Insurance write off experts please

[Dave the OAP]

Mother in law crashed old 04 plate car.

Lovely car, hardly any mileage...

Insurance co says it will

1- write off car and give MOL 1600 for it, BUT will take the car away

2-write off car, but ask 1400 for her to buy the car off them.

This can't be right as it is not theirs to sell!!!

Is is 1400 off the 1600 do you think, so she keeps the car and gets 200 cash and the car?

Any clues as I would have thought they give you 1600 and the car! You then get it fixed if you want!!!

 

[ShanklySeagull]

Just bear in mind once they have written off the car it will show on the logbook as CAT C or D which will dramatically effect it's value and make it significantly more expensive to ensure?

 

[happypig]

Unless it's worth significantly more, either monetarily or emotionally, then IMO it's not worth it.
I had an old feller reverse into my Saab a few years ago, putting a big dent in the drivers door (no damage to pillars). Insurance co wrote it off but as it was a sought after model (9000 Aero) I kept it and got, IIRC, about £500 off them (they valued it at not much more). I got a door from a breaker in Newhaven and got it fitted, cost me about £200 altogether.

BUT....

Because the insurance co had stuck it onto the insurers database as a cat C write off and notified the DVLA I had to get it inspected at the nearest Vosa inspectors which was in Croydon. The insurers database still list it as a cat C repaired so if it's written off again the payout will be less again. Had no trouble selling it a couple of years later though.

 

[Mackenzie]

Mother in law crashed old 04 plate car.

Lovely car, hardly any mileage...

Insurance co says it will

1- write off car and give MOL 1600 for it, BUT will take the car away

2-write off car, but ask 1400 for her to buy the car off them.

This can't be right as it is not theirs to sell!!!

Is is 1400 off the 1600 do you think, so she keeps the car and gets 200 cash and the car?

Any clues as I would have thought they give you 1600 and the car! You then get it fixed if you want!!!

Are you sure about the £1400 buy back option, sounds quite high. I think my insurance asked for 23% of the write off offer to buy mine back. Oh and don't accept the first offer, look on ebay or AutoTrader for similar examples of your mother in laws car and argue your case.

Good luck.

 

[father_and_son]

(Disclaimer: Chief Underwriting Officer of an insurance company - so this isn't my department but is my industry)

If the company make payout on a written off vehicle then what's left of the vehicle *is* theirs to do with as they wish - this includes stolen and recovered vehicles if they made a total loss payout. Note: if you have personalised plates you *must* transfer them to a new vehicle otherwise these will disappear along with the bent metal. Insurance companies generally have deals with scrap dealers for the salvage to be sold as parts and for the scrap value and so if you want to keep the car, generally they will charge what they would have got back from them from the insured who buys the salvage themselves.

Do not assume that the insurance company will continue to provide cover for a previous write off, even if there is time left on the policy and they covered the car before. Before making any decision, ask for confirmation from the underwriters that you can put the repaired car back on cover.


Vehicles which have been an economic write off ("we could fix it but it would cost more than its worth") dramatically reduce in value but are insurable (it will show up on a DVLC check made by the insurer and their Underwriters will have made a decision on whether to cover these vehicles). The lack of competition covering these cars mean that prices are far less competitive - you will pay far more than for a car not involve in a previous accident.

Vehicles written of as "damaged beyond repair" will need sh*t loads of paperwork before you will get anyone to insure it. Independent Engineers will need to inspect the vehicle, confirm it is safe and roadworthy and write a report (which will obviously you cost money). Insurers will want to see that report before putting the vehicle on cover.... and probably want the vehicle inspected (at your cost) regularly too. Really isn't worth the hassle.

 

[Dave the OAP]

cheers guys

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Have you tried writing it off and on again?

 

[Dumseagull]

I would assume you would get 1400 and the car back.

The previous chap mentioned a VIC check in Croydon, these have been abolished now. You just need to apply for a log book and you're back on the road.

I would say the cat c or d marker against your car, in my experience, makes very little or no difference to your insurance premium.

I've only ever owned written off cars, as you get twice as much car for your money.


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[Lord Bracknell]

I once bought a clapped out second hand MkI Cortina for £50. A couple of weeks later, I was driving around Brighton and the driver of a taxi slammed his cab into the back of the Cortina, severely denting the boot. He apologised and gave me £60 for the damage he had caused. My guess is that he wasn't insured to drive the taxi and wanted to wriggle out of what he saw as a difficult situation. Anyway, it was better than getting my insurance company to declare the Cortina to be a write-off. And the Cortina kept going for the rest of the year until its MOT was due. The only downside was that I couldn't open the boot.

 

[B-right-on]

I once bought a clapped out second hand MkI Cortina for £50.

Probably worth closer to 5 grand than £50 now. I had one too and scrapped it when it fell to bits with rust, first car. Loved it.

 

[Mackenzie]

I once bought a clapped out second hand MkI Cortina for £50. A couple of weeks later, I was driving around Brighton and the driver of a taxi slammed his cab into the back of the Cortina, severely denting the boot. He apologised and gave me £60 for the damage he had caused. My guess is that he wasn't insured to drive the taxi and wanted to wriggle out of what he saw as a difficult situation. Anyway, it was better than getting my insurance company to declare the Cortina to be a write-off. And the Cortina kept going for the rest of the year until its MOT was due. The only downside was that I couldn't open the boot.

Was your wife in the boot?

 

[hart's shirt]

Have you asked the insurance company whether they'd write off the mother in law?

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Probably worth closer to 5 grand than £50 now. I had one too and scrapped it when it fell to bits with rust, first car. Loved it.

A great car, indeed. The only downside was the view of Brighton police that driving a MkI Cortina after dark was clear evidence of some form of criminal activity. I once got stopped three times in one short journey of no more than three miles.

 

[Official Old Man]

I have a beaten up but very reliable 10 yo Transit I bought in 2009 for £6000. The back door was ripped off by another car, 100% their fault. Because the insurance company said that they had to respray most of the van and replace the back door they wrote it off as I think cat 5 body work only damage. Offered me more than I'd paid for it. I negotiated and got the van back plus £5750 cash and it then cost me £750 to get a new (ebay) door fitted.
Needed to get a new MOT and new insurance but the price did not go up because it was a write off.