Anyone work in car insurance? Loss assessor? Should I claim
Discussion
Hi,
Ive a car valued around 7k.
I’ve never claimed before.
We hit an animal which damaged front bumper, wing, headlight, damaged door slightly as it pushed wing back into it.
My father reckons insurance will simply write the car of, and I’d be better letting them do it, take the pay out and buy it back of them cheap and sort myself.
I can get second hand parts cheap and we are friendly with a local painter who can sort for us.
We have fixed our own cars previously outside of insurance and you get to the point where you feel why am I not using the insurance I pay for.
I guess the question I am asking is, will be premium increase be less than expected as it’s a “non fault” claim, with no other vehicles involved?
I guess I am unsure of the process to use.
Should I contact insurance and let them assess the loss?
If they don’t write it off, do I have the option to not go through the insurance and sort myself if I want.
If they do write it off, can I gauge what the buy back cost would be? A quick read of the policy says we can buy back.
On top of that, I guess I have to factor in buying a stop
Gap car if we fix ourselves, through insurance I’ll get a courtesy car.
Thanks
Ive a car valued around 7k.
I’ve never claimed before.
We hit an animal which damaged front bumper, wing, headlight, damaged door slightly as it pushed wing back into it.
My father reckons insurance will simply write the car of, and I’d be better letting them do it, take the pay out and buy it back of them cheap and sort myself.
I can get second hand parts cheap and we are friendly with a local painter who can sort for us.
We have fixed our own cars previously outside of insurance and you get to the point where you feel why am I not using the insurance I pay for.
I guess the question I am asking is, will be premium increase be less than expected as it’s a “non fault” claim, with no other vehicles involved?
I guess I am unsure of the process to use.
Should I contact insurance and let them assess the loss?
If they don’t write it off, do I have the option to not go through the insurance and sort myself if I want.
If they do write it off, can I gauge what the buy back cost would be? A quick read of the policy says we can buy back.
On top of that, I guess I have to factor in buying a stop
Gap car if we fix ourselves, through insurance I’ll get a courtesy car.
Thanks
Generally Insurers will count that as a fault claim because there isn't another car drive's policy from whom you may be able to claim.
Irrespective of that it is impossible to answer whether or not you may pay more on renewal as in reality the truth is you might ,you might not ,it might be the same or presuming you shop around it could also be less.
Irrespective of that it is impossible to answer whether or not you may pay more on renewal as in reality the truth is you might ,you might not ,it might be the same or presuming you shop around it could also be less.
Should I contact insurance and let them assess the loss?
If they don’t write it off, do I have the option to not go through the insurance and sort myself if I want.
Sorry just realised I didn't answer your other 2 questions above.
Personally I would go through my Insurance and then take it from there depending on what they then say.
However if you put a claim in you and then withdraw it ( which you can do ) just be aware there could be potential consequences of doing so including difficulties of getting the claim reopened if you find then further damage that needs repairing , a need to still advise future Car Insurers of such an incident ,and of course still the same chance of an adjustment to your premium -or not !
If they don’t write it off, do I have the option to not go through the insurance and sort myself if I want.
Sorry just realised I didn't answer your other 2 questions above.
Personally I would go through my Insurance and then take it from there depending on what they then say.
However if you put a claim in you and then withdraw it ( which you can do ) just be aware there could be potential consequences of doing so including difficulties of getting the claim reopened if you find then further damage that needs repairing , a need to still advise future Car Insurers of such an incident ,and of course still the same chance of an adjustment to your premium -or not !
Back in the 80s and 90s I used to handle motor insurance claims.
If I was planning to repair the car myself with used parts, etc. I wouldn't even report the incident to them, although there would still be a duty to disclose it as an accident at next renewal.
They might increase the premium, but probably not by as much as if you made a claim for the damage.
If you did decide to make a claim but keep the car you'd need to make sure it never left your possession or you'd probably never see it again - it would be off to Copart or a similar outfit. The downside of this would also be having a car with a Cat S or Cat N marker assuming it wasn't economically repairable which would significantly affect it's resale value. If you made no claim and got it fixed there would be no Cat marker.
If I was planning to repair the car myself with used parts, etc. I wouldn't even report the incident to them, although there would still be a duty to disclose it as an accident at next renewal.
They might increase the premium, but probably not by as much as if you made a claim for the damage.
If you did decide to make a claim but keep the car you'd need to make sure it never left your possession or you'd probably never see it again - it would be off to Copart or a similar outfit. The downside of this would also be having a car with a Cat S or Cat N marker assuming it wasn't economically repairable which would significantly affect it's resale value. If you made no claim and got it fixed there would be no Cat marker.
Mr Tidy said:
Back in the 80s and 90s I used to handle motor insurance claims.
If I was planning to repair the car myself with used parts, etc. I wouldn't even report the incident to them, although there would still be a duty to disclose it as an accident at next renewal.
They might increase the premium, but probably not by as much as if you made a claim for the damage.
If you did decide to make a claim but keep the car you'd need to make sure it never left your possession or you'd probably never see it again - it would be off to Copart or a similar outfit. The downside of this would also be having a car with a Cat S or Cat N marker assuming it wasn't economically repairable which would significantly affect it's resale value. If you made no claim and got it fixed there would be no Cat marker.
