Ensuring best result from insurance claim

zenith

'lo all.

My elderly mum was shunted into another car in a queue of traffic in her Panda. Damage front and rear, assessed at €2200. Panda, 07, probably worth no more than €5k if undamaged. She was going to change (trade up to newer Panda) in Jan. (There's the possiblity of a medical claim also, separate to this issue).

Since the trade-in value of the panda is already screwed by the crash, it seems logical to compare the cost of change now, vs the cost of change with an undamaged car in Jan, and to claim that? Do the insurance companies play ball like that?

Any advice for dealing with the dealer and/or the insurance company appreciated...

Kartale

The ins co have to put you back in the position you were in before the accident i.e undamaged 2007 Panda.
they can either replace your current car with another similiar or pay for the repairs while also paying you depreciation for the loss in value as a result of the crash.
You could get a letter from a dealer saying they valued your car @ X to trade for another and now it willl cost you Y. They will come to arrangement.
Or you could source a similiar Panda to the crashed one and the Ins co may buy it as a replacemment .
A lot of this can depend on what your policy covers.
but all worth a try, less work for them & good result for you

oldyouth

There is an industry agreed scale of depreciation allowed in these circumstances and is calculated on the cost of repairs. I do not know the current scale but for argument sake, a '07 car might be entitled to 15% of the cost of repairs as depreciation, whereas a '08 might get 20% (just examples to explain the point). Ask the other party's insurers for this and they will oblige. They are unlikely to point it out to you. Don't forget to include car hire hire to cover the time the vehicle is in the garage and any other DIRECT costs incurred.