Car accidents and insurance

greencreeper · 05-09-2005, 00:08

My mate drove into the back of a car this evening. He and his girlfriend are fine, the car isn't

No more lifts when it's raining

How does it work insurance wise? The car is on finance and fully insured. Would the insurance company pay off the finance and give my mate the change (if any)? I don't drive so I've no idea how it works. It's his first major accident. That said, he's nearly sixty, so he's done well.

Xaccers · 05-09-2005, 00:37

Depends on the policy.
If the car is less than 12 months old, generally they get you a brand new one.
Otherwise they'll either offer him cash (minus any excess and remaining insurance payments) or supply him with a similar replacement
Do you know if he has protected no claims?

iain_herts · 05-09-2005, 01:04

i have a loan for my car and as part of it if my car gets ritten off and insurence dont pay it all up my loan company pays for the rest

greencreeper · 05-09-2005, 06:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaccers

Depends on the policy.
If the car is less than 12 months old, generally they get you a brand new one.
Otherwise they'll either offer him cash (minus any excess and remaining insurance payments) or supply him with a similar replacement
Do you know if he has protected no claims?

It was secondhand from Ford. The insurance is fully comprehensive. I can see him ending up without a car, and at his age he needs one. Sometimes it's almost like life is waiting to kick you in the teeth. Not sure about the no claims. I know he lost some of his no claims last year when someone reversed into him in Tesco's car park. No witnesses and the driver said it was my mate's fault

So it went 50/50.

Xaccers · 05-09-2005, 07:19

He'll get the cash value of the vehicle minus excess and remaining premium, so unless it's a really old banger, he should be able to get a replacement car, he may even be able to have a courtesy car depending on his insurance policy (remember, if you get hit, no matter what your insurance level you're entitled to a reasonable courtesy car, but if you hit someone even with fully comp, it all depends if the insurance company offers that service!)

me283 · 05-09-2005, 08:48

If the car is written off then the insurance company will assess the pre-accident value and pay out that value, less excess and less V.A.T. if the policyholder is V.A.T. registered. They will make a payout to whoever has an interest in the car. If there is outstanding secured finance (as opposed to say, a bank loan) then the first payment will go to the finance company, with the balance going to the owner.

I would advise your friend to look into the value of the car. Insurance companies employ assessors/valuers to give them a value of the car, and they can be quite aggressive. You can check something like www.autotrader.co.uk to see what sikmilar cars are selling for.

Another area where he may be able to soften his losses a little is with the salvage value of the car. This is basically the value of the wreck that's left of his car. The assessor will value this as 10% of the valuation the he gives of the car, and that is what the insurance company will accept for the damaged car. Quite often though, these damaged cars are worth a lot more, and there are people who deal in vehicle salvage that will buy the damaged car. It may not be worth it, but if it saves him just the cost of his excess then it could be worth looking into.

05-09-2005, 08:52

www.parkers.co.uk also has a valuation facility - free version is a bit rudimentary but quite useful

me283 · 05-09-2005, 09:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by andyl

www.parkers.co.uk also has a valuation facility - free version is a bit rudimentary but quite useful

True. The assessors tend to ues Glass's Guide, or the CAP Black Book. The point is that these give a simple valuation. Your friend could support his claim for a higher valuation for many reasons: a particularly nice car (if he has pictures etc), evidence of recent improvements (tyres, exhaust, battery etc), full service history, any other bills, specific extras, whether it's a one owner car, any thing that really makes him think it's worth more than the norm. He could also show what he paid for it, if it's been bought recently.

The point is that for every car, there will be a price range. The assessor may say for example tht he could buy an identical car for ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£3000, but your friend could show that he paid ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£4000 only two moths ago, or that a similar car would actually cost ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£3500.

Some of these guys can be quite aggressive, and talk about going to court to get their valuations proven and accepted by a judge; don't fret, it's all hot air and bullying.

