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VEHICLE INSURANCE CATEGORIES EXPLAINED
I have read with interest many peoples 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 on many forums that cat C vehicles have substantial chassis or structural damage or that cat 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 its 4 years old, the Pre Accident Value will be less than the repair bill, the price of the parts to repair or labor rate will not have dropped because the car is older. The same vehicle with the same damage will now be a cat C , make the same vehicle 6 years old and the insurance company will only sell it for parts, cat B. A ten year old, run of the mill car with a scraped bumper and broken headlight will be a cat C.
Another common misconception surrounding damaged cars," Insurance companies don't write a car off with hardly any damage?" Sometimes they do, why, its all about money? A desirable model car will have a very high salvage value, insurance companies no longer rely on percentage of the p.a.v. to assess a salvage value, they look what previous salvage vehicles of the same type have made at there online 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.
The best thing to do in all circumstances is to ignore categories and go with an independent inspection,or an MOT contrary to popular belief a badly repaired car will fail the mot as any visible chassis damage is a failure. 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
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."
Edited by Avant on 22/03/2016 at 23:00
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Gosh that's hard on the eyes!
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This is a really great blog. Quite comprehensive but difficult to read tho. I found a really great complete guide which covers all of the CAT categories at www.affvehicleservices.com. Has everything you need to know about damaged repairable cars and salvage vehicles. If you need an easier to read guide, take a look at affvehicleservices.com/blog/auto-salvage-accident-.../
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Gosh that's hard on the eyes!
Sure is!
Perhaps the mods could edit it up to make it easier to read and then maybe make it a sticky for reference?
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I tried putting an extra line between his paras but he's copied and pasted it from somewhere else and nothing makes any difference. I'll lose the will to live if I spend any more time on it.
You'll find a rather more succinct answer if you look at Ask HJ on this site, then go to Browse all topics....Buying questions....Cat D. One of the answers covers both Cat C and Cat D.
Edited by Avant on 22/03/2016 at 23:17
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