Vehicle stolen: Value according to Insurance?

hardwood

I know insurance companies have no problem saying the value of a vehicle is less than what it was insured for if it's stolen, just wondering is it a one-way street? Can I get more than what I valued it as? I've been restoring a motorbike (got all receipts etc) so it's worth a lot more than what is was originally insured for, what are the chances of the insurance company giving me closer to it's actual value?

djimi

I *think* that your valuation is pretty much the most that you would get. I could be wrong about that, perhaps someone has argued a higher value, but they will (rightly) turn around and say that the premium was priced according to your valuation, and a higher valuation would have had an impact on the premium price.

It probably depends on the difference between what you declared and the real value. I cant see them arguing over a few hundred quid, but likewise I cant see them paying out €7000 for a car that has been insured at a value of €3000 for example.

Atlantic Dawn

hardwood wrote: »

I know insurance companies have no problem saying the value of a vehicle is less than what it was insured for if it's stolen, just wondering is it a one-way street? Can I get more than what I valued it as? I've been restoring a motorbike (got all receipts etc) so it's worth a lot more than what is was originally insured for, what are the chances of the insurance company giving me closer to it's actual value?

Only what you insured it for or after their assessed valuation often less, never more. You couldn't say insure a 99 Toyota Yaris for 3.6 million and expect to get this if it was stolen.

sogood

Any changes made to your vehicle (or in your personal circumstances) should be notified to your insurance company. This is to protect you in the long term, as insurance companies will use any means possible to save money, ie; not pay out in the event of a claim.

Say you get 2 penalty points and "forget" to inform your insurer when renewing, they will claim you didn't make a true, full and accurate disclosure of all relevant facts.

This is despite the fact that the 2 points may well have absolutely no effect on your premium, as is the case with many insurers.

Likewise, if the true value is above what you originally insured it at, then they will only pay out on the insured value, or current market value, whichever is less.

So, if you have upgraded/improved your vehicle and so, increased its' value, this should be reflected in your renewal, or even make an amendment to your policy while it is active.

Your insurance company may well still argue somewhat in the event of a claim, but at least you'll be in the right ball park.

I had a situation many years ago when a car was stolen and the insurers offered me 1/3 of the insured value. (I suggested, tongue firmly in cheek, that they keep the money and get me a replacement instead, if they could find a similar car for what they were offering.)

Anyway, after much argy bargy I got my claim settled, just shy of the insured value, on the basis that they didn't contest the value I placed on the car when I took out the policy. So, why contest it when I claimed?

But having said that, you won't get away with insuring a motor worth €500 for €10,000!

Neilw

How old is the bike? Some classic policies will offer an agreed value, I've €10k agreed on one of my cars.

corktina

hardwood wrote: »

I know insurance companies have no problem saying the value of a vehicle is less than what it was insured for if it's stolen, just wondering is it a one-way street? Can I get more than what I valued it as? I've been restoring a motorbike (got all receipts etc) so it's worth a lot more than what is was originally insured for, what are the chances of the insurance company giving me closer to it's actual value?

Are you saying it has been stolen? If not, just tell the insurance co it is now worth €x more than it was. You may have to pay more in premiums but not a lot

hardwood

Neilw wrote: »

How old is the bike? Some classic policies will offer an agreed value, I've €10k agreed on one of my cars.

30 years old, it's a motorbike with regular motorbike insurance through AXA.

@corktina Yep, stolen last night, reported, insurance company will be back to me during the week.

Neilw

hardwood wrote: »

30 years old, it's a motorbike with regular motorbike insurance through AXA.

@corktina Yep, stolen last night, reported, insurance company will be back to me during the week.

Edit, forget that. I didn't notice you said it was stolen.

corktina

I hop they find it....cash never makes up for a loss like that

CiniO

hardwood wrote: »

I know insurance companies have no problem saying the value of a vehicle is less than what it was insured for if it's stolen, just wondering is it a one-way street? Can I get more than what I valued it as? I've been restoring a motorbike (got all receipts etc) so it's worth a lot more than what is was originally insured for, what are the chances of the insurance company giving me closer to it's actual value?

The most your insurer will pay you, is the value you insured it for.
Even if vehicle was worth 100k, and you insured it 5k, you wouldn't get more than 5k.

However if you were getting payout for damage in accident, where other party was at fault (so you'd be getting compensated by third party insurer), then you should be compensated to the real value of the vehicle, no matter what value you declared to your own insurer.

Stoolbend

Do they not only pay a percentage?

If it's insured for half it's value, they'll only pay half what it's insured for.

Maybe that's just home insurance.

djimi

Stoolbend wrote: »

Do they not only pay a percentage?

If it's insured for half it's value, they'll only pay half what it's insured for.

Maybe that's just home insurance.

You are asked for a value when you take out the policy. This is the upper limit of what you will get paid (you may not get it all if they feel that the car is worth less than it has been insured for).

HellsBells86

The basic principal of insurance is to put you back in the position you were in before the accident. If you insure your vehicle for a certain amount it is only a guideline and as the general public are not experts in what a vehicle is worth, an insurance company cannot bind you to that unless it is a commercial policy and it is written into the policy conditions.

