Hi all,

Last month my car was crushed by a falling tree (my only claim in 20 years). Fortunately no one was hurt, and my insurers (elephant ) have now written the car off.

The problem is that they're offering a paltry amount. Their policy documentation states that payouts will be based on Glasses Guide Price. This is £5,400 (I have a relative with access to Glasses Guide) however elephant are only offering £4,000. After deducting the excess this will leave us with barely the trade-in value (and this for a car in excellent pre-claim condition with FSH etc).

When I phoned them about this they stated that they had found a similar car advertised for £4,000 in a dealers 58 miles away! I have no intention of making a round trip of 116 miles (without a car!) to view a vehicle that may not be in a satisfactory condition. All of the dealers within 20 miles are asking over £5,000 for a similar vehicle.

So far elephant have sent me a cheque for £3,700 together with documentation stating that this is without prejudice to me should I accept it. I have banked the cheque but I have written to them stating that I don't accept this as a final settlement and asking for the full Glasses Guide retail price - though I doubt I'll get it!

Where do/can I go from here?

Thanks!

You need to go onto the Autotrader website and print off a few examples that are as close to your vehicle as possible to back up your claim and send them in requesting they increase their offer.

I also seem to remember the Ins Co cannot use this estimate, as it is over 20 miles away?

Can't remember if this was a general rule of thumb with the company I worked for, as I can't find on FSA, though

If the policy states payouts will be based on Glasses guide then the fact a car is available for £4000 somewhere else is neither here nor there. Write back to them and point out what it states in their policy and that you want the correct valuation (less your excess) for the car. If they refuse then you will need to exhaust the company complaints procedure and get a final response from them before taking it to the ombudsman.

If the policy states payouts will be based on Glasses guide then the fact a car is available for £4000 somewhere else is neither here nor there...

That's my take on it, too.

I have now written back to them pointing this out and asking for the full amount.

I've also pointed out that all of the dealers within a reasonable travelling distance are pricing similar cars around that level anyway (and I've included half a dozen ads showing just that) - a two pronged attack, if you like.

We'll see what they come back with.

To be honest, I don't have much faith in the Ombudsman - I'll give it a go but if that fails I might just Small Claims 'em and see how they like that!