Need insurance advice!!

howwedoin

Hi, Im looking for advice.
I was crashed into, the other party accepted full responsibility. His insurance company assessed my car and said that the book value of my car is €1200 and they are willing to give me €700 and let me keep my car or else give me the €1200 and they take the car!!
I dont find this fair as I want to repair my car and €700 wont fix it and I dont want to get the €1200 and be left with no car!

Can anybody tell me have I any other options?

coylemj

howwedoin wrote: »

Hi, Im looking for advice.
I was crashed into, the other party accepted full responsibility. His insurance company assessed my car and said that the book value of my car is €1200 and they are willing to give me €700 and let me keep my car or else give me the €1200 and they take the car!!
I dont find this fair as I want to repair my car and €700 wont fix it and I dont want to get the €1200 and be left with no car!

Can anybody tell me have I any other options?

You might have a third option, tell them you'll take the 1,200 and offer to buy the car back for 200. Only downside is that the car will probably go up on some database as a write-off and you might have a problem on the next renewal.

Otherwise you could ask them if there is an internal appeal procedure that you can use to get the value of your car increased or you could threaten to take the case to the Insurance Ombudsman.

thebiglad

Have you got an estimate? If so what is the repair cost you are looking at - this is the figure you need to negotiate with the other party's insurer.

Frankly I would expect €500 salvage on a car with a market value (in their view) of €1,200 to be incredibly high.

As this is not your own insurance company your position is much stronger - legally they must put you in the position you were in pre-accident, your duty is to control your losses.

1) Assess the value of your car pre-accident, be honest, try to work out what a suitable replacement is going to cost you - this will be the minimum you can accept to settle the claim.

2) Ask them if they are prepared to match your valuation (supply adverts to them if required) - if they are, then let them have the car. Watch how much road tax is left on the car (check your rights on getting it back from tax office if car is written off - any losses, ask the insurer to reimburse).

3) If they will not accept this ask them to prove where the salvage of your car is worth €500 - if they cannot then simply reject that figure.

If you get this far you are at am impass - is your car legally driveable (no broken lights and no sharp edges), if so then settle in for a long argument and be prepared to issue a District court summons (no need for a lawyer). If your car is not driveable tell them you will need an alternative (if you use car for work, school runs etc - this is allowable) - the cost of the claim to them will increase very fast and this may persuade them to pay the correct value.

Most of all be honest to yourself - if you can replace the car for €1,200 then do so and avoid the aggro - if you cannot then get stuck in.

thebiglad

Have you got an estimate? If so what is the repair cost you are looking at - this is the figure you need to negotiate with the other party's insurer.

Frankly I would expect €500 salvage on a car with a market value (in their view) of €1,200 to be incredibly high.

As this is not your own insurance company your position is much stronger - legally they must put you in the position you were in pre-accident, your duty is to control your losses.

1) Assess the value of your car pre-accident, be honest, try to work out what a suitable replacement is going to cost you - this will be the minimum you can accept to settle the claim.

2) Ask them if they are prepared to match your valuation (supply adverts to them if required) - if they are, then let them have the car. Watch how much road tax is left on the car (check your rights on getting it back from tax office if car is written off - any losses, ask the insurer to reimburse).

3) If they will not accept this ask them to prove where the salvage of your car is worth €500 - if they cannot then simply reject that figure.

If you get this far you are at an impass - is your car legally driveable (no broken lights and no sharp edges), if so then settle in for a long argument and be prepared to issue a District court summons (no need for a lawyer). If your car is not driveable tell them you will need an alternative (if you use car for work, school runs etc - this is allowable) - the cost of the claim to them will increase very fast and this may persuade them to pay the correct value.

Most of all be honest to yourself - if you can replace the car for €1,200 then do so and avoid the aggro - if you cannot then get stuck in.