Car insurance after accident !

sirius5e

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Hi all, i rear ended a car near a junction earlier this week, did the usual of checking to see if anyone badly injured , swapping insurance details ,name address etc
Then it took a full hour on hold to get through to insurers the next morning , they took all the details of the incident and then i got a text within 10 minutes from them to say my car was a total loss !!!
How can they make a judgment like that without even seeing the car ?

Am i right in thinking i can now get myself another runaround as i cannot cope without wheels or could they go back on there text message and say on inspection of the car it is repairable ?

Need advice please as i cannot afford to be lumbered with 2 cars .
 
are you fully comp?

what sort of car is it? age and model.


i've just had an accident, my fault. Y reg focus est with 50,000 - bit of a mess but it's getting repaired.
 
Fully comp m8 :banana:

Its a volvo v70 about 11 years old now and intergalactic spaceship mileage , but hey its a volvo so should be ok for 500,000 miles :proud:

Like i said earlier they have text to say its a write off so should i stick or twist and buy another runabout . ?
 
If the insurance consider it a total loss then I am afraid you will not get another car to use and your car will not be driveable so you will have to make your own arrangements

Maybe you could contact them and ask for another opionion on the damage
 
If the insurance consider it a total loss then I am afraid you will not get another car to use and your car will not be driveable so you will have to make your own arrangements

I realise that i just don't want to be stuck with two cars if they go back on the wording in the text message they sent.Insurers text
your vehicle is a total loss
When i received that text yesterday i thought Ok I really need a car so i will look at the autotrader online and will buy a replacement volvo , can they go back on the text basically !, i'm not willing to fork out for a hire car in the short term.
Tia.
 
Sounds to me like they mean it's not worth repairing, what they do is look up the financial value of your car and then estimate the cost of repairing it. If the cost of fixing it is more, they write it off.

Having said that i would ring them again to clarify the situation, or maybe email them if it's so difficult to get them on the phone. Just to be sure of what they are saying.
 
I realise that i just don't want to be stuck with two cars if they go back on the wording in the text message they sent.Insurers text
When i received that text yesterday i thought Ok I really need a car so i will look at the autotrader online and will buy a replacement volvo , can they go back on the text basically !, i'm not willing to fork out for a hire car in the short term.
Tia.

Speak to them and ask them for confirmation of the text, (find out what they are offering you first as well) If you are still not happy with the loss them ask them for another opinion.

Dont listion to any claims management company and stay away from Albany Assistance or the like. I am having a major nightmare with an accident I had last year with an unisured driver. Managed to finally get the MIB to find the OP at fault and got my excess back but I lost my no claims as the insurance company were unable to claim their money back. I checked and it is there in THE SMALL PRINT.

Sorry for the rant
 
I would call them up and ask them to confirm over the phone and in writing. You "could" also try to find out exactly what is up with the car and find out how much they want for the scrap value of the car. If you got it fixed up then it can be put back on the road. I think there is a bit of paperwork to do but I do know people who have done this. TBH though with the age of your car you are probably best and quicker just getting another.
Also you would want to know what a write off means to you in terms of £££. You may find that they are trying to shaft you so get on the phone before buying anything id say.
 
yeah, basically if the cost of the repairs to your car outweights what they think the market value is - they write it off.

Remember, they usually use the proper manufacturer garages so they're bound to charge more than your friendly local garage. i talked to the assessor from my insurers and said we wanted the car fixed if at all possible, it was low milage and i argued the point
 
When i had by bike re-ended the insurer said if the repair bill is over 70% of the worth of vehicle then its scrap.
don't know if the same applys to cars.
 
usually use the proper manufacturer garages so they're bound to charge more

You ain't kiddin there m8 , volvo headlamp for a V70 retails at £178 for one :grab:
I'll need two plus bumper, spoiler with fog lamps, radiator etc and then theres the labour ,on the plus side no one rear ended me as its got an LPG tank in the boot :proud:
Now that might have been an explosive situation and i don't mean just my anger.
 
Funny how ehen they want to write a vehicle off they use manufacturer's garages and when they want to repair they insist on using an approved repairer which really means they do they work for cheaper as tehy have a contract with them and recycle andy parts they can
 
Funny how ehen they want to write a vehicle off they use manufacturer's garages and when they want to repair they insist on using an approved repairer which really means they do they work for cheaper as tehy have a contract with them and recycle andy parts they can


If they want to repair it i will insist on it being a volvo "stealership" as it has a full Volvo service history.

Ps the insurers know about the Lpg system as they quoted me an extra £60 for it at renewal it being an after market modification .
Any one any idea to value as there are no V70 with Lpg on the auto trader site ? :Clap:
 
Fully comp m8 :banana:

Its a volvo v70 about 11 years old now and intergalactic spaceship mileage , but hey its a volvo so should be ok for 500,000 miles :proud:

Like i said earlier they have text to say its a write off so should i stick or twist and buy another runabout . ?
your talking about a car worth max £1000

now working out
damage
bumper, = £125
front panel? £50
wings? x2 £177 each
bonnet? second hand £60
head lights x 2 £180 each

total £949

plus extras paint
then labour fook knows but ur looking at 3 times the amount for parts

may be over £4000

so it is deffo a write off

btw these prices were off ebay so genuine prices will be higher

didnt know about the full service history
stick out for £1600
 
stick out for £1600

Nice working out Davidh , but with it being Lpg it is at a premium at the moment, i can by gas for 45p per litre as opposed to £1:10 a litre for petrol :proud:

The insurers insisted on a premium increase to reflect the cost of the conversion £1,990. So surely i am entitled to whatever an 11 year old V70 is worth plus the added expense of a conversion if no alternative car can be bought through one of the autotrader/ ebay sites that had already been converted ?
Well i think so but then again i'm BIASED lol.:proud:
 
Are you sure the premium increase wasn't because the car was more dangerous if in an accident?
 
See if you can buy it off insurer or at least get the lpg equipment out and reuse on next motor
 
thats pretty crafty what the insurance company have done thier, they have notified you straight away that the cars a total loss, so they DONT have to provide you with a curtasy car.
I wrote my old girl (03 stilo) off a few days before xmas, i couldnt drive anyways as i had whiplash but i insisted on a curtasy car from the second they took the car, but as soon as they wrote her off i had no car.... they were all over me like a rash to return the car, even though i hadnt driven since the accident it took them a week to realise they had to come and pick the thing up.
 
Never looked at it like that audiobookman , thanks, i forgot i was entitled to a courtesy car :Clap:

Well all in all lads should i just take the "its a total loss text " as it and buy a replacement now , i need a car asap u see.
Theres no answer from them and its a paid for call , hung on for 35 mins earlier and gettin pissed off in an imaginary queue.
Think i'll text them. lol. :proud:
 
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