Accident but insurers will not pay for full value of car

[missingtrees]

My friend had a car accident totally the fault of another party, and her car has been "written off". Shes had the car for four months and paid, £6400 for it from a reputable dealer. Shes done 3000 miles in it. Although liability has been admitted by the other party, the insurance company is only offering her £4,100.

What can she do? Even on parkers guide it says to buy the car from a dealer it will cost £6K.

Please help, this is so unfair.

Both drivers are fully comprehensive.

Thanks for your advice!

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.How much was the car insured for ?
This is not my area but there are informed guys on here who should be able to give you pointers.
I will move your thread to the appropriate section.
Feel free to ask futher.
And of course keep us updated.

[missingtrees]

The purchase price, i.e £6,400 was put on the insurance proposal.

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

[ginge]

best bet is to get 2 quotes for the same veh (and model) with a similar mileage. Remember insurance companies don't use parker's guide they use Glasses (sp)

[Darkangelsdelite]

Do you know what her XS is on the policy as initially this will be deducted from any settlement until liability has been fully agreed, at which point the XS will be refunded to your friend, So this will have a bearing on the settlement she is offered. Apart from that, get your friend to arm herself with as much evidence to substantiate her argument that the car is worth more than they are offering (auto trader ads, parkers and glasses guide prices etc) and be prepared to haggle. Don't be afraid to decline the first offer, insurers always go in low to save themselves money.

Hope this helps.


DA

[ginge]

a £2300 xs would be a bit ridiculous!

[missingtrees]

Thanks guys. I think she probably has a £400 excess. My own view was to haggle and haggle hard, I think a 10% reduction on value is fair, if pro-rata'd on the extra mileage put on since owned.

If we haggle, is there a point where she will be forced to take whatever they offer, or is there some arbitration type procedure?

[Darkangelsdelite]

Originally Posted by Darkangelsdelite

, So this will have a bearing on the settlement she is offered. A

I didn't suggest her XS would be £2300, i simply (and quite clearly if you read it) pointed out that the XS would have an impact in the initial settlement offer.


DA

[Darkangelsdelite]

Originally Posted by missingtrees

Thanks guys. I think she probably has a £400 excess. My own view was to haggle and haggle hard, I think a 10% reduction on value is fair, if pro-rata'd on the extra mileage put on since owned.

If we haggle, is there a point where she will be forced to take whatever they offer, or is there some arbitration type procedure?

I seems like you've done this before! The vehicle will have depreciated in value, in theory it would have done this the moment she drove off the forecourt as the car has another owner to the list. I think that with 4 months ownership and 3k miles, 10% is probably not a bad guess.

As far as the arbitration goes, stick to your guns but stay realistic. Set yourself a bottom line figure you will accept and if they come in really close, then be prepared to be a bit flexible. If you're really not happy with the outcome, you can just use the usual complaints process, firstly speak with a claims manager, then ultimately onto the ombudsmen or FSA but its unlikely to come to that, as long as you do your homework and can back up your argument with proof, it should all go fine.


DA

[ginge]

if its non fault, and the circumstances are clear cut the xs should have been waived. go thru the 2 or more similar cars at the same price option. I've just been speaking to the NUD total loss team (which is about 10 feet away from where i'm currently sat) and they said that would bump the offer up

DA - i know! I was kiddin around! Jeez

[missingtrees]

I have to say, I'm a bit of a saddo, I'm a tax investigation specialist:o ..so I do play with figures all day (what a great career!) but I don't have either a bowler hat, umbrella or comb over hairstyle!!

Definitely not my friends fault, german HGV with cab on wrong side pulled out of the slow lane, didn't see my mate, clipped the back of her car, spun her, hit her again and left her on the hard shoulder just in front of another HGV! Lucky to be alive.

Whats NUD please?

[Darkangelsdelite]

Ouch! sounds nasty, glad she's ok.

NUD is Norwich Union Direct.

[ginge]

lol sorry Norwich Union Direct.

if its an international veh, then whilst the liability is clear the insurance company could still ask for the xs. Best bet is to follow the proceedure thru as normal (legal expense cover ought to deal with that aspect if it hasn't been waived) then go thru my same veh, similar mileage option!

[missingtrees]

OOps!:o Obvious now you said it! Thanks very much!!

Never done foruming before, like these smily things!

[Darkangelsdelite]

NP. Hope it all goes well.
Any other problems just post back on here, there's loads of insurance gurus on here and between us we've got most of the companies covered so should be able to answer most things.

DA