Ok, insurance dispute here we go
Discussion
Recently a truck sideswiped the daughters car, fast forward, the driver admitted liability (as an aside it was his first day on the job and the wagon was a hire vehicle), the third parties insurance company have written the vehicle off, and offered a price to settle which is £1000 below any on autotrader or car guru, (there are only three) which match the same year-mileage-specification to hers.
The latest offer is their "final" offer, now my consideration is, will it be worth going to the ombudsman as it was my impression that any insurance is there to put the claimant back in the condition prior to the incident/write off.
There "final" offer is presented as being in line with the "book" value, and taking into consideration three market examples that were provided, minus 5% because they do not know what the dealers mark up is. The insurance company have also noted that as they are not her direct insurers then she will not have access to the full services of the FOS.
So is it worth going to the FOS or perhaps she should set her own insurer on it, what is the opinion of the "experts" on here.
As an addition somewhere in the dim and distant past i was told that if the parties could not settle that the claimant had the option to insist that the insurer source an acceptable replacement vehicle, is this a viable option?.
Ah just to add, the three that match her car are all at 150 or miles away from her location.
Just to add there are now only two available.
The latest offer is their "final" offer, now my consideration is, will it be worth going to the ombudsman as it was my impression that any insurance is there to put the claimant back in the condition prior to the incident/write off.
There "final" offer is presented as being in line with the "book" value, and taking into consideration three market examples that were provided, minus 5% because they do not know what the dealers mark up is. The insurance company have also noted that as they are not her direct insurers then she will not have access to the full services of the FOS.
So is it worth going to the FOS or perhaps she should set her own insurer on it, what is the opinion of the "experts" on here.
As an addition somewhere in the dim and distant past i was told that if the parties could not settle that the claimant had the option to insist that the insurer source an acceptable replacement vehicle, is this a viable option?.
Ah just to add, the three that match her car are all at 150 or miles away from her location.
Edited by Racing Newt on Thursday 8th August 18:12
Just to add there are now only two available.
Edited by Racing Newt on Thursday 8th August 18:40
Pica-Pica said:
Forgive me, but shouldn’t your daughter’s insurance company be dealing with all of this? Goodness knows we pay them enough.
Well the other parties insurance admitted liability, and were quite forward at offering a courtesy car if it was needed, so as indicated below it was thought it would be plain sailing.1. No paperwork, simply call our helpline ************* and we will do the rest.
2. No charges, no policy excess to pay and the repair cost will be billed directly to QBE.
3. At least 3 year workmanship quality guarantee.
4. Free replacement vehicle whilst your own is off the road. The cost of the replacement vehicle will
be billed directly to QBE, which includes insurance cover to match your own whilst you have use of
the vehicle. Our daily hire rates are significantly less than the charges that you would personally be
liable to pay if you hired from a credit hire company. Our daily rate for a replacement vehicle of a
similar make and model as your own would be £47.50. We stress that this is the cost to us – the
vehicle will be provided to you free of charge.
5. Free collection and re-delivery of your own vehicle (Except for mobile repairs).
6. No loss of No Claims Discount
7. In the event your vehicle is deemed a Total Loss, our dedicated Total Loss Team will manage the
claim, keeping you updated with all developments
TPI are correct in that there is no contractual relationship between your daughter and them so you won’t be able to report them to the FOS.
If you involve your own insurer, you’ll probably be on the same valuations as they will offer you a value which will probably be similarly bad and then just claim their outlay from the TPI.
You could enter the murky world of an accident management company but they may not be interested if there isn’t a PI or hire claim. Check if your daughter has legal expenses cover too.
If you involve your own insurer, you’ll probably be on the same valuations as they will offer you a value which will probably be similarly bad and then just claim their outlay from the TPI.
You could enter the murky world of an accident management company but they may not be interested if there isn’t a PI or hire claim. Check if your daughter has legal expenses cover too.
Racing Newt said:
Pica-Pica said:
Forgive me, but shouldn’t your daughter’s insurance company be dealing with all of this? Goodness knows we pay them enough.
Well the other parties insurance admitted liability, and were quite forward at offering a courtesy car if it was needed, so as indicated below it was thought it would be plain sailing.1. No paperwork, simply call our helpline ************* and we will do the rest.
2. No charges, no policy excess to pay and the repair cost will be billed directly to QBE.
3. At least 3 year workmanship quality guarantee.
4. Free replacement vehicle whilst your own is off the road. The cost of the replacement vehicle will
be billed directly to QBE, which includes insurance cover to match your own whilst you have use of
the vehicle. Our daily hire rates are significantly less than the charges that you would personally be
liable to pay if you hired from a credit hire company. Our daily rate for a replacement vehicle of a
similar make and model as your own would be £47.50. We stress that this is the cost to us – the
vehicle will be provided to you free of charge.
