VEHICLE INSURANCE CATEGORIES EXPLAINED

I have read with interest many people’s interpretation of category C and D accident damaged vehicles and, to be honest, 95% of the information I have seen is incorrect, to say the least.

Most people tend to believe that the category has something to do with the damage, I have seen stated on many forums that category C vehicles have substantial chassis or structural damage or that category D are lightly damaged and easily repairable.

Categories have nothing to do with the damage sustained in an accident. As can be seen below A.B.I categories are only interested in the cost of repair. This can be clearly illustrated by a quick browse of salvage websites, generally the older the car - the more likely it is to be a cat C.

Take for instance a £50,000, 6 month old BMW. The vehicle has been involved in an accident and has a repair bill of £25,000. Insurance companies never normally repair vehicles with such extensive damage and, as a rule, will write the vehicle off and sell it on as cat D salvage.

Firstly, consider how badly damaged the vehicle must be to have such a high repair bill. Now think of the same car but when it’s 4 years old, the Pre Accident Value will be less than the repair bill, the price of the parts to repair or labour rate will not have dropped because the car is older.

The same vehicle with the same damage will now be a category C , make the same vehicle 6 years old and the insurance company will only sell it for parts, category B. A ten year old, run of the mill car with a scraped bumper and broken headlight will be a category C.

Another common misconception surrounding damaged cars," Insurance companies don't write a car off with hardly any damage?" Sometimes they do, why? It’s all about money.

A desirable model car will have a very high salvage value, insurance companies no longer rely on a percentage of the pre accident value (p.a.v) to assess a salvage value, they look what previous vehicles of the same type have made at their online salvage auctions and take this into account when deciding which is the way they lose the least amount of money.

A 3 year old mini cooper convertible, with a £3000 repair bill and a P.A.V. of £8000 as a cat D would likely make £5500. the Insurance company have saved £500 and probably another whack on courtesy cars etc. Most repairs bills are made up of the cost of the parts new, replace new with used and you have a very easily repairable vehicle.

It doesn’t happen often, but there have been cases where super desirable cars have made more as salvage than their list price, when Porsche first introduced the boxster or BMW the x5 spring to mind.

How can I best check the condition of a previously written off vehicle?

The best thing to do in all circumstances is to ignore categories and go with an independent inspection, or even better an MOT carried out at a garage you know and trust. Contrary to popular belief, a badly repaired car will fail the MOT, as any visible chassis damage is a failure.

In most ways, the MOT, if done properly is superior to the independent inspection but requires you asking the seller for custody of the vehicle for the few hours it will take. The independent inspection normally takes place at the vendors home or premises and the all important chassis inspection is done on a pair of drive on ramps circa 1930s design.

Another cheap option is a four wheel alignment check, carried out at any good tyre centre.

If possible, ask to see photos of the vehicle pre repair, most salvage now comes direct from insurance websites so photos should be easily available.

Search the internet for pictures of what your desired vehicle looks like under the bonnet, print it off and take it with you, make sure everything is in the right location. Most written off cars will have been damaged in the front.

I know it’s a no brainer, but make sure everything works! When you first turn the ignition on the car runs a self diagnosis test on all of its major systems the abs, airbag and engine management light will be on and then go off, make sure you have seen them illuminated, removing diodes or bulbs help bad cars accident damaged or not get through MOTs.

A suggestion I give to all of my customers is to check the tyres, the tread limit is obviously important but tyres do wear out. What they don’t do though is change themselves for different makes of cheap tyres on the same axle. A well maintained vehicle will have as a minimum matching mid range tyres fitted as pairs on each axle.

CATEGORY C IS DEFINED BY THE A.B.I. ( ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH INSURERS) AS

"REPAIRABLE total loss vehicles where repair costs including VAT exceed the vehicle’s pre-accident value"

CATEGORY D IS DEFINED BY THE A.B.I. ( ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH INSURERS) AS

"REPAIRABLE total loss vehicles where repair costs including VAT do not exceed the vehicle’s P.A.V."