My MiL had her 2001 51 reg Vauxhall Agila damaged by a neighbour's car. Both doors on one side scratched, slightly dented, but doors still close etc. So really a cosmetic job.
Anyway, neighbour admits fault and the claim goes through his insurance. MiL has been offered £1250 for the car as a write off, ins co calculate cost of repair as £1830. However, she has sourced via a relative someone who will repair the car for much less than this, and she wants to have the car repaired and be recompensed by the ins co.
Car is one owner, fsh, v.low mileage so they'd rather stick with the devil they know.
How does she go about this? (despite 30 years of motoring I've been lucky enough to have almost no experience of car ins claims!).
Any advice gratefully received!
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Her claim's against the neighbour who did the damage. I believe she can insist on being put back in the position she was before the damage was caused.
£1830 sounds like an awful lot, a couple of doors from a scrapyard would probably be much less.
It's a ten-year-old car, would she be happy to drive around with the doors damaged? I had an old car damaged and settled with the other insurance company for a sum much less than the estimate for repair: "repair or loss of value at the owner's discretion".
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Thanks for the reply, Tom. That is precisely what she wants to do - get it repaired cheaply but not be out of pocket.
Is that "repair or loss of value at the owner's discretion" a legal term? Is this something she can quote to the ins co?
I've had a look on autotrader and a similar car would be at least £1500 (quite surprised really).
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>>Is that "repair or loss of value at the owner's discretion" a legal term?
Not that I'm aware of, just something I dreamed up. Perhaps someone here could help, a retired solicitor maybe?
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No need to panic. That was the insurance company's first offer.
Talk to the other party's insurance company directly. They will almost certainly give you a cheque for something approaching £1,250 and let you keep the car (realistically the damaged car is probably worth £200 to them as scrap, plus they'd have to pay £50 for collection and deal with the admin - all in I'd guess they'd be unlikely to see more than £100 for your old car).
It would certainly help to have comparative costs for replacement at hand when you have this conversation (look on autotrader to find out how much it would cost to replace the car).
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Mapmaker is spot on - I'm sure the other insurance company will be delighted to simply send you a cheque and end the matter there.
The amount may need to be negotiated, but I reckon you will get close to the £1,250, if not the full sum.
Bear in mind the car will be a category something-or-other write-off.
The impact on its value won't bother you, unless you want to sell it.
But I would check with your own insurer that they are still prepared to insure it.
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This is their 2nd offer. The ins co phoned today to ask when they can collect the car. I'd have thought they could do without the hassle of disposing of a car like this. Equally MiL is in her 80s and doesn't need all this.
I've looked at autotrader - see my second post.
In retrospect she'd have been better to do a private deal withe neighbour for him to pay for the repair. But he has involved his ins co and it's gone from there. Should MiL contact her ins co for advice?
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...Should MiL contact her ins co for advice?...
No point.
Negotiate with the other insurer on the basis you want to keep the car.
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Strictly speaking, mother-in-law should tell her insurer she has been involved in an incident, even though she is not claiming from them.
The reason is her insurer may view her as higher risk simply because the accident has happened.
Yes, I know it's not fair, but that's how it is.
Her insurer may find out anyway because the other insurer's settlement is recorded centrally.
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She should tell the insurer that she wishes to buy back the salvage and not have the car taken away so could they offer a revised settlement under those terms as she does not want the hassle of finding a new car as she's happy with the old one. She should probably also keep it out of sight just in case the insurer decide she has accepted the offer and try and whisk it away.
Once she knows how much they'll offer she can see whether it is financially viable to repair her own car after buying the salvage.
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Teabelly>>She should tell the insurer that she wishes to buy back the salvage
Really? That would be the correct process if your insurance company were to write off your car and give you a payment; then you could buy it back. The circumstances here are different, it's a matter of negotiation until both parties are happy.
Iffy>>The car will be a category-whatever write off
No, I don't think so. OP is entering into an agreement with insurance co as a settlement for the damage done. It is not their position to write off the car.
You must indeed - as Iffy says - tell your own insurance company about the accident. AND THEN you should find out how much their premiums will be increased by over the next three years and then you should claim this amount back from the other insurance company.
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Result! MiL has followed the advice given here and asked for a settlement figure to keep the car. Insurance have offered £975. The repair will cost much less than this, so it's a good outcome for both parties, as ins co don't have the expense or hassle of disposing of the car.
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Forgot to thank everyone for their help! Many thanks, it did help me to tell her what to say to ins co.
I dare say the neighbour's insurance premium will be ramped up for a few years to pay fro this. I know that's not, in theory, how insurance works, but in practice .......
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And I am afraid to say MIL's insurance premium will rise next time round.
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Perhaps, and perhaps not.
When my vintage car was shunted at a roundabout, it made no difference to the renewal. (It is on a normal policy with no-claims, not a "classic" policy).
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Thing to bear in mind, is it is HER car, and not the insurance company's....
You stated they asked when they could collect the car....
DO NOT LET THE INSURANCE COMPANY ANYWHERE NEAR THE CAR BY THEMSELVES.....
Once they have the car its gone....
Write a recorded letter (keeping a copy) or even better send an Email (with delivery/read notification) stated in clear terms, that they have no legal title on said car, and that the car is to remain in the current ownership.
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Thanks Tony, but the issue has now been resolved as I explained above.
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Insurance help needed please! - bathtub tom