Angua · 05-09-2005, 09:24

Also they do not pay the "interest" part of the loan for the car. So if the car is valued by the assesor at ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£4,000 (less excess) and you still owe ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£4,500 to the loan company you will be over ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£500 short. Check with the loan company as to early repayments (some will charge extra so be careful, paying one or two months more off the loan may save you in the longer term)

me283 · 05-09-2005, 09:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angua

Also they do not pay the "interest" part of the loan for the car. So if the car is valued by the assesor at ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£4,000 (less excess) and you still owe ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£4,500 to the loan company you will be over ÃƒÆ’Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£500 short. Check with the loan company as to early repayments (some will charge extra so be careful, paying one or two months more off the loan may save you in the longer term)

Sadly, most finance companies fall back on their terms and conditions and quote... I think it's called Rule 22 or something like that... (long time since I dealt with one). They usually say all interest is payable, even for early settlement. You may get lucky though.

greencreeper · 05-09-2005, 20:18

Ta for the advice so far - will dish out the reps when I have a moment

I've just spoken to him. The front is all mashed in, but the driver airbag didn't deploy. I thought they went off at so much as a squirrel fart, but seemingly not - either that or he was driving slowly. At the moment the car is with a garage nearby, but the insurers are moving it to Doncaster - miles away - to be assessed. I'm hoping it can be patched up. It was still starting, my mate tells me, but not staying started. He's coming round with his policy sometime tonight, so I can read the small print. The call centre for his insurers is in India

05-09-2005, 20:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Ta for the advice so far - will dish out the reps when I have a moment

I've just spoken to him. The front is all mashed in, but the driver airbag didn't deploy. I thought they went off at so much as a squirrel fart, but seemingly not - either that or he was driving slowly. At the moment the car is with a garage nearby, but the insurers are moving it to Doncaster - miles away - to be assessed. I'm hoping it can be patched up. It was still starting, my mate tells me, but not staying started. He's coming round with his policy sometime tonight, so I can read the small print. The call centre for his insurers is in India

If the damage isn't too severe it'll probably come down to the age and condition - and therefore value - of the car. If it's cheaper to repair than it's worth then they should repair rather than writing off. If they say it's a write off might be worth asking to see the repair quote and comparing it against a valuation.

marky · 05-09-2005, 20:56

What i would give for a new for old policy on a car

tbh i cant add to what as been said they have about covered it but i hope it all goes fine and he is back on the road soon

budwieser · 05-09-2005, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

My mate drove into the back of a car this evening. He and his girlfriend are fine, the car isn't

No more lifts when it's raining

How does it work insurance wise? The car is on finance and fully insured. Would the insurance company pay off the finance and give my mate the change (if any)? I don't drive so I've no idea how it works. It's his first major accident. That said, he's nearly sixty, so he's done well.

Who is he insured with GC? And how do you know its a write off?
What car is it and whats its age, mileage etc?
PM me with the details if you like, i work for an Insurance approved Bodyshop and i may be able to help.

me283 · 05-09-2005, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Ta for the advice so far - will dish out the reps when I have a moment

I've just spoken to him. The front is all mashed in, but the driver airbag didn't deploy. I thought they went off at so much as a squirrel fart, but seemingly not - either that or he was driving slowly. At the moment the car is with a garage nearby, but the insurers are moving it to Doncaster - miles away - to be assessed. I'm hoping it can be patched up. It was still starting, my mate tells me, but not staying started. He's coming round with his policy sometime tonight, so I can read the small print. The call centre for his insurers is in India

Ditto to Budweiser, I still have a lot of contacts and may be able to help out.

If the insurers do write the car off, he may also be able to buy the car back from them and have it repaired cheaply. Using non-original panels and lights etc is often a lot cheaper than the insurance quotation, garages will often do a cheaper job for cash, and he may be happy to have some panels repaired instead of replaced. Just a thought as to how to keep him on the road and not out of pocket.