Car insurance and assessors acting without my permission and rushing through settlement?

[CarCalamity]

I had a car accident a couple of weeks ago. The other driver - big lorry - was at fault - we were stationary. DC and I are thankfully ok, just shocked. I've been given a hire car and my car was taken off for assessment and - I thought - repair. The assessors have written it off despite damage being relatively and surprisingly minor, and given a valuation/offer. Being inexperienced, I started a thread on here for advice about the general process and also the vague possibility of buying my car back to repair it, but things have moved on quickly since then.

In an ideal world, I would get another used car but so far I haven't managed to find one and a car every day is essential in my family circumstances, living rurally with a severely disabled child. I'll lose the hire car once this is settled, so life in general will become impossible, and finding another car even harder. Before anyone kindly suggests it, getting a Motability vehicle is ruled out because the process would just take too long and we don't really want to go down that route for a number of reasons.

On advice, I asked for a copy of the assessors report. The car doesn't have structural damage. The figure the assessors are offering me is about £1000 less than their own report says the value was pre-accident. Why aren't they offering me that figure?

Based on advice on here, I emailed the assessors back to start the process of negotiating on their offer - or so I thought. They just said the offer is what it is and they were going to get the insurance company to release funds to them to pay me and my car was being collected for salvage. I emailed back and said I didn't agree to any of this! They didn't reply and I've now had an email from my insurers to say they've released the funds to them! I've emailed the insurance company to tell them I didn't agree, didn't accept the offer and also wanted to consider my options including possibly buying the car back.

This can't be right, surely?

I would get onto the auto trader website, find a car of the same make and model and as near as possible age and mileage and have a look at what the value is. If you can find a few even better as you can send them something showing they have valued incorrectly. Some of the time they will write the car off just because the repairs will cost more in parts labour and VAT than the car is worth

Why are the assessors involved at this stage? They’ve done their job, you should be dealing with your insurance company.

Yes, that's the reason the car has been written off. I'm sure it would be cheaper to repair at a local garage than the faraway and big repair garage they've taken it to.

I thought that too Blossomtoes but this seems to all have been decided between the assessors and the insurance company. The insurers have sent the money to the assessors to then pay me and they say I won't get the salvage part until later.

Most people want their money quickly

Your hire car will only be paid by the insurance for a set amount of time

I queried an insurance car payment, they explained & didn't give me any more money

You could buy the car back for the cost of salvage and use the rest of the money to have it repaired. Trouble is you’d then have no car until it was done. Kayjay’s suggestion is the best one, I got an improved offer that way.

Your insurance company should be your only point of contact if it is going through your insurance.
I assume if you are getting car hire, and that the car is became the property of your(?) insurance company that you are talking to them?
Your insurance contract will detail what authority you have and if you can buy the car back for scrap value.

If you are only claiming off the other insurance company you are under no obligation to accept their first offer and they have no right to do anything to your car. It remains your property and the garage can't send it to a scrap yard without producing the Keeper documents.

One of the reasons that the other insurance company will be in a rush to settle is that you and your DC have not yet made a claim for personal injuries.

And I presume you have not got a solicitor / assessor of your own involved?

Your compensation should be putting you back in the same financial position as you were in before the accident So the lesser of the cost of repair or the resale value before the accident.
As you are not at fault you should be looking for the full amount without any deductions which you had in your policy plus extra costs.

If you confirm which company you are dealing with people can be more specific in their advice.

I would get onto the auto trader website, find a car of the same make and model and as near as possible age and mileage and have a look at what the value is. If you can find a few even better as you can send them something showing they have valued incorrectly.
Kayjay’s suggestion is the best one, I got an improved offer that way.
I've done this now thank you Kayjay and Blossom and sent it to the insurance company and assessors. I could only find one the same make, model and year and it is quite a lot more than they are offering me - half way in between the offer and the pre-accident value given in their report. Cosmetically it is better externally but is higher mileage than mine. It also doesn't have an expensive necessary accessory fitted which would need to be replaced to put us back where we were before the accident. The assessors are saying they've taken an average from the usual approved guides eg Glass.

Most people want their money quickly
That's fine if it's a fair, honest amount. I just don't want to be pushed at speed into accepting a lesser amount by the assessors and my car disappearing off to the salvage yard beforehand.
Your hire car will only be paid by the insurance for a set amount of time
Yes, I think it's seven days after I receive the money by cheque. They told me about a month in total is the average time for a hire car.
I queried an insurance car payment, they explained & didn't give me any more money
I'm being told it's the norm for people to query it and get an improved offer. I just want to be able to buy a comparable car, which their figure doesn't allow me to do. The amount they value my car at pre-accident in their report would, but they are offering me over £1000 less than that.

I don't understand why you're talking to the assessors at all. All communication should be via your insurance company.

