Depending on age and mileage that is likely to be dead. Would be easy to repair by giving it a tug on a jig but the insurer will have to put it back to how it was before and a tug is unlikely to do that.
This is what I wrote down once if you can be bothered to read it!
Estimation
The insurer will likely try and get you to go to one of their recommended repairers. Knowing what they are like I can honestly say this is for the best and taking the car to your garage is a pain for the insurer, a pain for you and a pain for your repairer. Insurers use a system for estimating called Audatex (normally, some use glassmatrix) which has schematics of most vehicles. It automatically calculated paint, part and labour costs. A lot of non-recommended garages will not have this which make communication between engineers and the garage difficult to say the least. There are additional delays in dishing your estimate out to an engineer and you may be liable for cost of estimation/diagnostic. Using a recommended repairer is free and they are usually PAS125 approved
http://www.bsigroup.co.uk/en-GB/our...hemes/vehicle-damage-repair-kitemark-pas-125/ . Labour rates are low at recommended garages so if you want new parts your car is less likely to be written off. On the counters many of them will not use second hand parts.
If/When your car is written off it will be given a marker anywhere from A to D
Key
Pav - pre-accident value
ABI - association of british insurers
FOS - financial ombudsman service
A = has to be crushed - usually a complete burn out - insurer gets 0% of pav
B = vehicle can only be used for parts. We used to get 8% of pav and 10% on cars worth more than about 30k
C = ABI says any car where the repairs are more than 100% of the pav should be categorised as a C. Some insurers stretch this rule and don't make the car a C until about 120-130%. This is to get a higher salvage value. Depending on the value the insurer can stand to get anywhere between 10 and 35%. Pav of circa 2k would be about 22-25% if I remember right
D = the repairs are less than 100% (if abi rule stuck to 100%) but more than the repairable threshold (see below)
Uncategorised = technically repairable (repairs below the repairable threshold) but the insurer does not want because of many factors; time, potential further damage, complexity of repairs.
Repairable threshold (pure) is worked out buy getting the PAV of a car and deducting the category D salvage value. For example salvage value on a 2k car might be 25% so this car could be repaired up to £1500. This is not a strict rule as insurers can make a vehicle uncategorised by asking the salvage agent for a better salvage value. This is called "bridging the gap" and could make the 2k car only repairable to £900 if they got 55%.
Bridging the gap can be used for many things. Flood cars where there may be further damage down the line and they will not be able to offer guarantee on repairs further down the line. Example: I once saw a Scirocco that had a bent floor pan from being t-boned. Even with a complete replacement side and floor the repairs were still half the value of the car. Category D salvage value of around 35-40% made the car repairable. Bridge the gap used as it was a repair that may have further complications and the customer understandably did not want the car back.
Retaining salvage. You can expect to pay whatever the insurance company expects to receive from the salvage company. As a policy holder you are technically able to retain salvage of B, C and D cars. Most companies do not like the retention of B especially when a fire is involved. As you own the car until you have received a pay out you can refuse for it to be collected by the salvage company until this time.
Valuation of the car by the insurers - All policies bar specialist are what's called "market value." This means anything the insurer wants it to. It can encompass private sales, independent dealers and dealer ships. Most insurers will use a combination of advertisements and the guide values (Glass’s, CAPs and less commonly parkers as it’s unreliable)
Specification is important for their examples and yours a like. It is also important to place a fair value on optional extras which are particularly rare like Recaros in a Clio. You can either get the new cost and depreciate it as much as the car has since new or compare vehicles with and without the option, taking an average.
Adverts. There is no set rule on this but there are idiots in the world. Cars need to be within a year either way of the reg, as similar spec as possible and mileage 10K either way. Weighting should be given to cars which are closer to the customers address. I used to do a 40 mile search and the extend as needed. If the policy holder needed more locally they would and should get it.
Previous total loss. FOS does not specify a deduction amount. If no previous signs of repair are visible then it is not reasonable for a deduction. Repair quality really varies on cars like this. It takes a lot to write a 1 year old car off. It takes very little to write the same car off 10 years later. The category does not show the extent. Commonly people think a category D is only cosmetic damage but this isn’t the case. A 1 year old cat D can be in a terrible way, just have a look on copart. Limited damage information is usually available on the insurance anti fraud database which gives the address of claimant, date of write off, area of damage, mileage and other optional information. I have seen a car with a chassis repaired with brass brazing, cable ties, super glue and news paper. Trade price was offered and I am surprised the car was even driveable. Expect at least 10% deduction on cat D and 20% on cat C.
Guides
Glasses guide - You can get on the internet is the consumer version and there is a foot note saying “not for insurance valuation purposes.” It is a complete waste of money for a dispute. Industry Glasses evaluator gives asking, transaction, 3 auction grade and finally, trade price. They will work from transacted as that’s what you actually stand to pay. All advertised vehicle prices are negotiable. This guide is good for most vehicles and does take account of some common options. Other options called “not valued” mean they do not increase the value but only the desirability.
Caps - Tends to be more accurate for vehicles worth sub 10k. You cannot currently take account of options with this guide. Provides retail, auction grade and trade prices.
Parkers – rarely good and lots of companies do not subscribe to this service. I have never used this so cannot comment too much but from my limited exposure to it the valuations were often thousands out.
Dispute
Starts off with the insurers and usually and will involve the exchange of vehicle adverts. Just be realistic, the people valuing the cars can see through the lies of “my car was mint”. It is heard every single day more than once. Should your car be immaculate sending images of it when it’s really clean would certainly help them sympathise. Be realistic with the valuation and do make deductions (below) fuel your dispute. The FOS will not take this into account.
If you reach an impasse with the insurer they may issue a “final response.” This means they are happy with what they have offered and will now pass the dispute to the FOS for arbitration. If you are in this situation your argument may well be flawed as this is a last resort for the insurer and does make their figures look bad. Should you be confident they are still wrong go with it. The FOS will look at the whole claim and has the power to make the insurer pay more. The FOS use the 3 guides (they use no adverts unless the car is a specialist modified/classic market) and take an average. If one of the guides is out of line with the other 2 it is omitted. Usually they side with the customer if possible but as the insurer will send the dispute there as a last resort they are normally confident the FOS will agree with their valuation. This FOS process can take weeks/months. See notes 5 and 8 for more details
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-valuation.html#8
Deductions – from the settlement will be your claims excess and if you pay your premiums monthly you will have to pay the remainder of the years policy from the settlement as well. If the claim is a non fault they may allow you to continue to pay monthly but this is at the insurer’s discretion. If you have paid in 1 lump sum you will not be entitled to a refund unless it’s 100% non fault and the insurer has not had to pay a penny out on the claim.
