Stolen car insurance questions

mongoman

The wife’s car was stolen from outside our house on Sunday night, and it was found late last night burned out. This is the first time anything like this has happened to anyone I know and I just got a couple of quick questions that I hope someone can help me with.

How long will it take to get a new car organised from the insurance company and how long does the process take?

Will they replace the value that the car was insured for?

Will she now lose all or part of her no claims bonus?

The car wasn’t actually parked in the drive on our property, but outside the house on a public road. Will the insurer try to make an issue of this?

All help appreciated here, I tried to enquire from the insurer but they refused to discuss the matter with me since I’m not the car owner. So all help appreciated.

Alanstrainor

They will not automatically give you the amount the car was insured for. They'll most likely make an offer based on the current market.

I'd hold tight for now. Not too much you can do at this stage.

ThreeLineWhip

They never ever pay what you value it at. That question is always a red herring.

For a stolen car claim normally they will not even consider paying out until 28 days have passed.

As they have found the remains that won't apply but the value they place on it may be far less than you wanted.

visual

get on to the insurance company and I take it you have reported it to the garda.

The insurance company have their own book value for the car and you may be disappointed at the amount offered.

Its a big con job asking you to value your own car because, if the book value is 5K and they are being sold for 6K and you value the car at 8K you will only be offered the 5K. The only exception to this is if you under valued the car at 4K then they offer you 4K

as the car has been found the insurance company may take it away and settle quicker.

seamus

As said above, the insured value of the car is irrelevant. Except if you insured it for less than it was worth, in which case you'll only get that. The "insured value" thing is a total con job by the insurance companies.

Her no claims bonus will be wiped out by the claim unless you had NCB protection.

mongoman

Thanks for the help for far lads, so does she now have to go and find a new car and then notify the insurer to pay out, or how does that actually work?

visual

the insurance company cut you a check for the value they decide to settle on.

what you do with the check is your business.

If you have the money you would be better off looking around to find the car your wife wants and just buy it.

If not you'll have to wait on the insurance company to pay up.
Have you taken into account that this will impact your wifes no claims bonus

Profiler

If the car is burnt out then you should be in receipt of an offer in settlement from your insurers. In fact once they have recovered the salvage if I were you I'd be on to your insurers asking for settlement ASAP.

28 days is far too long, I've no idea where that time period came from.

I wouldn't wait 14 days if the car was stolen and not found never mind a vehicle we know what the fate of it was (burnt out)

What you could do is check all the usual 2nd hand car sites and compare as many as you can of the same make, model, specification and similar mileage/kilometers as you can.

Get as many similar cars as you can and work out a rough average price. That way you are prepared for when the insurance company come back with an offer.

I'd be on their case now bearing in mind the car is gone now more than 3 days.

(edit) As for N.C.B. check your terms and conditions. Some companies take the view that if you have an car alarm and an immobiliser and the car is still stolen then they will not impact the N.C.B. but different companies and different policies means it may not be immediately clear.

L1011

Depending on your insurer there is a slight chance they'll actually offer to provide an equivalent car. Seems more common with commercials than private vehicles, mind.

ThreeLineWhip

They make you wait 28 days for stolen cars to see if it ever turns up.

Muppet Man

Will they replace the value that the car was insured for?

Will she now lose all or part of her no claims bonus?

Q1. In my case, market value of the car, which was a LOT less than what I owed on the car. I got caught out VERY badly here.

Q2. In my case, no claims bonus was unaffected (I think its because I wasnt at fault)

Top tip - Never accept 1st settlement offer from insurance company. Argue like fcuk for every single cent.

Profiler

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

They make you wait 28 days for stolen cars to see if it ever turns up.

No, they don't.

If they are letting it go beyond a week then they are extracting the urine out of you.

You should have a cheque in your hand within 10 days of the theft as long as you submit all the relevant documentation.

If you don't then you should be kicking up hell.

ThreeLineWhip

So what happens if someone steals your car, a week later they cut you a cheque and the next day the car turns up 100 miles away?

Profiler

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

So what happens if someone steals your car, a week later they cut you a cheque and the next day the car turns up 100 miles away?

If you submit the documentation and they have paid out then the Insurance Company now own the car.

It's their problem then.

meath4sam

Just whatever you do,don't accept there first offer for example if they offer 10 grand argue for 11 and you will end up with 10 and a half. They always have room to play with but offer lowest amount first.
Also don't forget about babysit if there was one or any personal belongings.

cplwhisper

without knowing the insurance company there no chance of knowing the ncb answer.. if unsure of insurance wording please PM me

mongoman

cplwhisper wrote: »

without knowing the insurance company there no chance of knowing the ncb answer.. if unsure of insurance wording please PM me

She is insured with 123.ie.

cplwhisper

Standard Policy has excess €200. This amount qill be deduction from the pre-fire value of your car.

If stepback ncb in place thent you unfortunetlry will lose 2years ncb
if you were lucky enough to have upgraded to protect ncb option then you lose no years ncb but still pay the excess. there are provisions to claim for peronal effects that were within the car at time of theft thus be sure to calculate this before settling on final premium with insurer

goz83

seamus wrote: »

As said above, the insured value of the car is irrelevant. Except if you insured it for less than it was worth, in which case you'll only get that. The "insured value" thing is a total con job by the insurance companies.

Her no claims bonus will be wiped out by the claim unless you had NCB protection.

It's also worth noting, that even if there was full NCB protection in place, the renewal will prove to be more expensive, as the insurer will still ask if there were any claims and the value of the calim and they quote based on that. NCB protection helps, but it does not provide full protection. The premium will be affected for a number of years anyway. 3-5 years with most insurers.

I know this, because my BMW was nicked a few years ago and I had full NCB protection with aviva. They also said that theft does not impact NCB anyway, but my renewal was due within weeks and a quote I received on a 1.2 brava (temporary car) was as high as my insurance was on the BMW. Car was insured for about 12k, as it was a jap import, very high spec, but they paid out 5.5k on a bog standard poverty irish spec vehicle. Gutted! I also had issues with the courtesy car. They gave it to me for 5 days and because my car hadn't shown up, they took away the courtesy car. If my car had of been found, I would have been given a courtesy car until my claim was settled. Get prepared for jumping through hoops.