Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question

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Tue 7 Jun 2011 21:58
Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question - garethep
I'm after some advice over some difficulty I'm having with my insurance company.
We had recently acquired an old battered but very sturdy and well prepared landrover discovery to undertake a charity rally for help for heroes. To cut a long story short, the truck ended up in a canal! Following recovery I spoke to the insurance company and said that, while I was aware that most vehicles would be written off following water damage, I was keen to keep this vehicle on the road because of the charity sponsorship money riding on it. The insurance then authorized me to carry out urgent preventative work on the car in order to prevent further damage.

Following the strip out of the interior and running an industrial dehumidifier inside the vehicle for a week and a full fluids drain / flush / refill the vehicle now runs and drives correctly. All electrical circuits have been tested and switches and connections have been treated with contact cleaner etc.

The vehicle is fully roadworthy with the exception of the wiper motor which is lethargic and requires replacing but the insurance assessor is insisting that the vehicle is a cat b write off and can't be put back on the road.

It is a mechanically simple vehicle with no Ecu or airbags to worry about and as an offroader has been built to cope with mud and water etc.

The settlement offered is in no way sufficient to purchase a replacement vehicle of the same spec so I'm really keen to keep this vehicle on the road. The insurance company have said that even if I don't make a claim for the vehicle they will still list it as a cat b write off and there is no appeal process...can they do this? The car would pass an MOT test as soon as I fit the new wiper motor and is therefore (to my mind) roadworthy.

What can I do to make this car legal? We are due to leave on the rally in just over a weeks time and the insurance seem to be deliberately dragging their feet. Their prime concern appears to be that I might catch some disease or other from the car but they happily let us work on it and will let us strip it for spares so where is the logic in that? I have offered to steam clean it to kill any bugs that remain but that doesn't appear good enough.

The secondary concern appears to be that it is going to burst into flames but I have ensured all connections are dry and correct and at worst case I can buy a complete wiring loom for £150 or so!

I am a professional engineer by trade and would happily drive this vehicle anywhere in Europe tomorrow but I'm being fought every step of the way by blind adherence to guidelines!

Can anyone offer any advice? Tine is now really tight and we gave got thousands of pounds of charity sponsorship at stake!

Cheers

Gareth
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Wed 8 Jun 2011 12:15
Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question - davmal
Any chance the financial ombudsman could mediate?
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Wed 8 Jun 2011 14:30
Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question - garethep
Yes but it would take months and we are due to leave in a weeks time!
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Wed 8 Jun 2011 16:13
Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question - SlidingPillar

Hopefully someone with legal knowledge will see this, but I think they're going to ask.

Did you make a claim?

Have you still got the V5c and car?

Who currently has paid for the dehumidifier and other costs of recovery?

If the insurance company are not out of pocket, other than the paperwork, have neither the car nor the V5c, then my thoughts are they can huff and puff all they like - at least it should be that way.

Sort of question that begs to be asked of DVLA but getting the right person will be tricky.

Bit late now, but the last insurance claim I made (over 5 years ago) I altered the claim form to make it clear that storage and transport would be provided by me and the rights they try to get you to assign to them were not assigned to them. Until we had agreed etc, car was mine, not theirs. Insurance did not bat an eyelid at this so I assume others also do this.

Hopefully you are good to go.

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Wed 8 Jun 2011 17:56
Landrover discovery offroader. - Insurance write off category question - garethep
Thank you. To answer the questions. The insurance company have paid for the recovery. All costs related to the repair (eg dehumidifier etc) have been paid by us. As we have only just purchased the vehicle we have not yet received the v5 but we do retain the green slip.

Cheers

Gareth
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