Insurance - how to determine write off vs repair?

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

If your car is 15 years or older its not listed on the WOVR, and if you discuss with the assessor its up to their discretion if they list it or not if its within the 15 years.

If the car is a mess its going on the WOVR, if its a scrape down the side but the car is perfectly fine, then your assessor will decide if it goes on or not.

They pay out on plenty of cars but don't list them on the WOVR, if you look on the auction sites you will see that it will have "no VIV", this means they are not listed.

The biggest problem you will have if its written off is getting the $5000 insured value, You will only get that amount if they take possession of the car, even then its less your excess, if you want to keep the wreck they will negotiate a salvage value which will be deducted from the total amount insured then less your excess.

You have to understand that when they pay you out they then own the car, they have pretty much just purchased it from you, so if you want it you have to pay what they would get at salvage, so for argument sake they can get $4000 for your wreck, if you want it back they will hand you a cheque for about $1000, this will be because of the $4000 value of the wreck if its your fault they will also deduct the excess.

Thanks prktkljokr. Starting to make sense now.

[prktkljokr]

My son had a V8 Toyota Soarer, it was given to him, it didn't really have much value at the time so he insured it for 3rd party fire and theft for market value with SGIO, he used to just use it as a daily driver to get around and it wasn't pretty, anyway one day the engine caught fire, it spat a injector o ring at the rail, he pulled over and a passing motorist pulled over and put it out limiting the damage to just the top of the motor, so he made a claim under the fire part of the policy, they promptly wrote it off and offered him $3000, for some unknown reason only known to him he asked if he could buy the wreck back, they said no problem $2500 is the wreck value, so he would have got the car back and had to pay the $500 excess.

Now this is where I got involved in it, I started looking around to see what a replacement Soarer would cost, thinking I could get one for $1500, I could not find 1 under $7000. so we then turned the tables on SGIO and said the $3000 was not a current market value as we could not replace it for that and sent them half a dozen links, they finally came back with another offer of $6000 which I told my son to take and let them have the wreck, after excess he received just under $5500.

I then purchased a 2010 BMW 323i with minor rear damage and repaired it for him for under $4000

So you may be better off with your 3rd party

If someone crashes into you their insurance will pay you for your car and you keep the wreck, If its stolen you will be paid out market value, if it catches fire you will be paid out market value, if you crash it and its your fault you have a wreck but you dont have to pay for the other parties car.

I think sticking with 3rd party is a win win for older cars.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by prktkljokr

So you may be better off with your 3rd party

Came to the same conclusion. There would only be a very limited number of scenarios where I would realistically make a full comp claim. Changed from 3rd party only to 3rd party with fire and theft, and saved myself $3 a month


Reading some of the accounts here, makes insurance companies sound like good guys!

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Came to the same conclusion. There would only be a very limited number of scenarios where I would realistically make a full comp claim. Changed from 3rd party only to 3rd party with fire and theft, and saved myself $3 a month


Reading some of the accounts here, makes insurance companies sound like good guys!

Yeah good guys. Its not to dissimilar to boat insurance in that having 3rd party protects you enough to cover damage to other boats in a marina. (now under threat)
Problem with full insurance is they won't allow you to use the boat as you see fit, there are always conditions on time of year to sail, where and under what conditions.
In the end its works out better to put that saved money aside to cover a total loss at sea under your own terms. (assuming you survive a sinking)

Insurance companies and marina's are now getting together (conspiring I call it) to ban non full comp insured boats from marina's and anything that doesn't pass marine survey. Possibly one step towards the same happening in apartment building carparks or caravan park sites.
In the US there are RV parks that will not allow a motorhome non fully insured or older than 10 years to stay. Is this the way we could be headed.

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Insurance companies and marina's are now getting together (conspiring I call it) to ban non full comp insured boats from marina's and anything that doesn't pass marine survey. Possibly one step towards the same happening in apartment building carparks or caravan park sites.
In the US there are RV parks that will not allow a motorhome non fully insured or older than 10 years to stay. Is this the way we could be headed.

