Insurance Claim Info Required.

[MAV50L]

HI all
Im hoping there are some insurance gurus out there that can let me know where things are heading.
For starters Im in NSW.
Last week I T boned a car in my 4x4. I was not found to be at fault as the car I hit had come out of a side street and did not give way to on coming traffic. The police attended the scene and have charged the other driver. The person I hits insurance has admitted liability so thats a start.
As I was not at fault I have made a direct 3rd party claim with their insurance company which they have accepted.
I did not go through my own insurance as I was not at fault and with the damage done to my vehicle it would of been definately written off. Seeing as though my insurance does not really reflect the replacement value of the truck having it written off and loosing it totally is not an option.
So here is the kicker. The truck has been quoted on by the insurance company and has been deemed a financial total loss. It is being assessed by the insurance company on Wednesday. The truck is still physically drivable (but somewhat illegal without lights etc) and would not be a hard repair but financially to them its not worth it.
I am not allowed to touch the vehicle to make it driveable(put lights in it etc) until it has been assessed by them and they have given me approval!
Now here come the questions. The insurance company has told me that the vehicle will be listed as a Repairable write off , the insurance will be cancelled and I will be paid out but get to keep the salvage.
Here is where the questions start and I need some help......................
How do they come up with the vehicles value when Im not insured with them? Do they go off what its agreed value is with my company? They have my insurance details so could get that info pretty easily.

Can they list my vehicle as a repairable write off and cancel the rego when the car is not insured with them and they actually have no claim on the vehicle? If it was a statutory write off I would understand that for safety reasons but its only a financial write off.

These are the two main questions I have at the moment but Im sure many will come to me. Im really annoyed about the whole thing at the moment as they will not cover me to get a hire car as its a third party claim and the long weekend without a set of wheels is pretty damn boring.
Also I will not get paid out until their insured (person at fault) has paid their excess which they have up to 3 months to do while they are waiting for their car to be repaired.
Any help is really appreciated. If you dont want to give any answers in public thats respected and if you PM me it would be great. Any help and info I may get will go no further then me.
This is really killing me!
Matt

[ford_maiden]

i would contact your insurence company and ask them

[Blue Ice]

Should have gone through your insurance company mate, thats what your paying them for, sorting out all the headaches of dealing with the other party.

[rancidpunx]

Mate, try get it done through your insurance. They wont hold anything against you as you are not at fault and will waiver your excess as the other party has already admitted liability.

I did a claim without my insurance on my old truck as it came down to public liability as a company contractor caused the damage. It was a fight at every step even when I got the go head for repairs, when i tried to pick it up the panel shop hadnt been paid.

I did it because i thought it would hurt me with insurance in the future but it was a bad idea. If your company holds it against you when you are not at fault, change company!

[MAV50L]

Not worried about it going against me in any way as far as insurance goes. Thats not the issue.
The issue is if I go through my own insurance company the vehicle will be written off and I will receive a payout but will lose the vehicle. That is not an option.
The vehicle has had over 20k spent on it and is insured for 8k.
Getting insurane for full cover on a modded 4x4 is not easy as the modded car insurance companies dont want to touch them and the mainstream ones just look at the fact that its just a 1990 Ford Maverick.

[FPV+fteT3]

The issue is if I go through my own insurance company the vehicle will be written off and I will receive a payout but will lose the vehicle. That is not an option.
The vehicle has had over 20k spent on it and is insured for 8k.

You have contacted them and they said this or this is what you believe will happen? IMO if you go into battle with an insurance company even if they admit liability on your own you will need a lot of time, patience and be prepared to be messed around at every turn. Good luck whatever way you go but I wouldn't want to be taking on an insurance company without atleast a good lawyer.

[MAV50L]

Have spoken to them. Repair bill is 9k so under these circumstances yeah the car will be written off they tell me.

[BA Baracus]

If it's written off either company is going to deem it so, it will be recorded as being a repairable write off either way. The other insurance company isn't obligated to cover an agreed value only market value, agreed value you may of negotiated with your own insurance company is independent of them. There's no great advantage to bypassing your own insurance company, particularly if you have an agreed value that's higher then market, as they will pay you that out then the claim will go into recovery, loss to them over market value is a risk they factor in when calculating your premium.

You can obtain the wreck from either company but generally there will be a cost. It would be surprising if the other company will pay out full market value and let you retain the car.

[devilcv8]

Originally Posted by BA Baracus

You can obtain the wreck from either company but generally there will be a cost. It would be surprising if the other company will pay out full market value and let you retain the car.

The other insurance company doesn't have any rights to his vehicle so all they can do is either repair it or pay out market value. While they may try and adjust the market value down by the value of the salvage value of the car, Matt can stick to his guns and demand full market value with no drop in value.
However, if he goes with his own insurance company they will keep the car.

The 2 choices end up as
1. Use his own insurance and get a quick cheque for $8,000 or
2. Keep going with the third party claim, get his cheque for $8,000, keep the car, then fix it himself, pocketing the difference, get a blue slip and reregister it.

In both cases the car will be listed as a repairable write off and have rego cancelled.

