Insurance Write Off ??

[Custard]

Hi all, need help with this. So now custard might not have caused the accident, how does it work with UK insurers. As the damage is more than the repurchase value the car would be a write off, am I right in thinking this. And if so who owns the car after the insurer has paid out.. Also what is the diffrence in insurance write off cat C & D ect.

[ljonez]

when my ex's mini was in a crash (rear ended) they wrote it off as it was uneconomical to repair the mini then becomes the property of the insurance company and if its a cat c or d you have the option to buy it back

[coedy]

If your cars more damaged than book price then it will be written off.
I can't remember what the categories are but if its structural damage then they won't let the car come back to you at all..
Main problem with minis is that the book price is around 300 quid if its not a limited edition or cooper..
You may be allowed to salvage bits off it but that's only if your policy allows it.
That's pretty much all I know about the subject though from my bump sorry...

[daddypig]

Hi,

It can depend on each company, cars can have light panel damage and be written off and other cars half burnt out being repaired (). There sometimes doesn’t appear to be a formula, although as above posts value on classics does come into it.

www.checkthatcar.com/car_writeoff_categories.asp

Regards salvage as Coedy’s post, this includes any parts on it.

Mark

[Phil J]

We are in a simaler situation with Corina's clio, First of do NOT let any repair company take the car away for assesment, insist they come to you. If they take it away it is very unlikely that you will see it again.
The insurance company we are dealing with have already said they will repair the car if we want them too (Apparantly if you are claiming off someone else then you have the right to insist that the car be repaired and not written off) or they will pay out fully or pay out a percentage and we keep the car. We are just waiting for them to come up with some figures before decided what to do.

Category A
A vehicle which should have been totally crushed, including all its spare parts.

Category B
A vehicle from which spare parts may be salvaged, but the bodyshell should have been crushed and the car should never return to the road.

Category C
An extensively damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category D
A damaged vehicle which the insurer has decided not to repair, but which could be repaired and returned to the road.

Category F
A vehicle damaged by fire, which the insurer has decided not to repair. Theft These vehicles have not been recovered and ownership rests with the insurer who made the total loss payment. They are able to repossess the car as soon as it is identified, even if it has been bought innocently.

Vehicles categorised as A, B or C require a VIC test before the DVLA will issue a new registration document. This will then be noted on the V5C

[Custard]

Thanks guys, was sweating there for a bit-dont want to lose custard am gonna try and do the repairs myself ( with help from Phil ?? ) or pay some one to do the welding if the insurance pay up. was just worried the insurer would own the car and crush ;D

[boycie101]

sons car ( hyundai s coupe ) was recently written off by a car rolling down a slope + smashed both headlights + dented the bonnet + was cat c write off + we bought it back off them as sod all damage + had to take it to a vosa centre to have it vic tested ( vehicle identification check ) just to make sure the cars are not ringers, cost £40 from memory

[taffy1967]

Jan 18, 2010 15:34:44 GMT 1 @coedy said:

If your cars more damaged than book price then it will be written off.
I can't remember what the categories are but if its structural damage then they won't let the car come back to you at all..
Main problem with minis is that the book price is around 300 quid if its not a limited edition or cooper..
You may be allowed to salvage bits off it but that's only if your policy allows it.
That's pretty much all I know about the subject though from my bump sorry...

Depends on the Limited Edition and Cooper. But to be honest the only way any real Mini is properly insured now is via an 'Agreed Value' policy.

Otherwise they'll try and write them off for the least little prang.

[coedy]

Jan 18, 2010 21:27:20 GMT 1 taffy1967 said:

Depends on the Limited Edition and Cooper. But to be honest the only way any real Mini is properly insured now is via an 'Agreed Value' policy.

Otherwise they'll try and write them off for the least little prang.

I agree!
They tried to write mine off for a buckled door skin (admittedly the top of the door had bent a little... but got a brand new door from Jeremy in Barry for little over £100... ;D)

[Phil J]

I have been told that if you are claiming from someone else's insurance then you have the right to insist that the car is repaired, I was told this could also include a new shell but does not cover fire or flood damage. I've tried to find some confirmation online so will ask the insurance engineer when he calls.