So we planned to drive this car until it died anyway.If I was planning to repair the car myself with used parts, etc. I wouldn't even report the incident to them, although there would still be a duty to disclose it as an accident at next renewal.
They might increase the premium, but probably not by as much as if you made a claim for the damage.
If you did decide to make a claim but keep the car you'd need to make sure it never left your possession or you'd probably never see it again - it would be off to Copart or a similar outfit. The downside of this would also be having a car with a Cat S or Cat N marker assuming it wasn't economically repairable which would significantly affect it's resale value. If you made no claim and got it fixed there would be no Cat marker.
It’s got higher than average miles for the year but had a brand new engine fitted recently after a timing belt failure.
This is why I am thinking, if the insurance company would write it of, we could cash in on this now?
To be fair if you made a claim I'd be less bothered about the increased insurance cost than the drop in value if the car became a Cat S/N, unless you were still going to keep it for years which would then be less of an issue.
I think you need to decide what outcome you really want. Do you want to keep the car regardless? Are you willing to take the hit on higher insurance costs and reduced value for being a "Cat" car for getting a few quid from an insurance payout?
I think you need to decide what outcome you really want. Do you want to keep the car regardless? Are you willing to take the hit on higher insurance costs and reduced value for being a "Cat" car for getting a few quid from an insurance payout?
Hi, yes this is the very reason I am considering claiming.
We plan to never sell the car, drive it until it dies.
It had a brand new engine fitted, so the engine itself has less than 10k on it.
Is there any loss assessors on here?
How can I gauge what an insurance company would charge to buy the car back?
How do they calculate the value of the written of car?
Who has been on this position and bought the car back?
Thanks
We plan to never sell the car, drive it until it dies.
It had a brand new engine fitted, so the engine itself has less than 10k on it.
Is there any loss assessors on here?
How can I gauge what an insurance company would charge to buy the car back?
How do they calculate the value of the written of car?
Who has been on this position and bought the car back?
Thanks
Only a couple of an edited from write off's, both in 2016 so some time ago:
E39 BMW 540i - somebody pulled out of a side road into my path leaving minor front end damage - headlight, bumper, wing and small dent on edge of bonnet. Still drove with no fluid loss. Negotiated a value of £5.5k (still low in my mind) after they initially offered £2.4k. I had the option to buy back the car for £550 (10%) and did so. Fixed it all for £1k and drive it for another year, sold it as a disclosed Cat-D for £3500.
CBR125R - somebody drove over it, bending the forks. This was already a write off from 3 years and 15k previous. I had bought it from the salvage yard for £1.1k at 3k miles and 6 months old. I was paid out £1950 and had the option to buy back for 25% of value. I did so and sold it on immediately, as salvage, for £950
I don't know if things have changed since but buying back minorly damaged vehicles that you know well can be a great trade.
E39 BMW 540i - somebody pulled out of a side road into my path leaving minor front end damage - headlight, bumper, wing and small dent on edge of bonnet. Still drove with no fluid loss. Negotiated a value of £5.5k (still low in my mind) after they initially offered £2.4k. I had the option to buy back the car for £550 (10%) and did so. Fixed it all for £1k and drive it for another year, sold it as a disclosed Cat-D for £3500.
CBR125R - somebody drove over it, bending the forks. This was already a write off from 3 years and 15k previous. I had bought it from the salvage yard for £1.1k at 3k miles and 6 months old. I was paid out £1950 and had the option to buy back for 25% of value. I did so and sold it on immediately, as salvage, for £950
I don't know if things have changed since but buying back minorly damaged vehicles that you know well can be a great trade.
StefanYHU said:
Hi, yes this is the very reason I am considering claiming.
We plan to never sell the car, drive it until it dies.
It had a brand new engine fitted, so the engine itself has less than 10k on it.
Is there any loss assessors on here?
How can I gauge what an insurance company would charge to buy the car back?
How do they calculate the value of the written of car?
Who has been on this position and bought the car back?
Thanks
OK, back when I was handling motor claims in the 70s/80s my job was best described as Claims Handler/Negotiator and valuations were based on assessments by Motor Engineers with a motor trade and/or bodyshop background, but these days seem to be based on photos and repair estimates from insurers' "appointed" repairers. We plan to never sell the car, drive it until it dies.
It had a brand new engine fitted, so the engine itself has less than 10k on it.
Is there any loss assessors on here?
How can I gauge what an insurance company would charge to buy the car back?
How do they calculate the value of the written of car?
Who has been on this position and bought the car back?
Thanks
Insurers used to appoint Loss Adjusters to assess and value property damage claims and charge a fee to the insurer. Loss Assessors were appointed by claimants at their own expense to try to get a better settlement - usually for a percentage of the final agreed amount so are probably irrelevant to this scenario!
Someone tapped the rear of my car in 2023 and after getting an estimate from a garage recommended by his insurer they decided it was a Cat N. The valuation seemed to be from cloud cuckoo land even though they referred to Glass's Guide, but I doubt Glass's quoted a price for a 2005 car.
I got them to increase it by a couple of hundred and when I discovered they only wanted 22% of the valuation for me to keep it I reluctantly accepted. I assume 22% would be what Copart, or whoever they used, would give them for it.
The other driver was insured with Hastings FWIW - another one off my list!
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff