Insurance co. want to repair a dead van - what to do?

[AngusMcKinnon]

I run a small business, and have an interesting situation with one of our vans. Back in May a motorist ran into it when it was parked. Some of our staff were unloading it at the time, and we have a couple of independent witnesses, so there is no dispute over who is at fault.

 

The damage is a pretty significant dent in one side. The vehicle was still driveable, but subsequently the clutch has gone. At the time of the accident, we were on the point of replacing the vehicle anyway, and were hoping that the insurers would write it off. Instead they have decided on a repair at a local coachbuilders at a cost of roughly £1800+v. I estimate the most we'd get for the van, in full running order, is £800. At the moment it looks like the repairs to get it into running order would be in the region of £500. (Replacement clutch and a repair to the handbrake, priced from a tame local mechanic, not a main dealer)

 

Obviously spending £1800+ on a scrapheap worth less than half that doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what our options are. The two main courses of action that I can think of are:

 

1) Try and persuade our insurance company to write the vehicle off. I'd be happy with a payoff of even £500 from this. Not sure of the best way to approach it with them though.

 

2) Get in touch with the driver, and offer to drop our claim against him in exchange for some cash. We have contact details for the driver, but again I'm unsure of how to proceed with this one. Plus I expect that someone who goes careers round a blind junction at 40+mph isn't going to be the most stable or reasonable person to deal with.

 

I'm open to any or all suggestions as to the best way forward.

 

Thanks!

[unclebulgaria67]

Have you phoned your Insurers and explained the situation ? I would do that first. I wouldn't tell them that you think the van is only worth £800. Just say that the clutch has gone since the accident, so there is no point in a repair, so it would be better to have a cash settlement for the claim. There is no reason why they should refuse to do this and they obviously think the van was worth more than the repair cost at the time of the accident. So it won't be a write off. It will be a cash settlement and then you can get the van scrapped yourself.

[AngusMcKinnon]

Thanks, that makes sense. I haven't been in touch with the insurers yet, this is uncharted territory for me so I wanted to make sure I didn't make any expensive mistakes. Cash settlement sounds like the most sensible way of resolving it - hopefully they'll be compliant.

[Bang!]

Put in another quote for the repair for £1k stating its from someone willing to do the work outside your business hours so you can continue using the van.

 

The scrap rate is quite high now too as I remember.

[AngusMcKinnon]

When you say "put in another quote" are the insurance company likely to be looking for a proper quote on headed paper before they will part with cash, or will they just be happy to save themselves c. £800?

[Bang!]

I used to just print one off - but it was a few years ago, as my ex wife used to smash cars as a hobby.

 

In the rare occasions it was not her fault I would hire one of my cars to her while hers was off the road.

 

One accident was a shunt with an uninsured driver, and the MIB were so slow with things the pay out to me for the "hire car" was almost £2000 (about 15 years ago). But it would have been far more had she rented commercially.

 

I had a friend who was a lawyer, and he submitted the bills to the other side when it was not the ex's fault. In 20 years she had about ten accidents with perhaps three not her fault (although she was an accident waiting to happen).

[raydetinu]

why not just claim off the TP insurers direct and send them a pro forma invoice for the repair and they will send you a cheque if there is no dispute about blame or responsability.

The payment will not include VAT as no work was actually done but you do get the cash.

Done this a few times, which aloud me to get it done cheaper elsewhere.

[never shay die]

Angus - as previously advised simply ask the insurer for a cash settlement for less than the value of repairs. The only issue here is that the insurer may invoke their right under the policy to settle the claim however they see fit, but money talks at the end of the day. I can't see a problem with you being honest with them and simply explaining that you were planning to sell the van prior to the accident and only expected it to be worth £1000 anyway, so you would happily take that amount in settlement and scrap the car yourself. Bang - little disturbed by that. Did you really hire a car that you owned to your wife and claim off the at-fault insurance? I think you saw an opportunity to make a bit of money - yes it would have cost more money to hire commercially but in reality it should have cost no money at all as the 'hire' vehicle was already available to your wife in the first place free of charge. Correct me if I have the wrong end of the stick but had that been me dealing with your claim I wouldn't have paid a penny.