Single yellow line, car accident,

[AndreaMc]

Ah, and the insurers acting for Royal Mail are AI Claims/ Reserva if that means anything? **Had the legal team my insurers appointed asking me "are you sure you weren't injured at all? It doesn't matter how small..". I couldn't say enough that I was fine, they were very keen for me to claim for something. Terrible really**

Edited January 31, 2013 by AndreaMc
Added extra info.

[crem]

**Had the legal team my insurers appointed asking me "are you sure you weren't injured at all? It doesn't matter how small..". I couldn't say enough that I was fine, they were very keen for me to claim for something. Terrible really**

 

and we wonder why our premiums are so high!! Well we don't really coz we know the insurance industry is run by ambulance chasers now

[AndreaMc]

and we wonder why our premiums are so high!! Well we don't really coz we know the insurance industry is run by ambulance chasers now

 

That's exactly what I thought. I just checked a quote for insurance that I got a few weeks ago. Added that I had a no fault accident and my premium hadn't gone up at all. So relieved. Crem, do you know anything about my rights with 3rd party insurers wanting to write my car off? I'm hoping I can refuse if that's what they say..

[dw190]

That's exactly what I thought. I just checked a quote for insurance that I got a few weeks ago. Added that I had a no fault accident and my premium hadn't gone up at all. So relieved. Crem, do you know anything about my rights with 3rd party insurers wanting to write my car off? I'm hoping I can refuse if that's what they say..

 

Let clear something up.

 

The car is yours and they cannot take it from you.

 

If they say its damaged beyond economical repair you can keep it and get it repaired yourself ( they would of course make an adjustment for the salvage).

 

As an example, if your car is valued at £1000.00 and the professional repair is £800.00 this would be considered uneconomical to repair. They may offer £1000.00. You start to negociate and could possibly get £900.00 and keep the car (salvaged valued at £100.00).

 

If the damage can be repaired at a smaller workshop for two or three hundred you would be quids in.

[AndreaMc]

Let clear something up.

 

The car is yours and they cannot take it from you.

 

If they say its damaged beyond economical repair you can keep it and get it repaired yourself ( they would of course make an adjustment for the salvage).

 

As an example, if your car is valued at £1000.00 and the professional repair is £800.00 this would be considered uneconomical to repair. They may offer £1000.00. You start to negociate and could possibly get £900.00 and keep the car (salvaged valued at £100.00).

 

If the damage can be repaired at a smaller workshop for two or three hundred you would be quids in.

 

That sounds good, but if they decide it's not economical, will my car then be forever known as a write off with Cat '?' damage? If yes, will that have an impact on MOT's and insurance?

[dw190]

That sounds good, but if they decide it's not economical, will my car then be forever known as a write off with Cat '?' damage? If yes, will that have an impact on MOT's and insurance?

 

Have a read here, should give you an idea:

 

http://www.rac.co.uk/community/blog/rac-blog/september-2011/what-is-an-insurance-write-off/

[AndreaMc]

Thanks, it helped a little. It seems even more likely that my car will at best be cat D. By the time courtesy car costs and official Renault parts and labour are added up, i'm betting it will exceed the value of the car. Thanks again DW

[dw190]

Thanks, it helped a little. It seems even more likely that my car will at best be cat D. By the time courtesy car costs and official Renault parts and labour are added up, i'm betting it will exceed the value of the car. Thanks again DW

 

Scratched wheelarch and bumper in dealer probably could run to a grand or more dependant on cost of parts.

 

Second hand bumper and back street paint job probably 250 - 300.

 

just have to see what they come up with. Good Luck.

[AndreaMc]

Well, repairs apparently £1200!! They haven't said yet whether it's a write off but I fear the worst. I'm going to try for cash in lieu and no write off, but don't really know what to say. Is that something that insurers do if possible? Some tips on what to say would be much appreciated.

[dw190]

Well, repairs apparently £1200!! They haven't said yet whether it's a write off but I fear the worst. I'm going to try for cash in lieu and no write off, but don't really know what to say. Is that something that insurers do if possible? Some tips on what to say would be much appreciated.

 

Insurers can and do pay cash in lieu.

