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Can I challenge insurance write-off?
My daughter, a community nurse, returned to find her car had been struck by another, causing damage to a front wheel and a suspension arm with some inconsequential cosmetic damage to the bodywork.The third party had left details and an apology note.
The breakdown provider who were initially called felt the damage was readily reparable. On contacting her insurer my daughter was offered a sum over the phone to write the car off on the basis it was 10 years old and it was their policy to do this rather than repair. Furthermore they were unable to provide a courtesy car (part of her policy) leaving her stranded for work and looking after her toddler.
The car is a 12 plate Golf TDI GT has a complete service history and 75,000 on the clock.
I have insisted that a proper inspection is carried out before accepting their offer. 48 hours later the car is still stranded at the roadside and apparently won’t be moved over the weekend.
This seems an abrogation of their responsibilities and a charter for writing off well-maintained, perfectly serviceable cars while no doubt providing a lucrative opportunity for others to purchase the car and put it back on the road for a handsome profit.
Am I being reasonable and have you any advice?
The breakdown provider who were initially called felt the damage was readily reparable. On contacting her insurer my daughter was offered a sum over the phone to write the car off on the basis it was 10 years old and it was their policy to do this rather than repair. Furthermore they were unable to provide a courtesy car (part of her policy) leaving her stranded for work and looking after her toddler.
The car is a 12 plate Golf TDI GT has a complete service history and 75,000 on the clock.
I have insisted that a proper inspection is carried out before accepting their offer. 48 hours later the car is still stranded at the roadside and apparently won’t be moved over the weekend.
This seems an abrogation of their responsibilities and a charter for writing off well-maintained, perfectly serviceable cars while no doubt providing a lucrative opportunity for others to purchase the car and put it back on the road for a handsome profit.
Am I being reasonable and have you any advice?
Asked on 7 November 2022 by Hugh Ross
Answered by
Lawrence Allan
We hear about this quite regularly - due to the logistics, time and effort required insurance companies would often rather write the car off than bother attempting a repair. Typically if the cost of repair exceeds around 75% of the car's value they will just write it off. You can challenge the insurance company's decision to write the car off, however you will need to gather evidence that the cost to repair the car is lower than the point that it becomes uneconomical to repair. You can enlist a garage to inspect the car yourself, and decide to keep the car and take the settlement minus its salvage value to have it repaired on your own terms.
Tags:
insurance
write offs
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