Anyone in car insurance?

Scenario.
You had a bump last weekend. You exchange details with the other party. You ring your insurers to inform them, and send requested photos etc. You insurers get back to you promptly and say that on evidence seen, it's a write off.
Couple of days later, the other party's insurer gets in touch to say they admit fault and we'd like to look after you, repair if possible, hire car, loss of earnings, injuries etc, and if the car can't be repaired then an offer of a payout.

My question to the BBS.
Do you keep everything in house and use your own insurers, or do you use the other parties offer knowing they will probably look after us more (I think!)

 

All depends if the cars worth more to you repaired or a pittance for a write off

 

Their insurance

 

Your insurer are saying it’s a write off because it’ll be cheaper for them to write it off and offer you a payout rather than look to repair.

From a finance stance I’d let the other party’s insurer sort it all out if they’re offering loss of earnings, hire car and to repair the vehicle - they’ll probably offer a better pay-out too if they’re willing to go through all the hassell first and foremost.

 

Depends who was ‘at fault’. If the other persons insurance is footing the bill, then let them. I don’t understand why your insurer would make the decision to write off your car when they’re not paying for it?

 

Thing I'd be concerned about is the car has been written off by the policyholders insurance co. Without a full inspection. the policy becomes invalid apparantly for that car After a write off. So if it goes back on the rd could that be an issue.
The 3rd parties insurance would imo do that survey before making an offer if written off.

The 2 companies should be talking to one another before reaching a conclusion.

Ignore that bit below it won't let me edit out.

 

But apparently they will not be footing the bill the 3rd party insurers will. One for the 2 insurers to get their act together imo.

 

Was worried about what they consider 'market value' for a payout. It's an EIGHTEEN year old (06) car, but we are the 2nd owner and it has a genuine 35k miles.
Marketplace reckons £2.1k - £2.5k for that condition, and let's face it they are happy to take a substantial, ever-increasing premium for said vehicle.

 

I'd certainly be asking my own insurers the implications mate. My biggest fear is they have made a decision on photo evidence. If it ends back up on the rd what will happen to your policy going forward.

As for premiums mate we are all suffering vast increases in cost. I'm not even sure if going 3rd party F&T would make much difference.
Obviously if you trash your car yourself. Is it worth the difference.

 

Maybe there is a misunderstanding and your insurer assumes you’re at fault. I’d give them a ring tomorrow and explain that the other driver has accepted responsibility.

 

I had a similar scenario a year ago except it was repaired.
The short version is if I involved my insurance company it would affect my no claims but if did it just with theirs it didn’t.

 

There are different types of write off’s cosmetic and structural. Structural has two categories one is must be scrapped and destroyed the other means it can be fixed but has to be passed fit again for the road.
Cosmetic usually is just a cost issue, if it’s taken by the Insurance company it will be added to the registar which means it will be on front of logbook and Insurance companies will know it was written off neither of these stop it being insured in future. Its the ones that are bought back and kept by the owner you have to watch out for as not always put on register.

 

This was mine a couple of years ago. I took it to local repairer in my village and he sorted it out for me. I don’t know how much it cost, but he said at the time that insurance company might write it off. Thankfully they didn’t and I’m still driving it.

 

Never been in this position, thankfully, so I was unaware that how it's described is how it works. I always assumed that you would always deal with your own insurance and if the other party was at fault, then your insurance would liaise with their insurance to claim their costs back from them.

 

My gut feeling that if we did it through our insurers, Admiral - they would fleece the other insurers, Churchill for a total sum of say £5k. That would include an inflated estimate of the cars value that probably wouldn't be passed on to us.

But if we took up Churchills offer of sorting it all - then we might get a bit more back as they are not getting stung with costs from our insurer?

All confusing.

It's actually my son's car - me and Mrs Mac were just passengers. Smashed into in Liverpool last weekend. At least the lad held his hands up.

 

Its in the interest of the insurance companies to pay out the lowest possible. For your crash, Admiral are charging Churchill, somewhere else is a crash where Churchill are charging Admiral. If they both inflate, it hits the bottom line and profits and the big bosses look bad/the shareholders object. So both will pay the minimum they can get away with.

 

You'll be lucky to get between a £1000 and £1500. Did the air bags go off if they did that's why the insurance company will say it's a right off they cost a fortune to replace.

 

Problem is when you actually look into it most of the insurance providers in this country aren't stand alone companies but subsidiaries of two or three bigger companies even to the point where the staff deal with cases from multiple providers and work in shared call centers getting calls for multiple providers. It's all very murkey and the losers are the motorists.

 

They didn't and that is a good question as I don't even recall if it has airbags. What year were they invented? lol

 

I do miss my X3 M-Sport