Car Insurance

[MY63]

My wife was involved in an incident in her 2 year old VW Up, It was actually quite serious waiting to enter a roundabout a driver lost controp of his vehicle on the roundabout at speed and struck another vehicle before hitting my wife's car pushing it into a metal fence.
The fire service cut her free due to the side airbags my wife only sustained minor injuries although we did spen the next six hours in the hospital.
I have just spoken to LV our insurers who tell me as the Fire service have cut the side off the car they dont allow any repairs so it is a total loss. We have what they call a market value policy and they will pay the market value of the car.
Does anyone know how this works, Coincidentally our VW dealer who supplied the car rang me this morning, My first thought was vultures, how did they know. But no they wanted to make an offer on the vehicle as it is now worth more than we paid for it, and they would like to do a deal on a new car so they could sell our 2 year old car.
On a brighter note we had been told the vehicle was uninsured but our insurers tell us there is a policy on the vehicle.

 

[Lurker]

I think you will be required to do a deal with LV because normally they give you market value and then the wrecked car belongs to them.

Edit: maybe I misunderstood, the dealer phone call was just a coincidence??

 

[Blackswanwood]

Market Value is effectively giving you what it would cost to buy a car in the same condition (before the accident!). Some policies would cover the cost of a new car depending on the age of the one being written off.

Your garage having got in touch will be quite helpful if you get into dispute about what the figure should be. If I were you I’d also get an online valuation from We Buy Any Car etc. I’m not suggesting you will have a dispute as LV are pretty proud of their reputation for paying claims.

 

[Lurker]

I had assumed we buy any car were cowboys who offer an inflated price and then find ways to pay you substantially less. If I’m right, LV will laugh at their initial offer.

The involvement of Phillip schofield ought to set alarm bells ringing

 

[RogerS]

Look on eBay and Autotrader for the price of similar models.

My Hyundai was written off when I got caught in one of those scam accidents. Hastings offered me x£ which I automatically declined. I researched and ended up with a fair bit more.

 

[MY63]

As I mentioned the dealer call was a coincidence. They are the main VW dealer in the North East, He sent me a listing for a similar car to ours in their stock. It is a different colour thats about it and it is £11,399 which is actually more than we paid new.
I have had communication from LV already that the car is a total loss and will be collected in the next 3 days from the police pound. Once they have pictures that is it done. I am going to try to get to it tomorrow to remove items from the boot.

 

[Cabinetman]

My Pam wrote her car off last month – also a VW 12 years old, insured through Churchill and I was extremely surprised at the payout on it, I checked with webuyanycar.com and Churchills was 15 to 20% higher than their offer (for an undamaged car obviously) Ian

 

[novocaine]

list price will be taken from parkers guide taking account of mileage and age. insurance will then reduce this value by X% points depending on the owner and drivers, they have a set of markers for young drivers, old drivers, previous claims (minor claims for bumps and dings etc. will add to this as it is considered evidence of lack of care), number of drivers and a few other things. They will make you an offer, it is your decision to accept it or not, if you choose not to accept it then find proof of replacement cost at dealers rate (not at private or independent dealer rate).

https://www.parkers.co.uk/volkswagen/up ... ed-prices/

don't waste your breath with "we buy any car" or the likes, they will low ball you from the outset.

 

[Lons]

I hope your wife is ok Michael, mine was hit by a motorcyclist who came out of a side road at speed without looking and though no injuries she was badly shaken for quite a few weeks, that was 3 years ago and she still goes past that junction very carefully.

LV are pretty good I believe but you might need to be prepared for a fight because car prices are still inflated due to shortage of available cars. They will listen so don't be concerned about arguing your case, just get as much evidence as possible.
If I'm correct yours must have been one of the last models they produced because I thought VW stopped making the UP in 2020 and there's a new e-UP electric replacement model due this year.

I've just switched a 3 car multi policy from Aviva to LV because of a major price difference though I have used them in the past.
Bob

 

[9fingers]

I'd be tempted to trawl the "deliver a used car to your door" type websites Cazoo, Heycar and many others for cars offered as close to your wifes vehicle and get quotes, screen shots etc as evidence of the cost of replacement. This will all help indicate that you are not to be messed about. Auto trader would be another to look at.
Good Luck
Bob

 

[MY63]

Our insurers collected the damaged car on Thursday. They have taken pictures which are with their engineers who will work out a price for the claim.
I am a little worried about this as I think we are going to be offered a low price and the used car market is crazy at the moment.
Our insurers passed details to a firm of solicitors who work with them, we spoke to them yesterday, They are offering a no win no fee process as we did not have legal protection on the policy. When we got to the point where I asked about fees I was told they would take up to 25% of any damages awarded to my wife.
We do have legal cover with out house insurance so I will speak to them before we agree anything.
Does anyone have any experience.

 

[Lons]

You said your wife wasn't injured Michael are the no win guys trying to bump up the claim? It's how they earn their money.
My wife wasn't injured in her accident but within a day we had 'phone calls from 2 companies suggesting she probably sustained whiplash , we told them where to go!

 

[Blackswanwood]

If there is no personal injury the legal service is most likely to be to recover any excess that you have to pay (if there is one) and other consequential loss such as hiring a replacement vehicle.

 

[MY63]

When I said no injuries, it turns out she has suffered a concussion and has been feeling sick and dizzy all week and has been unable to return to work. she is also bruised and stiff following the impact.
But nothing serious which is good.
The solicitor who called was sent details by our insurers we have not had any ambulance chaser type calls.

 

[Lons]

I hope she recovers quickly Michael, sounds as if it could have been very much worse.