The assessors don't decide what payment you receive - your insurance company do.

You could buy the car back for the cost of salvage and use the rest of the money to have it repaired. Trouble is you’d then have no car until it was done.
Just as an option, I'm going to speak to my small local garage and see if and when they could do it, how long it would take and the cost. Maybe to just do the basic minimum to get it back on the road asap, and then have more time to look for a replacement. I almost bought one in a hurry, stopped and looked into it further, and then found it would have been a big mistake.

Can you call the insurance company and speak to their total loss team? You'll get a better response on the phone.

I don't understand why you're talking to the assessors at all. All communication should be via your insurance company.
The assessors don't decide what payment you receive - your insurance company do.
Blossom also said this and I also felt surprised and uncomfortable with it. When I emailed the insurance company about my concerns about the poor process, the low figure, being pushed to accept it and being told the car was being collected - all by the assessors - it seemed the insurance company just passed it on to the assessors! I had another email from the assessors just saying they'd looked at it again, the amount was the same, they were getting the insurance company to send them the funds so that they could pay me and my car was being collected.

I've emailed my insurance company and asked them why I'm being expected to deal directly with the assessors, be paid by them, also have to wait for the salvage element of the money from them and be told my car is being collected by the salvage company. I've said I haven't and don't agree to any of this and I've sent them a link to a comparable car for sale.

I've also asked them both exactly why I'm being offered over £1000 less than the assessor's report says my car was worth pre-accident.

Can you call the insurance company and speak to their total loss team? You'll get a better response on the phone.
I've been staying somewhere remote without a landline or mobile signal, so I've had to rely on email, which is a bit of a nuisance - but at least I've got a record of exactly what has been said and done.

I'd love to know who has just voted YABU - must be baddies in the industry!

A lot of companies outsource the total loss process. Its more efficient allegedly.

They may have reduced the value because of pre accident condition/higher mileage or something. £1k seems a lot though.

In my experience when I sent them ads for similar cars they countered by sending me ads to back up their offer!! Older and higher mileage than mine but that seemingly counted for nothing.

Did you tell the insurers about about the accessory you had fitted and is it actually covered on your policy because that isn't always the case.

And a word of warning. Once you have had the write off notification they usually expect the hire car to be returned so be careful you're not ending up with a huge bill for that while you fight them. Hiring one yourself might be cheaper.

Yes, I think it's seven days after I receive the money by cheque. They told me about a month in total is the average time for a hire car.

Be really careful here. When my car was written off, they expected the car back the very same day. I wasn't allowed to keep it until I'd found a replacement or for seven days - as soon as my car was a write off, no more car hire.

A lot of companies outsource the total loss process. Its more efficient allegedly.
It seems an expensive way of doing it and a curmudgeonly, confusing, inefficient and not very nice experience for this customer, Insurancenerd. It's put me off insuring with this company again and they are a big name - I thought they were good but I haven't needed to claim before.

They may have reduced the value because of pre accident condition/higher mileage or something. £1k seems a lot though.
It's very low mileage, very good history. Some cosmetic marks to the bodywork is all. Over a £1000 seems an awful lot. It's either worth what their own report values it at pre-accident or it's not, surely? Are they creaming that amount off as their own profit or to save the insurance company money?

Did you declare the expensive necessary accessory when you took out the insurance policy? If not they may refuse on that basis.

Calling them would be better, how do you email if you dont have a land line or mobile signal? If you have internet by no actual phone you can use wifi to make call on your mobile

And a word of warning. Once you have had the write off notification they usually expect the hire car to be returned so be careful you're not ending up with a huge bill for that while you fight them. Hiring one yourself might be cheaper.

Be really careful here. When my car was written off, they expected the car back the very same day. I wasn't allowed to keep it until I'd found a replacement or for seven days - as soon as my car was a write off, no more car hire.

Cripes, you've got me worried now. I've been told by them that I can keep it till 5 working days/7 days after I receive the settlement cheque.

Did you tell the insurers about about the accessory you had fitted and is it actually covered on your policy because that isn't always the case.
Did you declare the expensive necessary accessory when you took out the insurance policy? If not they may refuse on that basis.
I took the insurance out online and there didn't seem to be a place to add this, so I assumed it was covered? Sorry, I made it sound very grand but it's only a professionally fitted tow bar, not a solid gold lavatory mounted on the roof rack.

Calling them would be better, how do you email if you dont have a land line or mobile signal? If you have internet by no actual phone you can use wifi to make call on your mobile
This was a new concept to me the other day, but I haven't been able to make it work, even with the help of a DC!

We are home soon. This car business has spoiled the much-needed break quite a bit.

In my experience when I sent them ads for similar cars they countered by sending me ads to back up their offer!! Older and higher mileage than mine but that seemingly counted for nothing.
That doesn't seem right or fair at all, starfishmummy.