I was involved in an accident which was the other drivers fault (he and his insurance company have admitted liability). I have been offered a low sum of £300 pounds for my car, it is too old to be in Glasses guide, an independent engineer has valued the car between £1,200 and £1,500. I paid £1,500 a year ago for the car.... but his Insurance Company will not budge on their offer of £300. The FSA and Ombudsman can not help because I am claiming effectively as a third party on his Insurance and am therefore not the policy holder.(seems odd to me but thats life in Britain:confused:)

What can I do about this? Do I have any options or do I have to accept the offer, any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Not sure on the EXACT procedure, but you are entitled to your ACTUAL financial loss. If you feel the offer is not your actual loss, then you could go to small claims. However, I am unsure whether you would sue the insurance company directly, or the individual - I suspect the latter.

HI,

I have been through similar to this before. Basically if you can go and find 2 or 3 cars the same make, model (basically similar) that are being offered for sale by sellers, and show the Insurance company that THIS is the TRUE market value of your car. ie; what it would currently cost for you to replace that car in today's market.

Try autotrader, adtrader etc and find the same cars as yours but look for the highest priced ones.

Send this evidence off recorded post with a covering letter, and ask them what there offer made to you of £300 is ACTUALLY BASED ON??

Hope this helps in some way,

Kind Regards

Lisa

Are there similar vehicles available in car magazines? You could ask the insurers to put you back in your original position by replacing your car like for like. If you can find adverts listing the same car at a higher price you could send them to support your claim.

Your contract with your insurance company allows for the vehicle to be valued by them at 'trade' price. ie they will not pay the dealer's mark-up. However, the other driver has admitted liability and thus this does not apply.

You are entitled to be put back into the same position as you were before the accident at the other driver's cost.

This either means repairing or replacing your car.

Firstly, all contact should be with the other driver. You have no contract with his insurance company and have no need to deal with them - that is for him to do; he is the one who holds the contract of insurance with them to indemnify him against claims like yours. Be clear, in writing, that you are holding him responsible for returning you to the same position as before the accident. He will undoubtedly pass any letters onto this insurance company - but that is his choice and you continue to contact him.

Obtain estimates for the repair of your vehicle; obtain quotes from somewhere like Autotrader to replace your vehicle with an identical make/model and similar condition/age/mileage.

Send copies of these to the other driver and make it clear that you will be seeking £XXXX to repair/replace your car. Do not accept any sort of offer from his insurance company - deal only with him in rejecting such an offer. Also, claim you other losses (eg car hire or fares whilst your car is off the road)

Eventually, you may have to end up with LBA/suing in the county court, but you will win.

Thanks for the replies..........I have sent off adverts for other cars of the same type, condition and mileage as my own to the Insurance Company, however they remain adamant I can buy a car the same as mine for £300,( in fact I can, but it will be in very average condition, with a much higher mileage and probably a lot of rust). The Insurance Company argument is that a newer Orion Mark 3 quoted in Glases guide with 120,000 miles is worth £300, therefore a Mark 2 Orion with a genuine 60,000 miles in excellent condition must be worth less:(....Even if due to rarity they fetch more money on the market when in excellent condition. The independent engineers report seems to carry no weight and I am concerned if I go to the small claims court how much the legal costs will be if the judgement goes in favour of the Insurance Company.

I had not considered contacting the other driver directly but I know his name and have his address, so this is possible. I think I need to speak to a solicitor about this. The strange thing is I had legal protection on my policy but the solicitor assigned is only dealing with my personal injury claim and says she can not help with a vehicle valuation dispute.....in fact the only thing she advised was contacting watch dog:rolleyes:

What do you think? Anyone been through the courts with this kind of problem before and what are my chances?

This link to Honest John in the Telegraph repeats the advice I have given - story = Campaign for. This is another - story = carnage

What his insurance company thinks is irrelevant to you - your action is against the other driver. I repeat, you have no contract with his insurance company, therefore you do not need to deal with them.