[MAV50L]

Thanks devil. I had a good idea that was how it would end up but just wanted to hear some other opinions.
Its not at all about trying to make a buck its about getting my truck back as it was before the sheila becided driving out in front of it was a good idea.
Walking away from it and starting again just isnt an option. Besides the huge monetry loss there is a lot of attachment to this car. Everything was done to it at home with Dad lending a hand as required , it was my first actual feature car in a magazine , there is a lot of feeling in it.
I just want it back as it was (not even better) and to be able to move on.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by MAV50L

How do they come up with the vehicles value when Im not insured with them?

Market value (funnily enough) is based on the market. Similar vehicles for sale in your state.

Originally Posted by MAV50L

Do they go off what its agreed value is with my company?

Nope, agreed value in the contract between the insured and the insurer.

Originally Posted by MAV50L

They have my insurance details so could get that info pretty easily.

It would be highly illegal for your insurer to provide this information to the other insurer.

Originally Posted by MAV50L

Can they list my vehicle as a repairable write off and cancel the rego when the car is not insured with them and they actually have no claim on the vehicle?

Yes, insurers have a legal obligation to advise the authorities in the instance where a vehicle is a writeoff (stat or economic)

Originally Posted by MAV50L

Im really annoyed about the whole thing at the moment as they will not cover me to get a hire car as its a third party claim and the long weekend without a set of wheels is pretty damn boring.

If you can show that a vehicle is required, then they have to reimburse you for a hire car (as long as the hired car isn't an upgrade to what you own)

Originally Posted by MAV50L

Also I will not get paid out until their insured (person at fault) has paid their excess which they have up to 3 months to do while they are waiting for their car to be repaired.

True at this stage they can not settle you until their insured either books their vehicle for repairs or pays their excess. THis is the only down side to claiming on someone elses insurance.

Also to clarify, as you will be retaining the wreck you will be paid the pre-accident value less the salvage value.
Any help is really appreciated. If you dont want to give any answers in public thats respected and if you PM me it would be great. Any help and info I may get will go no further then me.
This is really killing me!
Matt[/QUOTE]

[Yaw]

LTDHO is spot on
Both he and I work in the industry.

[MAV50L]

Thanks guys. Looks like I could end up slightly screwed out of it all.
Oh well hopefully it gets all over and done with quick.

[X000BOSS]

mate about 6 months ago something similar happened to me. i went through the other blokes insurance company. my ute was a write off. they didnt list it as a stat/repairable write off with the authorities. they explained to me they didnt care about it because it wasnt a car insured by them. so i got paid for my ute and got to keep it and its not listed anywhere as a write-off. from memory i was dealing with nrma. and about the value of the vehicle, the assessor and myself disagreed about the value, he then told me about similar utes on carsales web site. he used that as a valuation guide.

[Springfield_Johny]

From my understanding as its been a while since I worked in insurance
Claim your insurance - the company keeps the salvage, they will either auction it or sell it to a wrecker. You of course can discuss with them a buy back value as they would also win as they won't have to pay storage & brokerage fees.

Generally I would never recommend anyone claim as a third party for repairs as there is no guarantee. Most insurance companies offer a repair guarantee as part of your premium. Your not paying a premium to them so guarantee's would be minimal. However as your vehicle is a total loss you may be able to play one off against the other & determine what suits you best.

Unfortunately you could have just spent another $30 grand on new paint, motor interior etc for your pride & joy, but try selling the vehicle to recoupe those costs - you just can't.

I would suggest that the value of the salvage will be taken into account when you are paid out, it wouldn't make economic sense to pay you the full value & keep the salvage as well, lets not forget that insurance companies are there to make a profit.

You may also be able to negotiate the value of the payout given to you as a third party claimant, do you have receipts for the work carried out on the vehicle?

Unfortunately you will have to wait until the other driver pays their excess, I think all vehicle policies state something similar to

We may not finalise a claim until you have paid any excess that applies

Hope the other driver doesn't have a higher than normal excess due to their driving history and/or age excess. You also may be able to go to the small claims tribunal to have the other driver pay thier excess. Worst case scenario - you could be waiting months/years if they can't afford it.

Whats the name of the other persons insurance company? Do you know the age of the driver? You could use the interweb thingy to view their products & may be able to see what excess the other driver is going to up for

[Mr Hardware]

LTDHO is right.

[MAV50L]

Originally Posted by X000BOSS

mate about 6 months ago something similar happened to me. i went through the other blokes insurance company. my ute was a write off. they didnt list it as a stat/repairable write off with the authorities. they explained to me they didnt care about it because it wasnt a car insured by them. so i got paid for my ute and got to keep it and its not listed anywhere as a write-off. from memory i was dealing with nrma. and about the value of the vehicle, the assessor and myself disagreed about the value, he then told me about similar utes on carsales web site. he used that as a valuation guide.

Thanks mate that is very positive to hear.
It gets assessed tomorrow so will see what happens.
The insurance company has agreed to pay me as soon as their clients car is assessed and booked in for repairs. Spoke to their client and her panel beater and her car was booked in for assessment today so at least thats in the right direction.
I shal be getting a few ads off carsales I reckon to compare values too. Thanks for the tip!