If your vehicle is written off they have to give you the amount the vehicle can be replaced for i.e. the same year, mileage and condition (they are the basics anyway). They cannot hold you to what you insured it for on a private motor policy.

Mind you, don't be silly and add thousands onto your sum insured, it only increases your premium to no benefit in the event of a claim. My advice would be to look online and with SIMI registered dealers for an approximate value and take it from there both in relation to insuring it and when it is stolen/written off.

slimjimmc

HellsBells86 wrote: »

The basic principal of insurance is to put you back in the position you were in before the accident. If you insure your vehicle for a certain amount it is only a guideline and as the general public are not experts in what a vehicle is worth, an insurance company cannot bind you to that unless it is a commercial policy and it is written into the policy conditions.

If your vehicle is written off they have to give you the amount the vehicle can be replaced for i.e. the same year, mileage and condition (they are the basics anyway). They cannot hold you to what you insured it for on a private motor policy.

Mind you, don't be silly and add thousands onto your sum insured, it only increases your premium to no benefit in the event of a claim. My advice would be to look online and with SIMI registered dealers for an approximate value and take it from there both in relation to insuring it and when it is stolen/written off.

So you're saying we can all go out and insure our cars at the minimum valuation but we'll still get the full value in the event of a claim for total loss. That's very interesting but I'd like to see some references to support that.

HellsBells86

The amount the value of your vehicle is only affects your premium by a nominal amount. As long as your around what your vehicle is worth then you're fine. I would strongly advise against under insuring as I can only advise based on the company who I have knowledge of.

Have a look on your insurance companies website or any letters they send you. On the back of the letter it will outline the data protection act along with information regarding how they value your vehicle. It's there in black and white.

oldyouth

HellsBells86 wrote: »

The basic principal of insurance is to put you back in the position you were in before the accident. If you insure your vehicle for a certain amount it is only a guideline and as the general public are not experts in what a vehicle is worth, an insurance company cannot bind you to that unless it is a commercial policy and it is written into the policy conditions.

If your vehicle is written off they have to give you the amount the vehicle can be replaced for i.e. the same year, mileage and condition (they are the basics anyway). They cannot hold you to what you insured it for on a private motor policy.

Mind you, don't be silly and add thousands onto your sum insured, it only increases your premium to no benefit in the event of a claim. My advice would be to look online and with SIMI registered dealers for an approximate value and take it from there both in relation to insuring it and when it is stolen/written off.

Total rubbish, the most you can ever get ANY insurance policy is the sum insured. CiniO has the best explanation here

HellsBells86

Whatever you want to think but it's there. In black and white. Look it up anywhere you like, you have to get the current market value. It's literally my job to know this.

This is only a forum and I can only give you what I know so do what you like after that and if you choose to be skeptical that's fine but check it out before you rubbish it.

slimjimmc

HellsBells86 wrote: »

Whatever you want to think but it's there. In black and white. Look it up anywhere you like, you have to get the current market value. It's literally my job to know this.

This is only a forum and I can only give you what I know so do what you like after that and if you choose to be skeptical that's fine but check it out before you rubbish it.

It's expected that if you assert something that you provide the links. Nevertheless I decided to look through Axa and Allianz policies online and there does appear to be some truth to this. In both cases the insurer says the max they will pay is the market value, they make no mention the value declared by the insured when applied to private cars. Allianz do limit to the insured value but only for taxis/hire-for-reward cars.

oldyouth

HellsBells86 wrote: »

Whatever you want to think but it's there. In black and white. Look it up anywhere you like, you have to get the current market value. It's literally my job to know this.

Good luck in your job

hardwood

OP here, just to report back on this bike was originally insured for 2000 and they gave me 3250 (minus 250 administration). I had receipts as most parts were bought online and my local bike shop wrote me a receipt for the work that they had done. Not as much as the bike was worth or as much as I would have liked but more than I expected to be honest.

Bpmull

One of the main principles of insurance; you can't make a profit from your loss.

If you insure your car for 10k euro and it's stolen and similar cars are making 5k you get around 5k euro. If you insure your car for 5k euro and it's stolen and similar cars are making 10k euro the max you'll recieve is 5k euro.

visual

Biggest con insurance companies get away with

they ask you what value you want to insure car for charge you accordingly.

Then they only pay out only what they value it at witch is often the cheapest example of same make model and year or your value if lower.

Should be forced by government to honour the valuation they charge you for when you bought insurance.

slimjimmc

visual wrote: »

Biggest con insurance companies get away with

they ask you what value you want to insure car for charge you accordingly.

Then they only pay out only what they value it at witch is often the cheapest example of same make model and year or your value if lower.

Should be forced by government to honour the valuation they charge you for when you bought insurance.

Over the years I've often asked my insurer how much difference my valuation makes to the quote. I've always found that it made no difference to slightly over-value/under-value your car. Just don't go mental and overvalue a €10K car for €15K or undervalue at €5K.