Our car was written off and we want to keep it - should the insurance company offer us the pre-accident market value?

My daughter has fully comp insurance on her car, a 2003 Peugeot 206. Although old, it was in excellent all-round pre-accident condition. She was at fault in a minor shunt and although her car is driveable, the repair cost makes it an uneconomical repair. She has asked the insurance company if she can keep the car. They have agreed to settle with the third party and have agreed to my daughter keeping her damaged vehicle, but have made no financial offer. I believe they should offer her a payment based on the pre-accident market value of the vehicle and, if she were to retain the vehicle, to adjust the settlement figure in line with the salvage value of the vehicle. My figures would suggest pre-accident value at around £550, minus the salvage value of £125.

Asked on 18 September 2018 by David Pidcott

Answered by Tim Kelly
Everything you have said is spot on, but I also guess your daughter has an excess that you have not taken into consideration. If her excess is greater than the settlement, then they will not make a financial offer. What she could do is ask how much her insurer has paid out to the other party. If it is a low amount, it may well be worthwhile to buy the claim back off the insurer so your daughter can get her no claims bonus back,and her claims history amended.
Similar questions
I was involved in a no fault claim and my car is a write off. The valuation is £2000 less than what the window price was just three weeks ago when I purchased it. Can I claim back the loss?
Someone reversed into my car from a car park space as I was driving along and crashed into the side of my car. My insurance company have said it is a write off and that my finance company won’t accept...
On what basis does an insurance company calculate the payout figure of a write-off? If it decides to write off my badly accident-damaged car but I think the figure is too low, what are my options?
Related models
Not bad looking. Economical 1.4 diesel gets under 119g/km.
 

Ask Honest John

Value my car

Save £75 on Warranty using code HJ75

with MotorEasy

Get a warranty quote

Save 10% on GAP Insurance

Use HJ10 to save on an ALA policy

See offer