- If you can prove the value of the car, the chances are 100%.

- Legal fees are not chargeable even if you lose at SCC, as it is designed to be followed without solicitors. The most you should get charged if you lose(which is unlikely) is the court fee of around £50.

Hi,

I would speak to your insurers claims department and remind them that as you have not accepted the 3rd party insurers proposals the claim is still 'open' and it is their obligation to help you come to a satisfactory conclusion. You may not get exactly what you want but neither should accept the first offer - this is all part of what you pay legal cover for, they are there to help you and it is usually a different team of solicitors that deal with personal injury so ask to speak to the team dealing with your vehicle claim.

I wouldn't advocate speaking directly with the other party - you will both have been advised by your insurers to direct all correspondence to your own insurer - make them work for you. I once dealt with a chap that felt his insurers weren't dealing quickly enough with his claim and he went directly to the other party only to be warned by the police that he was verging on harassment charges if he carried on!

Hope this helps and good luck.

p.s. Unless you have an 'agreed value' clause, usually issued on classic or cherished vehicle policies very rarely do you get the value you want on an older vehicle regardless of the outstanding condition or low mileage - the insurers go by a value for that car, that age and of average condition for its age. Sad but true.

I would speak to your insurers claims department and remind them that as you have not accepted the 3rd party insurers proposals the claim is still 'open' and it is their obligation to help you come to a satisfactory conclusion. You may not get exactly what you want but neither should accept the first offer - this is all part of what you pay legal cover for, they are there to help you and it is usually a different team of solicitors that deal with personal injury so ask to speak to the team dealing with your vehicle claim.

True.

I wouldn't advocate speaking directly with the other party - you will both have been advised by your insurers to direct all correspondence to your own insurer - make them work for you.

However, the OP's insurers have currently refused to deal further. He is under no obligation whatsoever top deal with the third party's insurers - he has no contract with them. His claim is against the third party - if they choose to deal with their insurer, then that is their choice.

I once dealt with a chap that felt his insurers weren't dealing quickly enough with his claim and he went directly to the other party only to be warned by the police that he was verging on harassment charges if he carried on!

There is a world of difference between properly pursuing a valid claim and harassment. The third party cannot insist that the OP deal with the TP's insurer instead in him.

Unless you have an 'agreed value' clause, usually issued on classic or cherished vehicle policies very rarely do you get the value you want on an older vehicle regardless of the outstanding condition or low mileage - the insurers go by a value for that car, that age and of average condition for its age. Sad but true.

If the OP's car was being written off by his insurer, I would agree with you. However, if the third party is negligent,, then the OP is entitled to be put back into the same position as he was before the incident. This is why his claim is against the third party and not the third party's insurer. If the insurer will not fully cover the replacement cost, then that is just tough on the third party. He remains liable.

Right now I am confused.......

Can I claim for the vehicle costs against the third party myself, whilst my solicitor, assigned by my Insurance Company, is pursuing a personal injury claim via the third parties Insurance Company?

Or should I be dealing via my solicitor with the third party directly for the injury claim and trying myself to get a reasonable settlement on my car directly via the third party, possibly using the SCC?

Thanks

Hmmm... what has your insurers claims department advised you re: the settlement offer from the 3rd party's insurer. I might be being a bit dim but have they refused/declined to deal further with this - I couldn't find it in your post, sorry if I've missed it.

Shouldn't they be negotiating on your behalf - a service you have paid for? Don't let them fob you off.

As someone else suggested, there is the SCC option but I don't know much about that - maybe there is someone out there that can advise further.

Good luck

Is there any reason why you are not dealing through your insurance company? Are you just 3rd party?

If there is an acceptance of liability, your insurers will cough up and then get the cash from the other insurer.

Dont give up. Go to Court if you really have to.

Simply brilliant response after 18 months!

Simply brilliant response after 18 months!

Some people just take a little longer before they can come up with an answer

Mossy

Yes. And going to Court can take longer sometimes.. But never give in. Get what you can get.