'write off' but was told he has to get the car MOT's again (only done recently anyway) to demonstrate the car is roadworthy?

He repeated that he has assured them when he reported the incident that the damage was superficial? He could easily tidy the dame up with some touch up paint (he's going to sell it soon anyway).

So, is this normal practice theses days .. to write a 100% driveable (and safe) car off, cancel the insurance and not even discuss the action with the owner?

All the best ..

T i m

Yes. The one off payout means that the insurance companies job is finished. In the past there are often subsequent claims (some spurious, some genuine) for things that "weren't noticed or must have been caused by" Also as you have noticed the policy is ended when they make a write off payment, so you have to give them even more money for a new policy (even if you still had nearly a year to go on the old policy. The write off is sold on to the trade and may or may not go back on the road, but again it brings in some money.

2 cases in point: next door neighbours immaculate mk2 granada, very light rear end shunt, bent the tow bar and bumper and creased the valance, a tow truck turned up out of the blue to take it away as a write off, he refused and had it repaired professionally for 200 pounds. A Corsa of another neighbour had a very light rear end shunt, I could have repaired it for 300 pounds all in, it was removed and written off, not even the option to keep it. She still hasn't found a similar car to replace it (auto corsas in the 1000 pound bracket are relatively rare) and she has to walk to work. Someone ran into the side of my car recently, I haven't bothered to make a claim, since the car is worth very little I would lose out, so I am driving with a dent in the side.

mrcheerful