Insurance write-off dilemma
Our car was recently scraped in a car park - just cosmetic damage. The other party admitted fault.
Our insurance, via a claims management company, said it'll cost £1700 to fix, and want to write it off as a cat C, giving us a cheque for £1470 less £88 to buy it back.
I think that's a fair valuation (Alfa 156 SW, 1.9mjet, 2004, 160k). We intend to fix the car and keep, so not worried about resale valuation, but I am concerned about the implications of a cat C for future insurance premiums.
My local (decent) bodyshop quoted £400+vat to fix. I told my insurance this - they wouldn't accept, told me to take the cheque, repair it and pocket the difference! I can only assume they are making a significant margin at the third party's expense.
My only option to avoid cat C (according to the motor legal protection team) is to approach the third party's insurer myself and ask them to cover the cost of repairs, plus a hire car for 3 days.
What would you do? I could profit from this, but it grates me that someone's getting ripped off.
And should I worry about cat C for insurance purposes?
Our insurance, via a claims management company, said it'll cost £1700 to fix, and want to write it off as a cat C, giving us a cheque for £1470 less £88 to buy it back.
I think that's a fair valuation (Alfa 156 SW, 1.9mjet, 2004, 160k). We intend to fix the car and keep, so not worried about resale valuation, but I am concerned about the implications of a cat C for future insurance premiums.
My local (decent) bodyshop quoted £400+vat to fix. I told my insurance this - they wouldn't accept, told me to take the cheque, repair it and pocket the difference! I can only assume they are making a significant margin at the third party's expense.
My only option to avoid cat C (according to the motor legal protection team) is to approach the third party's insurer myself and ask them to cover the cost of repairs, plus a hire car for 3 days.
What would you do? I could profit from this, but it grates me that someone's getting ripped off.
And should I worry about cat C for insurance purposes?
Asked on 18 September 2014 by Christophski
Answered by
Honest John
Yes, 'Cat C' will increase the insurance. Typical scenario of the insurer wanting to avoid a costly repair and also costly credit-hire of a replacement car for the duration of the repair. Worth trying the 3rd party's insurer. If they're honest, they'll go for your repair as long as you accept that as full and final settlement with no comebacks if the work isn't up to scratch.
Tags:
insurance
write offs
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