Car has appreciated in value. Insurance paying out the purchase price

Yillan

We have a 2006 Honda Jazz. The other day the catalytic converter was chopped out of it while parked outside a cafe in Wicklow.

The insurance company is essentially writing off the car, but they've valued it at €900 which is what I bought it for 2 years ago, but a 2006 Honda Jazz is selling for €2000+ on any website you visit. The insurance policy says it will pay for the market value of the car if there's an accident, so I presume that also applies here. Historically used cars would not appreciate in value, so it was probably assumed what the insurance company would pay would always decrease over time, but is there any case to be made for the insurance company paying out the market value of the car considering that will be the cost to me to be made whole again?

Any advice would be appreciated. Company is Ivernia. The excess is €500 so I'll have some difficulty getting myself a car for the €400 I'd receive.

drogon.

How much was the car insured for ? If it was insured for 2000+ I will certainly expect that.

Allinall

What value is on the insurance policy? That's the first thing to look at.

If it's higher than €900, you can appeal the insurers valuation, so long as you can support it with ads for similar cars. If you are doing this, you need to bear in mind two things:

a) Asking prices are just that, and

b) Your car has no catalytic converter

Kencollins

Why in the world would you claim for a cat converter theft on insurance?

I had a look at cat prices for a 2006 1.2 petrol Jazz, and can get a new one for 150 including vat, plus probably another 50 for an indie to install it.

That is assuming no other damage underneath, but I would certainly start at having it checked out. It really isn't worth loosing a no claims bonus for!

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086341#Comment_120086341

You will only get paid the lower of market value, or the value insured, regardless of what value is put on it.

drogon.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086370#Comment_120086370

Well you expect market value. Remember insurance company’s goal is to pay as little as possible. You can fight it, if you have valid justification. Which the OP has.

dodzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086355#Comment_120086355

You can bet it was not a 'precision removal' and even if it was, the days of an indie doing anything more that a lightbulb change for €50 are well gone. Hardly worth writing this off for a relatively easy & cheap repair though.

Staplor

You can't profit from insurance, so if you paid 900 for the car, you cannot get 2k for it now.

Similarly if you paid 2k for the car now worth 900 then they'd pay you 900.

You'll get paid as little as possible to "make you whole" after the payment.

theteal

Not sure it differs back home but we had very similar in the UK a few months ago. Wife's CR-V (2010 petrol EX) got rear ended and insurance written off - damage not that bad but the car was only worth £5-6k. Same story, insurance only paying out the "market" value i.e. Parkers book value etc. Absolutely no fault of hers, she was waiting to enter a roundabout and young lad in a TT RS forgot where his brake pedal was. Anyway, with the prices of 2nd hand cars, the offer was nowhere near what was needed. It took quite a lot of arguing and there were some increases but still a solid £1k short of being able to get a direct replacement (but actually still more than we paid for it 3 years earlier) - it didn't help that petrols are like hens teeth. We ended up going a year older and a diesel but 20k miles less and with quite a bit of change left over. I made sure we stung them for the expensive kids car seats also when we knew we were being screwed. Apparently, had she gone through her own insurance (I don't know why you would in such a case) you can actually go to the ombudsman if they low ball but by the looks of things, this is standard practice.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086476#Comment_120086476

That first sentence is not true. He would not be profiting from insurance, he would be profiting from the appreciation of the asset. He would be well entitled to claim 2K if he had sufficient cover and that was now the fair market value.

It's no different to the situation where you bought a Rolex or an antique several years ago and it had since appreciated in value. If it gets stolen and you have sufficient insurance cover, you are entitled to claim the current market value, even if that is well above what you paid for it.

Del2005

This is another reason never to value a car at less than €5k. Insurance will only pay out market price if you are over insured or what you valued it for if market price is higher than insured value. OP you were under insured and that isn't the fault of the insurance company.

The other reason to over value cheap cars when getting quotes is because its cheaper.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086696#Comment_120086696

OP has not disclosed how much cover he had on the car.

Victor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086476#Comment_120086476

The OP is seeking to be in the position he was in before the incident - having a dated, but usable car - not to profit.

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086355#Comment_120086355

Yep one of those where it's crazy to claim off the insurance, OP will pay far less than their excess to replace and still have their car

Yillan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086696#Comment_120086696

Yeah unfortunately we were underinsured. I just checked the policy. Lesson learned.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086432#Comment_120086432

As for this, I wonder if we would be better to try to sell the car. Would some mechanic consider buying it, fitting a catalytic converter to flip it, and they would be more likely to pay more than the €400 the insurance company is offering after the excess.

ozmo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086432#Comment_120086432

They cut in two places with a reciprocating saw - Ive had mine rewelded *twice* at FastFit and second time with another major garage - both only charged 80 euros as I had the cat with me (both cases - they thieves almost completely cut it out but didnt manage to get away with it before I caught them in the act).

FastFit had to resolder on a lambda sensor wire they cut and replace a couple bolts - but If you have the main part - thats all it should cost.

Where did you get the quote for 150 - thats seems very reasonable - My car (Prius) would have cost far far more than 150 for the cat... if you could get it...

Staplor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086773#Comment_120086773

Not arguing that, and not suggesting what's happening is just. I was highlighting how us normal folk get screwed either way.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086889#Comment_120086889

Especially if you're underinsured.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086727#Comment_120086727

They had it insured for €900, if they had it insured for more then the insurance company would of paid out more.

Insurance is paid on market value or the value you've insured it for if less than market value. It's the reason why people with classic or customised vehicles pay more for an agreed value when getting insurance.

BTW have you checked your home insurance recently? The cost of building has drastically increased over the last few years, if you haven't increased the rebuild portion of your insurance and your home is destroyed you'll have a bigger problem than the OP

Kencollins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120086857#Comment_120086857

I get most of my car parts from France, with mister-auto.ie. Really good value usually for reasonable parts. I look after servicing and repair of about 10 extended family cars, so I order fairly frequently.

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120087011#Comment_120087011

The OP told us in his first post that the insurance valued his car at €900.

Based on his later admission that he was underinsured, I’m inclined to believe that they offered him €900 because that was the level of his cover but they actually valued it at more than that. So you’re probably correct in that he would have been offered more if he had had a higher level of cover.

markpb

The appreciation in car prices has been going on for quite a while now. It would be nice to see insurers draw attention to the impact this has when people are renewing. I'm sure quite a few people aren't aware of the existence of under-insurance and will only find out, like the OP, when it matters most.

I added 10% to the value of my car when I renewed my insurance a year ago and happily it had no impact on the premium I had to pay.