 

When they contact you try in the nicest possible way to tell them how you would like the matter settled. ie. If they deem the car uneconimical and offer a reasonable figure say you are prepared to accept if they return your car. Dont forget as soon as they pay the courtesy car stops if you retain the salvage.

[AndreaMc]

So just to be clear, I can get cash in lieu without them writing it off? When you used the term 'salvage', I thought that applied to cars that had been written off.

[dw190]

So just to be clear, I can get cash in lieu without them writing it off? When you used the term 'salvage', I thought that applied to cars that had been written off.

 

Yes it does. If you still had the car and they deemed it U/E to repair, their offer would be on the basis of U/E to repair. We have valued your car with a pre accident value of £xxxx and a salvage value of £xxx so the figur you would receive would be xxxx minus xxx.

[AndreaMc]

Had an offer today of £1050 and cat c damage write off. I very politely asked for a cash in lieu payment and no write off and was offered the same amount and exactly that! Result! They have paid into my bank and I get to keep the courtesy car for a few days to enable me to get my car fixed. Is this possibly the nicest, fastest settlement ever? Thanks for all the advice guys.

[dw190]

Had an offer today of £1050 and cat c damage write off. I very politely asked for a cash in lieu payment and no write off and was offered the same amount and exactly that! Result! They have paid into my bank and I get to keep the courtesy car for a few days to enable me to get my car fixed. Is this possibly the nicest, fastest settlement ever? Thanks for all the advice guys.

 

Glad you got it sorted and no its not the fastest settlement ever but in the top few.

 

If all insurers worked this way our premiums would be far less.

 

Had they messed you around with a lower than reasonable offer and dragged their feet you would probably ended up using a claims management or solicitor and claiming injury.

 

You ened up with a good deal sorted to your satisfaction and they have now swept it under the carpet without any "solicitor" cost which is what bangs claims out of all proportion.

[Darfyddi]

Looks like good news and great to see it sorted out so quickly.

 

When you renew your insurance next though you will have to phone them and complain that they are charging you way to much extra compared to this year when there was an accident that was not your fault - they may say that your 'no claim bonus' is uneffected but if you run the quote without the accident then it will be a lot cheaper. Their excuse for this is that although you were not at fault, this accident is proof that you are likely to claim through insurance and drive in an area prone to accidents! Cheeky sods!

 

Remember this and winge on the phone until your renewal quote is more acceptable to you or you will get stung for this non fault accident.

[AndreaMc]

Looks like good news and great to see it sorted out so quickly.

 

When you renew your insurance next though you will have to phone them and complain that they are charging you way to much extra compared to this year when there was an accident that was not your fault - they may say that your 'no claim bonus' is uneffected but if you run the quote without the accident then it will be a lot cheaper. Their excuse for this is that although you were not at fault, this accident is proof that you are likely to claim through insurance and drive in an area prone to accidents! Cheeky sods!

 

Remember this and winge on the phone until your renewal quote is more acceptable to you or you will get stung for this non fault accident.

 

I did a quote yesterday admitting a no fault accident and my premiums were the same. Might they go up later then? My renewal is in March.

[Darfyddi]

How many years no claims (including this year that you will get). Any changes to the policy?

[AndreaMc]

2 years no claims, no change to my policy as Royal Mail's insurers dealt with everything. Initially my insurers started proceedings but 3rd party insurers took the reins and my insurance co closed down the claim and said 'it would be as if this didn't happen'. Not sure how true that is!

[Darfyddi]

2 years no claims (including this one?) I would expect at least 10% if not 15% less premium than last year - chat to them on the phone and ask what they can do as you are a loyal customer and shouldn't be penalised for a non fault accident - make sure they do NOT increase your excess without you knowing - mine did that to me and I was not a happy bunny despite the fact I never needed it, that wasn't the point.

[AndreaMc]

Sorry, I meant the same as a couple of weeks ago when I had been looking at renewal prices. My premium's dropped by £100 on last year and I checked again today, no increases since declaring the accident. Early days maybe, i'll try not to get too excited. It's 2 years including this year, I only passed my test in '11. Nearly 40 though, so insurance was never that crippling.

[Darfyddi]

That sounds okay - elephant tried to put mine up by about £100 when I went through what you did, to be fair to them though they did reduce it after a friendly chat to about 20-25% less than that previous year.