Insurer wont write off my car

[Adamhp]

A small van hit my car last week. Rear ended me as I was waiting in a traffic jam on the way to work. It was weird because everybody had been in the traffic for a while and he just sails into me at about 30mph. The boot floor was crumpled up quite a bit, bumper damage etc. Anyway we exchanged details, I contacted my insurance, they tow the car away to the garage, and I got a hire car.

 

So a couple of days later I get a call from the garage asking me if they can go ahead with repairs. I say no, I want the insurance agency to contact me first. He says, okay, you should hear from them. Two day later the garage calls me again saying the insurance agency have given them the go ahead for the work. I say, what about my go head? Where's my call? So I contact my insurance and they say they want to go ahead with £2400 worth of repairs. That's 65% the value of the car. I said, look I don't really want to be driving a repaired car that's been in a semi-serious accident. I also ask them about the repair related diminished value, and they basically say that doesn't come into it. I would have to prove diminished value. The insurer is Tesco, and I'm kind of regretting this choice now. They wont budge on doing a repair.

 

Anything I can do?

[kirkbyinfurnesslad]

No you have no say tbh. Their insurance their terms

[BankFodder]

You'll have to settle for the repair or cash in lieu - unless you can get expert statements that the car won't be in the condition it was before the crash

[Adamhp]

Thanks for the swift replies. That actually make the choices pretty easy. I think I might get an independent accident assessment (via RAC), before getting the repairs done though. Thanks again.

[unclebulgaria67]

Ask the garage for the list of repairs and then take advice. It is possible that the damage is not a structural issue. If they are replacing various body parts, it can be quite expensive. It could be worth getting an independent assessment. You don't want to be selling the car later and there is query on the nature of the damage.

 

This is not an issue specific to Tesco. Insurers use various approved garages around the country. They will make a thorough assessment that conforms to all the relevant standards and they will advise the Insurers. At 65% of the value, it is borderline. Depending on the nature of the repairs, it would not necessarily be a write off and the Insurers would be entitled to agree for the garage to repair the car.

[popeyethesailortam]

If you read the terms of your insurance carefully. It will likely tell you in the small print they can repair it using panel beating and a couple of large tins of cataloy. Insurers are now repairing far more damage than previously.

[afcwben]

Also asking them to fork out £3700 instead of £2400 (based on your percentages), what do you think they will do?

[Slimm]

Most insurers will repair a car unless repairs are over 70% of the value of the car in which case they'll write it off and sell the scrap to try to make up some of the rest.

 

Bankfodder has touched on the only equitable solution, call your insurers and ask for cash in lieu of repairs then sell the scrap yourself. 'Repair related diminished value' is called 'diminuition' and really only applies to prestige vehicles. Diminuition is almost certainly excluded from your policy, although it would be worth checking your policy documents.

 

This sounds like a non-fault claim, have you contacted the at fault insurers to see if they would inspect the vehicle at their own cost? They have an interest in getting things sorted quickly if you're hiring a car.