Car insurance payouts, whose??????

[Mickymoody]

If your car is a write off, does your insurance policy end or can the remaining time be transferred to the next car?

Many years ago, when my car was stolen, I got paid out, but the policy ended, has this changed. Probably in the small print.

It probably differs depending on insurance company. I once had an odd crash, that was difficult to assess, then added spice.

I'm travelling down a dual carriageway, and a 4x4 is half blocking the 2nd lane, turning right against me, ie facing me, so I slow, and flash him to proceed, the lights are green for us both, no other traffic about. But he keep edging forward slowly. Then he is completely blocking my lane, so I slow to a standstill, and he makes his turn, I accelerate, then WHAM! get sideswiped from the right, the 4x4 is on my left WHAT?!

Turns out he was towing a car on a very long towrope, I'd gone through the rope, and the tow smacked into the side of me.

Now who is to blame? The 4x4 is insured, the towed car isn't. The owner, (a '60's comic/local celebritity - that I'd never heard of), took us back to his house to recover, and offered to pay a reasonable cash amount £400, for a £400 car at the time, as it was obviously a write off. The next day he came down to settle up, but my parents were there, and him being a celebrity of their era, were awe struck, and he changed his mind, and said go through insurance instead, as his 4x4 insurance would cover anything towed.

So a prolonged battle ensues, with lots of lies told on his behalf, disproved, and eventually, I got paid out £600 for a car that cost £400. Yippee!

But the twist in the tale is; the insurance wrote my car off, I worked at a college at the time, and stored my car on their carpark, and one day, my workmates saw my banana shaped car being towed away, by persons unknown, and didn't intervene, as they thought I knew something about this, so on my return, they told me - the car had been stolen for scrap - weighed in! So reported to police, that found it, minus the wheels, and interior. What a sad end to a loved car. But didn't claim again off insurance, how strange would that be?

But the real sad twist was this local celebrity's son, the car that was towed, went out on a bender one night, and smashed that car, killing himself and a friend, and his Father died shortly afterwards, probably due to the shock of losing his son. Karma and circumstance certainly came into effect that night, that I will never forget. A load of what ifs...

 

[^woody^]

If your car is a write off, does your insurance policy end or can the remaining time be transferred to the next car?

Many years ago, when my car was stolen, I got paid out, but the policy ended, has this changed. Probably in the small print.

The policy ends as soon as there is no longer a vehicle to be covered - ie stolen or written off, and the insured is paid out

Likewise, even if you are paying monthly instalments and the vehicle is lost//written off in the first month, the policy holder still has to pay the rest of the instalments (normally it's taken from any payment to the insured)

Basically the policy is for the particular vehicle, with cover of a defined period of time, for a fixed sum. The policy ends either with a claim for the loss of the vehicle or the end of the period of insurance (or a breach of contract)

 

[Mickymoody]

Yes you have to cover the cost of the policy, over 12 months. So the vehicle is written off, insurance is paid..but then the car is then stolen?

 

[RedHerring2]

If a vehicle is written off and the insurance company pay out then that 'wreck' belongs to the insurance company.

You may be able to buy it back from them, as salvage, if it could be repaired.

 

[Mickymoody]

If a vehicle is written off and the insurance company pay out then that 'wreck' belongs to the insurance company.

You may be able to buy it back from them, as salvage, if it could be repaired.

Not if it is catagory A or B, they must be destroyed, someone died in the car or total loss, but C & D category cars can be bought back by the owner, and there are many holding scrapyards that specialise in selling those cars for repair. I've been to one in Knutsford, they had Ferrari, and Rolls Royce, and older cars that just had a dented wing. When you have a sub £1000 car, a dented wing makes a professional repair uneconomical to repair, but buy a pattern part wing, spray it yourself, job done, although they have to go through an extended MOT, and be declared as a written off but repaired vehicle if resold.

My brother had a van written off recently, a US v8 van, that someone hit him, and dented the side door, easy to repair, but the van had lots of rust issues, that would cost £800 on their own to pass an MOT, and so was written off, paid out at a lower cost than what it cost. It's being debated whether the last MOT was valid, as the rust issues couldn't have happened since the last MOT.

 

[RedHerring2]

Not if it is catagory A or B, they must be destroyed, ............/

Thanks for the additional info', but not 100% accurate. Category B can be dismantled for parts and only the bodyshell must be destroyed:

http://www.carsalvagefinder.co.uk/car_salvage_categories.php

/.........although they have to go through an extended MOT, and be declared as a written off but repaired vehicle if resold............/

It's a Vehicle Identity Check (VIC) carried out at a certified VOSA station:

http://www.carsalvagefinder.co.uk/vehicle_VIC.php

 

[Mickymoody]

Sorry to nitpick, but 100% accurate, as the statement was 'to be repaired', and as you state, cat B cannot be repaired, but parts from it salvaged

..sorry to correct you. no hard feelings.

 

[RedHerring2]

Shot oneself in the foot, perhaps?

 

[timtheenchanter]

sorry for the delay in replying, for some reason diynot has become painfully slow at home...

got it sorted, the management company said they could do nothing but wait for the third party, so phoned my insurer, and expressed my displeasure, strangely the next day the management company rang me to say the cheque is in the post...

as for my insurance, not cancelled, just "on hold" until I contacted them to either cancel or change vehicle on it, they (allegedly" would have rung me within 5 days of collecting my old motor for salvage (still waiting on that bit...)

off to collect new (to me) motor on thursday

 

[Mickymoody]

Shot oneself in the foot, perhaps?

That's sporting. Well done.

I've found DIYnot servers to run slow sometimes, I usually chew off Yahoo, then come back, and it speeded up, don't know why their servers run slow?