[Closed] Car insurance claim help WWSTD?

If that's their first offer, then push back.

If it's just minor body work damage, and it's not an MOT failure or dangerous, then I'd take the repair money (after trying to get more out if them) and drive as is.

Did that twice with an old car a few years back. Hit twice over a couple of years. Made a couple of grand, and then sold it on cheaply a year or so later.

You're not a customer of their insurance company. The other driver is. The insurance contract indemnifies the other driver for the cost of their legal liability to you. They are liable for the cost of the damage they have done (i.e. repair and reasonable costs you incur such as a hire car while its being repaired, or replacement if cheaper). You always have the option to ignore the insurer and sue the other driver directly - but is it really worth the hassle?
I guess if they've offered £2700 and it's reasonable (use autotrader ads to confirm this or as evidence to ask for more), then they've been fair. If you choose not to accept, that's up to you.
I would gather evidence that the price is unreasonable (if that's true) and write back asking them to increase their offer. This is always worth a try - it costs you nothing more than a stamp (or email).
If they pay up and write your car off, I think you have the right to buy it back at scrap value and then repair it yourself but would you really want to own a write-off? It'll be worth nothing when you sell it on. Alternatively, if you use the money to buy a replacement from a dealer then it might come with a warranty and have a better resale value.

Why are you claiming on their policy? Claim on your own and they will eventually claim from the other insurer whatever the costs are to sort it out, also won’t affect your ncd. I recently went thru trying to claim off the other party’s insurer and they tried the beyond economic repair ploy. Went to my insurance and they got their authorised garage to contact me. Sent a couple of photos and they said repairable. Garage then came to collect car and insurers provided me with a hire car which was also delivered to me. I would guess the repair and car hire for a week came out at 50% more than the other party offered.

Thanks folks. Some food for thought there. The 2700 is on the low side of reasonable. It also does not take into account new number plates for trailers and carriers, new roof bars, etc. Also we live in reasonably rural Perthshire so we at best will have to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh, so even if COVID tiers allow this, where my time and mileage and childcare factored into this? Reason for claiming on their insurance was because it was their accident. Maybe should have claimed through ours...

I understand replacing a car is a massive time-consuming pain in the rear, but no insurance company is going to be paying your time and/or costs to replace your car I'm afraid..

Tell them of the issues you currently face, but keep it unemotional.

In your position I'd be looking for as much cash as possible, keep the car and not repair it.

Carry on driving and then replace as 'normal'.

This way you've no interruptions, no hassle and you'll get some extra cash plus when you change your car at some point in the future you'll probably not lose as much as you've just gained.

You need to tell your insurer you've had an accident, but it's no-fault and hasn't cost them anything.

You need to tell your insurer you’ve had an accident, but it’s no-fault and hasn’t cost them anything.

this...if you don't they can refuse to insure you on renewal or cancel immediately. (insurers are joined up now too, tho not sure how joined up in practice, but your insurer may find out anyway as your details will be in the other insurer's systems...and if you haven't told them, they'll be very unhappy).

and going through your insurer means they hassle.

If the vehicle is written off and you buy it back you might need to get a new MOT for it which may or may not be a hassle depending where you live and if you have a local garage.

To my simple mind, their driver damaged it and to fix it will cost less than write off, so why not fix if we desire?

Because it's never quite that simple. There will be other costs involved and could be hidden damage when they start work.

It happens - my wife's car has just been written off. Nearest loacl-ish dealer we could find with the same model was priced at £7.5k - they found one 250 miles away for £7k. We spent 2 weeks arguing but in the end we needed some new wheels so had to accept the £7k.

Appreciate that the car might be a write-off, but for future reference, if you claim directly from the third party you have very limited rights and this will be very important if a repair is made.

OK, so the claim may be paid very quick and efficiently - so much so that you'd be tempted to try that company out for a quote at next renewal - but once the repair is done, the claim is settled and you have accepted it.

What then if the repairs aren't up to scratch? Something later goes wrong? Who can you go back to? The third party and their insurer have paid out and you signed a "full & final settlement" letter. So they won't touch it. You can't go to the ombudsman because you're not in a regulated contract with that insurer. So you have to try and sue the garage.

That's one of the advantages of going to your own insurer, you have protection. Then things like hire car (usually up to 14 days in the event of a write-off) will be provided.

You could try for extra costs due to Covid but in reality all motor dealers will deliver these days, even if there's an extra cost due to your location, so not sure how successful you'll be.

Generally you should be able to buy back the write-off, but again if you're dealing with the third party insurer you might have some issues negotiating that (they might just crush it and say tough - you have no real rights to the car).

Tell your own insurer, say you misunderstood the procedure and ask them to resolve it as you're not succeeding. Tell them it's likely to be a write off but you're not being offered what it will cost - you have a contract with them that if your car is damaged they will indemnify you. Tell them you want to buy it back (when I did it, the standard rate was 23% of the write-off value). Then fix it yourself to be roadworthy and get a new MoT to prove it. I think Cat D is old terminology now, but there's an equivalent. Mine was Cat D, written off for £1300, they gave me £800 and the car, which I fixed for about £60 and sold for £450 two years later when it had just had what I expected would be the last MoT pass it would ever get. I would have had more than £800 but they deducted the excess as it was technically my fault (caught by a crash for cash scam so I ran into the back of them).

Reason for claiming on their insurance was because it was their accident.

It was their [b]fault[/b] which is why their insurer will be paying.

However, I would recommend never dealing with someone else's Insurer, you are not their client.

Maybe should have claimed through ours…

You still can, just contact them and explain what has already happened, and tell them you misunderstood the process and would like them to deal with it now you have realised.

That is one of the things we all pay premiums for, so the company you pay to be a client of, deals with these things for you.

Also we live in reasonably rural Perthshire so we at best will have to go to Glasgow or Edinburgh, so even if COVID tiers allow this, where my time and mileage and childcare factored into this?

Speak to your insurer about hire cars and uninsured losses, they will claim these back from the other drivers Insurance company.

Things like:
Any excess you had to pay for repairs
Car hire charges
Towing and storage charges
Medical expenses and personal injury
Loss of earnings from missed work due to the accident
Legal fees incurred during the process

You could try the Financial Ombudsman. I had a car written off and the insurers were playing silly buggers for about 4 weeks with lowball offers, offering lower-spec replacements and the like. The day after they got my letter about involving the Ombudsman a cheque arrived for the value I specified when I insured the car.

If you must go back to the other insurer, you can suggest that as their offer is too low, you are prepared to simply go through your own insurance, which in reality means they have less control over the final total, as your insurer has no particular need to keep costs of stuff like hire cars etc down. You may find the negotiations move on a little at that point.

If they're still not budging, and you will be out of pocket, then get your insurer involved. You need to have a conversation with them anyhow as you have had a no-fault accident.

I don't think the Ombudsman will be interested in your dispute with the other party's insurer. You have no contract with them, and the Ombudsman is only interested in contracts that fall within their scope.

As others have recommended go to your insurance company and file a claim. I delayed until 3 weeks after my accident until I realised the other parties insurance wasn’t offering a fair settlement.

Especially with Covid it will avoid any hassle sorting out repairs. As Rich-s says you will be asked to sign a full and final settle,DMT letter which means you have no come back. Whilst you may think it’s cosmetic it may not be or getting it fixed may require more parts than you think.