Car on fire - insurance

sdfghyujikol

Hi guys, quick question, my car burnt out yesterday on the side of the road.. i smelled smoke inside the next thing the whole front of the car went up in flames, i'd imagine it was some kind of an electrical failure.

Now i am stuck without a car since I only had fire and theft insurance not fully comp. Does anyone have any idea how long does it take for an insurance company to come back in regard settlement?

endacl

You had whatnow and theft...?

biko

We don't even know who your insurer is OP.
The only answer is ring your insurer and ask them your questions.

L1011

endacl wrote: »

You had whatnow and theft...?

I presume they mean there is no cover for a hire car.

It'll take a few days before you even get an offer normally and you'll probably have a back and forth about the value, so no time soon

Eggs For Dinner

Do some research now on prices for similar make, model, year, spec etc. Remember that sticker prices are opening offers and not the true market value

zg3409

It could be days or weeks before you see any cash. Consider buying a banger to keep yourself on the road if you need car for work. I bought a 500 euro Toyota yaris and sold it again 3 weeks later for 500 euro, while my car was out of action. Check insurance costs if buying a car, and try get something with at least a months tax, valid nct and something you can sell on. You could also get a car loan for a new car and pay it back when money comes through.

If you intend borrowing a friends car make sure you have full insurance cover. You can hire cars by the week, but typically they are expensive.

Atlantic Dawn

Was it a Zafira?

sdfghyujikol

Okay so I got my offer, it's about 1000 eur cheaper the the cheapest car that class online.. Can I dispute that somehow? Also they are making me pay off the reminder of my insurance premium which I was paying monthly...

Atlantic Dawn

sdfghyujikol wrote: »

Okay so I got my offer, it's about 1000 eur cheaper the the cheapest car that class online.. Can I dispute that somehow? Also they are making me pay off the reminder of my insurance premium which I was paying monthly...

Yes appeal it. Have a look on the VRT calculator to see what Revenue calculate as the cars omsp, this should help your case if nearer your estimated value. If you initially were asked to put a value on the car when taking out the policy and you put it lower than market rate at the time that won't help your case.

https://www.ros.ie/evrt-enquiry/vrtenquiry.html?execution=e1s1

sdfghyujikol

I don't understand how to do this at all, would it be worth my while contacting the solicitor?

coylemj

sdfghyujikol wrote: »

Also they are making me pay off the reminder of my insurance premium which I was paying monthly...

Paying the premium monthly usually involves a finance house lendng you the money by paying the premium so you are repaying a loan and they don't care if you have no car.

Unless you have cover to drive other cars and can borrow a car from someone, what you need to do is to suspend the policy by returning the cert and disc (if you salvaged it), that way the clock will stop on the policy but either way, you need to continue making the monthly payments.

jimmycrackcorm

sdfghyujikol wrote: »

Okay so I got my offer, it's about 1000 eur cheaper the the cheapest car that class online.. Can I dispute that somehow? Also they are making me pay off the reminder of my insurance premium which I was paying monthly...

They will try to lowball you - so you have to counter, because some people accept the initial offer. What you need to do is show them how much it would cost to buy your car with the equivalent age/mileage etc. You should check what your insurance policy says about fire and theft cover but typically it does say that they will cover the amount up to the maximum market value of your car. You then show them what is by pointing out similar examples online.

I once had to do this - they also offered 1k less. I found some examples and they upped the offer another 500 or they would find an equivalent replacement. I accepted the revised offer as I was planning to buy a different car anyway.

Eggs For Dinner

Present them with realistic alternatives and they will listen. Remember that prices quoted online are opening offers and the seller will accept a lower offer, making that the correct market value for a cash buyer.

Insurers are entitled to ask for the full premium to be cleared in the event of a total loss, it will be in your policy document. The policy is deemed to be 'determined'

coylemj

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

Insurers are entitled to ask for the full premium to be cleared in the event of a total loss, it will be in your policy document. The policy is deemed to be 'determined'

+1 OP, we don't know who you're insured with but Axa have this in their policy document, it's probably an industry standard ...

In the event of a claim in the current period of insurance, you must pay the full yearly premium. We have the right to deduct any premium owed to us from any claim we may pay.