I had a minor accident a couple of weeks ago - very slight damage to my car (cracked bumper and a broken headlight) and no injuries. I exchanged details with the other party at the scene, all very civilised, no accusations or raised voices.
I reported the accident to my insurers that night, and after giving details of the accident and other party, they immediately said they arrange for a salvage agent to collect the car shortly and replace it with a hire car until the claim was resolved. As I'm rather attached to the car, and the hire car they offered was totally inadequate I asked if I could continue using the car at least until the claim was resolved. The insurance company agreed to this, and called back shortly asking me to go to a local bodyshop to get a quote for their records. I called in there the next day, and spoke to the guy who looked at the car - he said there was no damage beyond the light and bumper, but with the cost of buying these parts new plus labour it was likely the insurers would write the car off.
I had the car repaired the next day - headlight for a tenner from the local breaker and a bit of glassfibre on the bumper. A few days later I had a further call from my insurers - after a few minutes of negotiation we settled on a value for the car. He said that the car would be collected in the next 24 hours and a cheque issued by the end of the week. I asked the same question again about keeping and using the car and he agreed to cancel the collection.
The cheque arrived today - it's made to the value we agreed less my excess, with no other deduction; the covering letter simply stated final payment less excess and salvage. So, cutting a very long story short, is my car written off? I've had nothing in writing or by telephone stating or even suggesting that it is, and the insurers have not requested any of the documents.
The insurance claim has actually been quite stress free to deal with - the insurers have processed the claim fairly quickly and with the minimum fuss.
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Renault Espace - Insurance has paid out .. new
Renault Espace - Insurance has paid o.. new