[taffy1967]

I still think it's the old bean counter that dictates whether a Mini gets written off or not regardless of whose to blame.

It stinks, but that's rip-off Britain for you and the insurance firms are all professional crooks.

[Phil J]

The person who told me this was pretty adamant it was true, but obviously the insurance company's wouldnt want you to know this. Hopefully find out for sure in the next few days.

[taffy1967]

It'll be good to know if it is true, like the fact I initially had to play merry hell with my insurer before my Minis agreed value confirmation letter turned up.

Plus we weren't told that we're able to add 'NCD Protection Guaranteed' for an extra 7 quid on the family hack. We only noticed it mentioned in the small print and so added it.

With standard NCD Protection we're only covered for 2 bumps, but Guaranteed means we can happily have as many bumps as we like and we don't lose our NCD.

Not that we're planning on having any bumps mind and I'm sure our policy would increase anyway.

[taffy1967]

Oh and this years policy renewal documents on my mothers Zafira (which we ferry her around in, because the Mini is our family car), has an 'INCIDENT' recorded but with no details apart from the date it occurred.

That incident was when a young driver drove into the back of our car whilst Marie was stopped in a queue at a roundabout.

We notified our insurance company, but the other drivers Dad paid for the repairs to our car in cash instead.

So it wasn't our fault, we didn't need to use our insurance company and yet we have that 'INCIDENT' recorded on our documents.

I rang them and got told it's probably not making any difference because it's marked down that it was the 3rd party who admitted the blame and the repairs were paid for by the 3rd party in cash.

But I still don't trust the buggers and should I take the word of a call centre operator?

[coedy]

Jan 18, 2010 22:50:08 GMT 1 taffy1967 said:

But I still don't trust the buggers and should I take the word of a call centre operator?

Ask for the details of the incident on their system in writing... Say its for your records completely within your right under the data protection act... (who says students 'learn anything)

whenever you say you want anything in writing for records they always go a bit 'urm...' like when I asked for a list of my declared mods... ;D

[taffy1967]

Jan 19, 2010 0:05:01 GMT 1 @coedy said:

Jan 18, 2010 22:50:08 GMT 1 taffy1967 said:

But I still don't trust the buggers and should I take the word of a call centre operator?

Ask for the details of the incident on their system in writing... Say its for your records completely within your right under the data protection act... (who says students 'learn anything)

whenever you say you want anything in writing for records they always go a bit 'urm...' like when I asked for a list of my declared mods... ;D

Okay thanks and I'll be getting in touch with them in the morning.

[Custard]

Thanks for everybodys input, Phil let me know what the insurance guys says. Would be great if custard could be re-shelled-On another note which mods need to be disclosed to the insurane company And which insurer is the best to go for with agreed value as picking up Jemy on the weekend and need to sort the insurance asap

[coedy]

On another note which mods need to be disclosed to the insurane company And which insurer is the best to go for with agreed value as picking up Jemy on the weekend and need to sort the insurance asap

All mods need to be declared. There's no point risking not telling them about something or you could find the insurance that you've already paid for getting canceled at your time of need.

All insurance companies are different so it will just be a case of ringing around I'm afraid...

[minifan1]

I can clarify the point for you. You have no right to demand that the car is re-shelled. If its a write off you can retain the salvage depending on the write off catagory then what you do with it is up to you. You will then get what they call a 'cash in lieu' which means the value of what ever they would have paid out less the value of the salvage.

If you didnt have agreed value cover and the accident is your fault then you are going to get paid out very little. If the accident is on-fault then you have more chance of getting a better value from the Third party insurers.

And as for getting any info held from your insurer in writing, you can do this under the 1998 DP act but the insurer has the right to charge you £10 to release this.

Hope that helps and best of luck.

[Custard]

;D Thanks for all the answers, either way Custard will be rebuilt and not reshelled-god knows what ive let my self in for Well with you fine peoples help will get through the tougest of times-phil do you charge by the hour as ur the closest for guideance