Like yours my wifes' accident was not her fault and we initially we had to pay the excess on repairs but our insurer quite rightly wouldn't use a knock for knock basis and chased the other guy's insurance company for full costs, I didn't have legal cover but when I talked to them they were happy to include our excess claim in that process and got it back. I thought that was important as knock for knock affects your insurance history and future premiums even if not your fault.

As an aside, our insurance company was Aviva and his was AXA who ignored everything until Aviva started legal proceedings' against them. We had an expert witness and a stone wall case but Immediately after the accident I fitted front and rear dashcams to our cars.

 

[MY63]

I have just finished talking to the engineer about our VW UP it is a cat B write off which means it cannot be repaired.
The surprise came when he actually valued the car for £1400 more than we paid for it new, 2 years ago.
:eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:

 

[RogerS]

I have just finished talking to the engineer about our VW UP it is a cat B write off which means it cannot be repaired.
The surprise came when he actually valued the car for £1400 more than we paid for it new, 2 years ago.
:eusa-clap: :eusa-clap:

That's Good News and Bad News, Michael. It simply means that the cost of a replacement has also gone up sadly.

 

[MY63]

I totally agree Roger but we could have lost out on both ends if the insurer had not honoured their end.
We are upgrading to a lightly used VW Polo 14 months old 2000 miles. We keep our cars long term my wife's last car was 18 years old and had 54000 miles when we gave it away to the Spaniel rescue they passed it to someone who needed it.
The UP was only 60 hp where the new Polo is 95hp with a turbo so it will be a better drive.

 

[AndyP]

Good news about the car Michael. Is the missus feeling better?

 

[RogerS]

I totally agree Roger but we could have lost out on both ends if the insurer had not honoured their end.
....

A good result for you, Michael. :eusa-clap:

We had a similarly honourable insurance company when our new Nissan was written off within the first year. In that event, the policy would replace the car with a brand new one of the same model. Only Nissan had stopped making it. IIRC I discovered, after the event that as a result of this, that as the contract could not be fulfilled it was effectively null and void and in theory the insurance company could have simply given us back our premium.

But they didn't and gave us a nice fat cheque for about £5k more than we'd paid for our car in the first place.

 

[Lons]

You'll find a big difference with the Polo Michael not just more power but a more comfortable ride as well my mates' wife has one and it's a nice car. I glad it's worked out well for you. It gives me some faith in LV as having just switched to them with a multicar policy it's always a bit of an unknown until something happens.

We have a 65 plate Skoda Citigo with 12000 miles on the clock and which is the same as your UP apart from a few cosmetic differences, same 60bhp and it's a bit gutless on any hills, ok if you use the gears and I wish I'd bought the larger engine version.

I bought it purely to hook on the back of the motorhome for transport when we're away so does what it's supposed to do and unlike my car I don't mind parking it in supermarket carparks.

 

[RogerS]

.... same 60bhp and it's a bit gutless on any hills, ok if you use the gears .....

Oh that is a real pet hate of mine. I have no issue with anyone wanting to buy an under-powered car but, for pity's sake...if they do then they need to learn what that funny stick is for and use the damn gears when they go up a hill and don't end up crawling at 30mph with a tailback of traffic behind them.

 

[Lons]

.... same 60bhp and it's a bit gutless on any hills, ok if you use the gears .....

Oh that is a real pet hate of mine. I have no issue with anyone wanting to buy an under-powered car but, for pity's sake...if they do then they need to learn what that funny stick is for and use the damn gears when they go up a hill and don't end up crawling at 30mph with a tailback of traffic behind them.

Not me Roger, just ask Sam if I do that. :lol: :lol:
It's crossed my mind a few times to buy a tuning box but hardly seems worth it for less than 1000 miles a year

 

[MY63]

Money from LV arrived this morning, we have done a deal with the garage on a lightly used VW Polo 70 plate with 2 k miles. To be honest the extra money we received from the insurers has cancelled out the extra cost of the replacement vehicle. all is good I would highly reccomend LV they have been excellent.

 

[9fingers]

Money from LV arrived this morning, we have done a deal with the garage on a lightly used VW Polo 70 plate with 2 k miles. To be honest the extra money we received from the insurers has cancelled out the extra cost of the replacement vehicle. all is good I would highly reccomend LV they have been excellent.

It's good to hear of favourable experiences with insurance claims. Its only when you have to claim that you find the differences between the companies.

Bob

 

[Cabinetman]

Money from LV arrived this morning, we have done a deal with the garage on a lightly used VW Polo 70 plate with 2 k miles. To be honest the extra money we received from the insurers has cancelled out the extra cost of the replacement vehicle. all is good I would highly reccomend LV they have been excellent.

It's good to hear of favourable experiences with insurance claims. Its only when you have to claim that you find the differences between the companies.

Bob

That is so true, Churchill recently paid out on my Pam's claim and we were very pleasantly surprised, both at the amount offered and the ease of dealing with them I had assumed that they would be all talk and no substance probably due to all their advertising.

 

[Lons]

So true, Churchill recently paid out on my Pam's claim and we were very pleasantly surprised, both at the amount offered and the ease of dealing with them I had assumed that they would be all talk and no substance probably due to all their advertising

One of the very few times we've had to claim on our house & contents insurance was when on return from 5 weeks in OZ we found the freezer had failed, it was full so I laid all the contents on a tarp and took photos, listed with detailed replacement cost and sent off the claim, got a return call from a snotty nosed kid with an "offer". I turned it down saying I was insured for full replacement costs and why had he reduced it, turns out he had gone to the bother of substituting for cheaper brands and even had the gall to say we didn't need to freeze bread, (we do because we had no village shop at that time). It was annoying as I could have claimed for 5 large trout I'd caught and frozen but I didn't though they were in the photos.

A quick chat with his supervisor got him a reprimand and my claim paid in full.