OUCH (& ouch again)!

DaveHerns said:
On the topic of liabilty the car that hit Phil in the rear might say that Phil had already hit the car in front before the impact into the rear took place. I've seen it happen in my 39 years as an insurance claims investigator (currently redundant )
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Fortunately the guy I was pushed into said straight away that the chap behind me had pushed me. The chap who ran into me admitted responsibilty & we all agreed what had happened at the scene :D.....I hope the others have relayed this to their insurers as I have to mine!
 
Phil

Been through this a few years back now with a front ended P6 that WAS my fault.

You can choose where they examine the car - I chose a P6 Specialist Restorer's place.
..and said specialist talked the assessor through the car as he had no idea what he was looking at!

You can INSIST on the salvage except in the case of a total SAFETY write off which is NOT the case here.

As previously stated try to find similar cars for sale IN TRADE HANDS not private and print out details.

Following all the above I had my car repaired and the bill with transport came to over 3 grand.

Mind you I did have an agreed Club valuation stipulated on the policy,
from what you have written I think you only have a figure agreed that you have told them it is worth.

ANY good solid Series 1 V8 is worth more than 2k these days....
You have to replace it at a commercial (not Private Sale) value, what you paid for it is irrelevent.
 
Just had a call from the insurers.

The offer ('without prejudice') is to be £2,000 + return of car.

Doesn't seem too bad on the face of it. I know a straight series 1 V8 is worth more, although I will still have a straight good car. It will just have a 'Cat D' or similar on it. :(

Repairs with my own stock will cost a small amount; only the spraying will be a bit. Should cover it for about £700. The balance will no doubt partly go on replacing some of my spares in due course.
 
Always an idea to ask if they could do a little more, say £2,200?

They may just do it, if not accept the £2K.

My old escort estate was worth around £1,200 when it was run into causing £1,800 worth of damage. They offered my £1100 plus the car. I said I would accept £1,200 plus the car.

I got the £1,200 and spent £200 on parts and paint, and the whole weekend in the garage fixing it. It wasn't the same afterwards, but to be honest it wasn't that good to start with.

Richard

PS I have an agreed value for Sparky of £4,750
 
Phil Robson said:
It will just have a 'Cat D' or similar on it. :(
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Can you talk them out of that?
Someone drove into mine last summer and their insurance company paid 700 pounds for the damage. Their standard letter defined all the different categories, but when I phoned to clarify they said that none would apply and I could put the car back on the road without an engineer's report or anything. Damage was limited to a wing and 2 doors, so nothing structural.
 
Phil Robson said:
Just had a call from the insurers.

The offer ('without prejudice') is to be £2,000 + return of car.

Doesn't seem too bad on the face of it. I know a straight series 1 V8 is worth more, although I will still have a straight good car. It will just have a 'Cat D' or similar on it. :(

Repairs with my own stock will cost a small amount; only the spraying will be a bit. Should cover it for about £700. The balance will no doubt partly go on replacing some of my spares in due course.
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They WILL increase the offer by 10% if asked.
However if your agreed value is 2K then it will be difficult to advance over that figure but NOT impossible,
you just need to show that replacement / repair would be difficult for that figure.

Have you been with the same insurer a number of years as that helps when negotiating an offer,
you could say that the agreed value should have been increased by a percentage each year to keep up with inflation.

I agree with the above regarding Write Off status - that can be waived in certain circumstances so worth asking what category if any will apply.
 
As above but I'd take the offer on condition it doesn't get recorded :wink:
Worked for me once but not guaranteed :)
 
Any update on this Phil?

There's nothing on the box and the weathers terrible so you need to sort it and get in the garage! :D
 
The offer should arrive in the post very soon. Then I'll ring them up & ask about not recording the car as a write-off. Then we may have a deal! :D
 
Phil Robson said:
The offer should arrive in the post very soon. Then I'll ring them up & ask about not recording the car as a write-off. Then we may have a deal! :D
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Good!

You have charged the camera battery for the rebuild havn't you..... :D
 
I will Pete, & thanks Richard.

In the meantime, let me introduce you to this old girl:

I'm trying to get it back on the road whilst my other is being repaired.

I've had it on the road for a while:

....but the brakes were non-existent at the back (now fully refurbished) & there's been a few other bits to do. Have just finished rebuilding the servo this evening. :D

It's an early 'S' (no. 732A), a few numbers off my last one. Built in '71, with the (correct) ebony ambla seats, being the thick squabbed ones like series 1 seats, but box-pleat. I've known the car for 20 years; the first 10 it was well looked after (although coincidentally shunted like my other :shock: ), the second not so well. Driving it brings a huge child-like grin to the face though! :LOL: Strangely it wears a fibreglass front valence - never seen one of those on any other P6 - not great as only about every other hole is cut out!

