Settlment figure for a Total Loss ?

[Turboderv]

Last week my bro had a nasty bump and his insurance company have confirmed today that the car is a total loss.

So, he should be getting a letter tomorrow asking him for various documents like the V5, MOT etc.

My question is, if he is offered a settlement figure which he considers to be low can he decline it and send them examples of similar cars for sale, to show how much it will cost him to replace it ?

The car was/is :cry: a W reg Golf 2.0 GTI 72kmiles, full VW service history including recent cambelt, service and front brakes. The car was mint, I would say it was in the best condition you could find a W reg Golf in.

He intends to replace it with a similar Golf, a 2.0 GTI or perhaps a 1.8T. The dealer prices we have found range between approx £8,500 - £9,999 for a model between W and 02 plate. He is expecting the insurance to offer him quite a low figure, initially anyway.

Perhaps Russ could offer some advice ? Thanks in advance.

Si

[russ]

Why do you expect the insurance company to offer a low figure ?

Yes he can decline it though along as he is reasonable. Best way is to gether adverts from the press or i use Autotrader when disputing values.

Let us know what value they offer :)

Russ

[Turboderv]

The way the last week or so has been, we have been looking at the dark side to everything ! need cheering up LOL!

Anyway, he said to me today that he thought perhaps the insurance company would look up the car and offer him a trade/px price ? we aren't sure how it works because fortunately we haven't had or know anyone who has been in this situation. We have had bumps over the years but they have been repairable.

Thanks Russ, hopefully it won't be too long before he has an offer from them :)

Si

[Meridian]

When my Mazda was written off on 2000 I argued for four weeks about the valuation. In the end I got an extra £85. I'd just take the money...


M

[Mice_Elf]

When my 300ZX was written off they offered me a very low figure. I declined it, with reasons and the insurance company valuator chappie rang me at work and asked me what I would accept for my car.

I told him the figure, whch is what I'd have to pay out to buy an equally good 300ZX and he queried it, stating that he could buy them much lower.

Between us we went on Autotrader and the figure he was quoting was for an NA import, whereas mine was a UK Twin Turbo and manual to boot.

We then agreed a figure, which was about £2000 more than the original figure. :)

[Shanks]

Luckily I've only had to do it once but I found the insurance company very willing to haggle for reasonable figure. Their opening figure wasn't far off the mark but did err on the low side, I guess it was worth a try. We very quickly settled for a better figure and they paid up within the week.

cheers

[Kris]

Insurance companies are supposed to offer the market value of the car that was damaged in the accident. :twisted:

That's not what it costs to go out & buy a replacement but the value of the car written off. This would include declared modifications but be aware that modifications can often devalue a car as modified cars are generally harder to sell (try part ex ing one & see what a dealer offers) :bang:

Gone are the days of insurers offering a low figure to start with & always increasing as the poor guys oin the claims dept are fed up with being shouted at by people thinking they are being taken advantage of.

[Turboderv]

Thanks for your comments, interesting to hear other peoples experiences.

My Bro just wants to be able to go out and replace the car with a similar one, he is sending off the documents that they have requested today, V5 MOT etc and service history.

He told them he thought it is worth around 8 K which, after trying to find a replacement for the last couple of days, seems reasonable.

It's just a case now of sitting tight and playing the waiting game, see what happens next week.

[russ]

Yep, as Kris says and i mentioned those days of a low offer are long gone.

What they may do is if you don`t agree to the amount they will send you a cheque for the value they have stated and then you can argue about the rest of the money later on. If they do check that the amount is an `interim` payment and the banking will not affect the rest of your claim.

Then get the relevant paperwork sent in and sort the rest of it.

I think ( hope ) that you will be suprised and it will go though without a hitch. Let us know how he gets on :)

Russ