I think it quite possibly is. Achieves nothing in terms of net happiness.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I think it quite possibly is. Achieves nothing in terms of net happiness.

Hence all the cheap amateur built steel and ferro cement boat for sale on mooring minders.

If you can not prove the professional build quality of a hull for full survey, you can not qualify for full comp insurance and therefore a marina berth.
Bit of a merry-go-round these days.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Yeah good guys. Its not to dissimilar to boat insurance in that having 3rd party protects you enough to cover damage to other boats in a marina. (now under threat)
Problem with full insurance is they won't allow you to use the boat as you see fit, there are always conditions on time of year to sail, where and under what conditions.
In the end its works out better to put that saved money aside to cover a total loss at sea under your own terms. (assuming you survive a sinking)

Insurance companies and marina's are now getting together (conspiring I call it) to ban non full comp insured boats from marina's and anything that doesn't pass marine survey. Possibly one step towards the same happening in apartment building carparks or caravan park sites.
In the US there are RV parks that will not allow a motorhome non fully insured or older than 10 years to stay. Is this the way we could be headed.

Won't affect the average mum or dad with their pleasure boats as they do not moor or use marina facilities, as for caravan parks they would not even dare to implement that rule with caravans & RV's, it would kill the industry and most likely send many CP's broke.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Itsme

Won't affect the average mum or dad with their pleasure boats as they do not moor or use marina facilities, as for caravan parks they would not even dare to implement that rule with caravans & RV's, it would kill the industry and most likely send many CP's broke.

We will see. They said that about the marina's. You know there more average people living full time in marina's than the million dollar blue water sailor.
Its what keeps their boat yard workers in work most of the time.

[Citroënbender]

It’s not hard to see caravan parks as development prospects, they already have some supporting infrastructure in many cases (roads, services) and are already cleared for a form of approved residential use. So - pressing a council to re-zone and upgrade services is easier than starting from nothing.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

Problem with full insurance is they won't allow you to use the boat as you see fit, there are always conditions on time of year to sail, where and under what conditions.

When I changed my policy last night, I had to answer some questions that I'd never come across before, even for 3rd party. Can see where car insurance is heading.

e.g. How many times, on average, do you drive between the hours of 7 to 9:30am and 3 to 4:30pm. Those are school run times, and I try to avoid them like the plague, too many impatient maniacs in SUVs.

Interestingly, they no longer ask about mods and accessories, but in the T&Cs they say it must be legal and road worthy. I guess it makes no difference to them when there is a defined value. Last time I applied, about 5 years ago, they did state all mods were covered, except non factory forced induction. That seems to have now dropped off the list of questions too. This is AAMI.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

It’s not hard to see caravan parks as development prospects, they already have some supporting infrastructure in many cases (roads, services) and are already cleared for a form of approved residential use. So - pressing a council to re-zone and upgrade services is easier than starting from nothing.

This was happening already at the end of the 1990's, caravan parks were closing down (Berowra good ie) until boom, 11th September 2001.

It scared so many about travelling OS that a small caravan boom happened, then fast forward to recent time happening again. Its now a very favourable place to stay without the cost of OS, airBnB's and Hotels.
New caravan sale shot up and so did insurance on such vehicles the older style park from years back (basic amenities) are disappearing due to the new breed of wealthy RV owners demanding better facilities, which in turn is pushing out the older vans, motorhomes and permanent residents.
One of the factors insurance companies are using is the liabilty of an older van being onsite.

edit, many tourist parks in Oz are council / committee run on land subject to inundation so can't be built on.

[Giant Cranium]

i bought a au ute for 4500 recently, its insured for 4k market value, full comp was $100 more a year so was a no brainer

[Citroënbender]

IIJM or do others here wonder what happened to second party insurance? It just seems like a descriptive gap between comprehensive and third party!

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

IIJM or do others here wonder what happened to second party insurance? It just seems like a descriptive gap between comprehensive and third party!

1 2 3 4 5 Senses working overtime.

[Citroënbender]

And all the world is biscuit shaped?