I'll try & bring at least one of these cars to your Summer rally Richard.
 

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Have today received a letter of offer regarding 'Hazel'. Let's just say the letter doesn't exactly accord with the telephone conversation I had on Jan 4th.

I'm hopefully going to get a call from them again tomorrow (should have been today) after I disagreed with most of the details & I will let you know how things go. However, in the meantime, they say the car is already written-off (Category C) & that can't be changed. Does anyone know different?

They want the car, despite me stating that I wished to keep it, & are deducting an excess off the offer as they are handling the claim for me :evil: Apparently when I informed them of the accident (as stated in the policy booklet) I didn't state that I was merely informing them & as they have been handling the claim (though for whose benefit, I'm not quite sure :? ) it is at my cost.

What about the other guy's insurance?

Did I metion it wasn't my fault? :|
 
You need someone to check your policy with a fine toothcomb.
Who's it with and if you need help I can read it through for you.
Is there a salvage option in the policy for instance?

Do you have ANYTHING in writing to the Insurance Company saying you wished to keep the salvage?
Telephone calls do not really count...

If it's already recorded as CAT C you have problems.
It is NOT unheard of to change a Category but VERY rare.

Looking at the pictures alone I would have thought a CAT D was more appropriate,
but would need to see more to check.

A CAT C means you will need a VIC check after rebuild.
This is not a lot of trouble but can involve costs.
It may also mean problems reinsuring the car, especially on a Classic Policy.

The bit about the excess is standard - you need to claim that off the other driver.
Your Insurance Company has done work to get a settlement.
It is not a no BLAME bonus it is a no CLAIM bonus.



The ABI Categories of 'Write-Off'

Category A: Scrap only - this vehicle should have been crushed.
It should never reappear on the road and there are no economically salvageable parts.
It is of value only for scrap metal - e.g. a totally burnt-out vehicle.

Category B: The bodyshell should have been crushed.
The vehicle should never reappear on the road,
but it can be broken for spare parts plus any residual scrap metal.

Category C: Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair.
The vehicle should have an independent inspection before being allowed back onto the road.

Category D: Vehicle damaged and insurer has decided not to repair.

Category F: Vehicle damaged by fire and insurer has decided not to repair.
 
Could you try one of those text-check services to see if it really has been recorded written off ?

I have to say this is one of the "advantages" of third-party insurance, you can't claim off your own policy, so can't get into this grey area. I have to say this stinks, good job you didn't let them take the car in the first place, even if they do take it in the end at least you can remove as much as you want before it goes. (love to see their faces when presented with a bare base unit)
 
Hi, This has made very interesting reading for me as I will be needing insurance when mine is done,

Do I have to get this agreed valuation before the new policy commences or within so many days of it starting?

Shame to see a good car scrapped, as mentioned above, wouldnt it be funny if they did collect it to find it stripped :D

I once got given my friends Rover 216 coupe which was a "right off" and stripped it for bits as I needed a few things for mine, anyway the scrapman who came to collect found it quite amusing as to the lack of car! :D

Hope you get a good result in the end!
 
Until you as the policyholder accept settlement of the claim, (which if that includes you not getting the salvage back, you won't) then the insurance company can't take it off you, it's still your car. And it is possible to get the categories changed because a mate of mine bougt a Cat C Clio, which once all the paperwork arrived was listed as Cat B, which obviously would have rendered it as only suitable for parts so he got it recategorised, and the numpty who classed it as Cat B ended up making the tea instead of going out assessing cars for a living. (Ho Ho)
 
You could try the argument that as you wanted to keep the salvage, the car never "belonged" to the Insurers to record as a Cat C
Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair.
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- another argument is over the word "extensive " The damage in itself doesn't look extensive , the car is still safely usable (isn't it ?) It's only "extensive" when compared to the value which surely isn't the criteria
 
DaveHerns said:
You could try the argument that as you wanted to keep the salvage, the car never "belonged" to the Insurers to record as a Cat C
Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair.
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- another argument is over the word "extensive " The damage in itself doesn't look extensive , the car is still safely usable (isn't it ?) It's only "extensive" when compared to the value which surely isn't the criteria
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No response again today from the insurers, but this is very interesting, Dave - thanks!
 
I phoned the insurers again this morning. A much more pleasant lady dealt with the call & said the letter that had been sent out must have been in error. :roll: ...as was the call from the salvage people - they would have been assuming the car was not on a classic policy. :roll:

I'm getting another offer apparently, although the Cat C position is likely to remain. She said that after an engineer has assessed a car they are obliged by law to notify DVLA. I am going to speak with the engineer to hopefully at least get it changed to a Cat D. Whether my premiums going forward will be affected much is not clear at this stage. :?

I will apparently get my excess back also in due course.
 
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