5. Free collection and re-delivery of your own vehicle (Except for mobile repairs).
6. No loss of No Claims Discount
7. In the event your vehicle is deemed a Total Loss, our dedicated Total Loss Team will manage the
claim, keeping you updated with all developments
You say you have seen simlar cars advertised, and 1 sold or was taken off sale, you have no idea what it sold for in the current slow market.
Are the other two dealer cars with price markers on the advert, great price, higher price etc ? Are they slightly lower miles, just because they are priced, does not mean they will sell for that figure.
Where they are located is of no consequence, delivery will be available.
First thing I would do, is contact the sellers and see what a replacement can be bought for, I think you are being very hopeful wanting full retail from the insurance company, they will use other valuations, not just the two you are.
If you can buy a replacement for a few hundred quid more than the offer, and you have been very lucky to get to that point quickly with no battles, grab it with both hands.
s
t happens, this could have been far worse, nobody is injured and the third party insurance have not put up a fight, you are also avoiding an excess your daughter may have on her own insurance, by not involving them, and you are being offered a very quick resolution.A battle will cause stress and take how long?
As your daughter is still in posession , and driving, her car you could also take a discounted settlement, keep the car, get it repaired yourself, it will have an insurance marker.
Well thanks for all the advice chaps, it is of a similar vein i was considering advising, along with complaining to the original party about their insurance company, and it would seem we are actually dealing with a accident management company, who are not involved in Frenzied Media Gossip.
Edited by Racing Newt on Thursday 8th August 21:05
MOMACC said:
My advice as an insurance professional.
Notify your insurer - contractually this is likely a condition of the policy.
She buys insurance so that the insurer can support in this very instance, they will fight against the other parties insurer.
Notify your insurer - contractually this is likely a condition of the policy.
She buys insurance so that the insurer can support in this very instance, they will fight against the other parties insurer.
This might have been the best option initially, but now you've come this far with the TP I personally wouldn't do this.
Contact the tp insurers, tell them their offer is not acceptable and unless they pay you the amount you want, you will contact their client directly and threaten them with legal action to recover your losses in full. They will not like that, and they won't won't a fleet customer with lorries, who no doubt pays a large premium, to have this hassle.
If no better offer is forthcoming, do that. Your daughter writes to the employer of the driver, assuming it's a company lorry, tell them her car has been written off by the negligence of their employee, and their fleet insurer is refusing to compensate you properly. Therefore, you are holding them responsible and give them 7 days to settle your claim or you will issue a small claims court summons to recover your losses.
If your claim still isn't settled to your satisfaction, then your daughter goes online and issues a summons against the owner of the lorry, not the insurer. Become a thorn in their side. The lorry owners will be on to their insurers giving them merry hell.
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Thursday 8th August 21:20
MOMACC said:
My advice as an insurance professional.
Notify your insurer - contractually this is likely a condition of the policy.
She buys insurance so that the insurer can support in this very instance, they will fight against the other parties insurer.
No they won't. They will make up their own mind on what low ball offer to make. Notify your insurer - contractually this is likely a condition of the policy.
She buys insurance so that the insurer can support in this very instance, they will fight against the other parties insurer.
You are in a stronger position to fight the third party insurer than fight against your own insurer.
TwigtheWonderkid said:
This might have been the best option initially, but now you've come this far with the TP I personally wouldn't do this.
Contact the tp insurers, tell them their offer is not acceptable and unless they pay you the amount you want, you will contact their client directly and threaten them with legal action to recover your losses in full. They will not like that, and they won't won't a fleet customer with lorries, who no doubt pays a large premium, to have this hassle.
If no better offer is forthcoming, do that. Your daughter writes to the employer of the driver, assuming it's a company lorry, tell them her car has been written off by the negligence of their employee, and their fleet insurer is refusing to compensate you properly. Therefore, you are holding them responsible and give them 7 days to settle your claim or you will issue a small claims court summons to recover your losses.
If your claim still isn't settled to your satisfaction, then your daughter goes online and issues a summons against the owner of the lorry, not the insurer. Become a thorn in their side. The lorry owners will be on to their insurers giving them merry hell.
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Thursday 8th August 21:20
BertBert said:
No they won't. They will make up their own mind on what low ball offer to make.
You are in a stronger position to fight the third party insurer than fight against your own insurer.
Not sure that is necessarily true, I’ve only had two dealings with insurers, one for mine and once for my wife’s. Both written off, both different insurers and both offered much more than I was expecting, certainly enough to source the same spec replacement and then some.You are in a stronger position to fight the third party insurer than fight against your own insurer.
KungFuPanda said:
The OP hasn’t told us the pre accident value of the car yet. Is it a £2k car or £20k car?
I was wondering if I'd missed this, it does make a difference to my mind. If it was £20k and I was being offered £19k then I'd just take it and hope I could knock one of the sellers down a bit, and if I couldn't well, a £19k car's still going to be alright. If it was £2k and I was being offered £1k then I'd be kicking up a stink - no seller is going to drop that much and £1k gets you little more than scrap these days.Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff