Is it normal for a Clio to Catch Fire in a Crash, Insurance problem

[McGherkin]

Okay, so whats the point in an insurance company asking what the cars worth if they intend on offering you pennies more than f**k all?

Wait, you're expecting an insurance company to act fairly and in a decent manner?

 

[GrahamS]

Okay, so whats the point in an insurance company asking what the cars worth if they intend on offering you pennies more than f**k all?

The company I used to work for would use it to decide what level of cover they will offer you. TPFT and comp or just comp.

Of course the items such as sunglass's will be uninsured losses under your policy so you would always have to provide evidence of the loss. As in one of the first posts I recommend photographing everything as evidence and really spend some good time sending in quality comparable examples. It used to drive me crazy when people had a 100k car and would send in 50k examples. Unfortunately mileage is a very big factor in valuations for insurance purposes. You should be able to find 5 with relative ease. Even if we all base it on quality of SH.

 

[Paul172sport]

Once you've received a payment even if an interim you'll have to return the hire car.

Re value you need to gather examples of similar cars for sale at higher prices so check on here, auto trader pistonheads etc for similar age and mileage etc.

 

[Poopensharten]

Wait, you're expecting an insurance company to act fairly and in a decent manner?

No. But from previous experience it counted for a lot more than what has been said here. Insurance companies are con artists, pure and simple.

 

[GrahamS]

No. But from previous experience it counted for a lot more than what has been said here. Insurance companies are con artists, pure and simple.

They really aren't. The majority of peoples energy bills have gone up more than their car insurance in the last year as it's such a competitive market.

If you read your documents you always get what you're entitled to, nothing more and nothing less. Sometimes the offer is a little less, that's because the majority of people describe their car as "mint", "immaculate" when they are not. Again it's about evidence if you can prove exceptional condition, real inconvenience or loss beyond their initial assumtions then you will get it. That's what indemnity is.

Often people get very irate because they assume they are covered for something which if they had read just the key facts bit they would realise they aren't. Example is personal items cover. Most companies offer about £100 which when a car is stolen very often doesn't cover all the items.

There are a number of insurance companies which are an absolute pleasure to deal with; there are others which are not so much but won't be in the game long if they carry on.

 

[Poopensharten]

No they really are, and i wasn't asking you for your take on it. It was a statement of fact.

Harbanger - use the Ever?Ora until you get it sorted.

And with that, i'm out.

 

[GrahamS]

No they really are, and i wasn't asking you for your take on it. It was a statement of fact.

Harbanger - use the Ever?Ora until you get it sorted.

And with that, i'm out.

Keep your knickers on!

 

[...]

They really aren't. The majority of peoples energy bills have gone up more than their car insurance in the last year as it's such a competitive market.

If you read your documents you always get what you're entitled to, nothing more and nothing less. Sometimes the offer is a little less, that's because the majority of people describe their car as "mint", "immaculate" when they are not. Again it's about evidence if you can prove exceptional condition, real inconvenience or loss beyond their initial assumtions then you will get it. That's what indemnity is.

Often people get very irate because they assume they are covered for something which if they had read just the key facts bit they would realise they aren't. Example is personal items cover. Most companies offer about £100 which when a car is stolen very often doesn't cover all the items.

There are a number of insurance companies which are an absolute pleasure to deal with; there are others which are not so much but won't be in the game long if they carry on.

This together with the stuff I posted earlier . People really should understand what they cover what they are likely to get back and cover it accordingly ......

Goes for all of life , last ski trip we checked what we were taking with us .... totalled up we hit nearly 10k with camera gear ski gear and clothes .... do I rely on just trravel insurance ? Hell no ... I make sure stuff is covered and in the right conditions (like camera cover was not covered if left in a locked car on my camera policy but was on the house cover if extended)

Try and understand what your cover is how to reduce premiums ,dont say a 6k car is worth 10k as it will cost you more and look each year at values as they go down .... also dont underinsure stuff either .

Always keep reciepts for expensive items .... date photos etc and keep record ..... claims become a breeze

 

[GrahamS]

That really is spot on advice there. If you work with the approach "what will they need" you can pre-empt everything and have a far quicker resolution.

If you can't read through the whole policy you should run through the key facts, schedule for excesses and general exclusions.

Unfortunately with "auto renew" it is all to easy to over insure items. The claims I used to have no problem with settling were with customers who knew what to expect and had done adequate reading around their insurance product and the item they were covering. How each part of the cover is incorporated differently. They did not get a sour deal and often quite the opposite often. It was easy to resolve the claim quickly and all questions most people ask had already been answered, hassle free.

Underwriting a risk is far more complex than the items value.

 

[glowworm105]

I'm with premium choice , I had an accident a few months back, they put me in touch with a company called accident exchange and they dealt with everything , I was driving a Mazda 3 sport at the time and they gave me a car that was in the same sort of category with similar power mine was 150bhp they sent a insignia sri with 160bhp as it wasn't my fault they said I should have a car similar so I'd assume they would do the same for you

 

[Harbinger]

Courtesy car being delivered tomorrow, not that I can drive at the moment, but should speed things up, claims management company seem relentless. Insurance company called me up this morning obviously aware of them and tried to settle without going through them ( making me liable for thier fees ) refused said no more required and to go through them. I want 3.5K for the Clio and double that for my PI claim, plus my train fares until the claim is settled for travelling to work, luckily my phone was covered by my bank so that's sorted my 3 pairs of Raybans I am having to swallow it seems unless I put a separate case in via the courts to recover, not sure if it's worth it as I no longer have the proof of purchase.

Weary.

 

[skyinsurance]

For an agreed value policy you usually need to apply for this, by supplying evidence to support the value you are looking for.

What made you think you had an agreed value policy?

 

[Harbinger]

I actually just thought as it said Vehicle Value £3500 that's what it meant to be honest, lesson learned indeed.
So I guess for everyone else on here should just do their renewal on their Clios @£1250 as that what the trade value actually is on WBAC and maybe save on a premium?

 

[...]

Courtesy car being delivered tomorrow, not that I can drive at the moment, but should speed things up, claims management company seem relentless. Insurance company called me up this morning obviously aware of them and tried to settle without going through them ( making me liable for thier fees ) refused said no more required and to go through them. I want 3.5K for the Clio and double that for my PI claim, plus my train fares until the claim is settled for travelling to work, luckily my phone was covered by my bank so that's sorted my 3 pairs of Raybans I am having to swallow it seems unless I put a separate case in via the courts to recover, not sure if it's worth it as I no longer have the proof of purchase.

Weary.

go to an optician , tell them which raybans you had and get them to write you quote to replace.

i did this for some that i didn't have reciepts for and got paid out .


Amazing how things start to happen when the claims management companies get involved.

 

[...]

I actually just thought as it said Vehicle Value £3500 that's what it meant to be honest, lesson learned indeed.
So I guess for everyone else on here should just do their renewal on their Clios @£1250 as that what the trade value actually is on WBAC and maybe save on a premium?

look at vehicles for sale at the time plus look at book value and therefore put a realistic price on it ......

Happens the other way too , had to up our 911 value

 

[Harbinger]

Good Point harv, I know someone in the Opticians I got them from too, saying that I have a record there and all 3 pairs were bought from them so they may in fact have the sales history etc still.

 

[...]

Good Point harv, I know someone in the Opticians I got them from too, saying that I have a record there and all 3 pairs were bought from them so they may in fact have the sales history etc still.

they should help out , and thus the claims company might get something back for you .....

My advice always in no fault situations is finding a decent company to do the legwork . They are usually very good at settling claims and will give good advice on whether you're stretching it too far.

The problem is finding a good one .

 

[Goodj]

Lets be honest here.
The value we may think our car is worth is rarely in line with what others may.
Especially on this place, where it seems a Trophy should change hands for about £35k.
No doubt the insurance wont be as high as you want, but unless they give you the money to buy the lowest-mileage 182 with all the trimming, with £8k to spare on mods, are you really going to be happy?
I doubt it.

If Listerine got totalled I can fully expect to get offered about £1k, maybe £1.5 if I'm lucky. That's the nature of the game, it seems

 

[Harbinger]

they should help out , and thus the claims company might get something back for you .....

My advice always in no fault situations is finding a decent company to do the legwork . They are usually very good at settling claims and will give good advice on whether you're stretching it too far.

The problem is finding a good one .

The guys you posted seem quite good, the insurers phoned me this morning with a higher payout but I'm not dealing with them now, they can sweat it out among themselves.

They seem very keen and I'll keep updating on the progress as other people may want to use them, it's Cup killing season after all.

I guess though as I have a decent PI claim they are more interested in this than the car, more money involved.

 

[...]

The guys you posted seem quite good, the insurers phoned me this morning with a higher payout but I'm not dealing with them now, they can sweat it out among themselves.

They seem very keen and I'll keep updating on the progress as other people may want to use them, it's Cup killing season after all.

I guess though as I have a decent PI claim they are more interested in this than the car, more money involved.

they make money on it all of it hire car the lot

 

[skyinsurance]

We word our agreed value application form as follows: The proposed value should be how much the car would sell for, in today's selling market, to a like minded car enthusiast, including modifications.

Insurers are wise to use market value, there is no other way of doing it. If vehicles are over-valued (on an agreed value basis) then insurers are left open to fraudulent claims. We've had this very issue in the past.

The customer's perceived value may not be market value, in fact is may be a vastly inflated value.

An insurer found on a price comparison site may not be the best option for someone who is insuring their pride and joy specialist car, even if it is a standard UK car.

Worth noting that most claims go through without issue, you only really hear about the claims where there are 'issues'.

 

[Gally]

I think people are ignoring properly good advice by members in here.

The only way of getting the car value is proving, using adverts etc that the car is worth more. If it is worth 3.5k, which I doubt, you'll be able to find an example online to prove.

For someone with enough money to buy an Evora you really do worry about small things.

 

[Harbinger]

We word our agreed value application form as follows: The proposed value should be how much the car would sell for, in today's selling market, to a like minded car enthusiast, including modifications.

Insurers are wise to use market value, there is no other way of doing it. If vehicles are over-valued (on an agreed value basis) then insurers are left open to fraudulent claims. We've had this very issue in the past.

The customer's perceived value may not be market value, in fact is may be a vastly inflated value.

An insurer found on a price comparison site may not be the best option for someone who is insuring their pride and joy specialist car, even if it is a standard UK car.

Worth noting that most claims go through without issue, you only really hear about the claims where there are 'issues'.

The issue I'm having is I have nothing to prove the condition of the car now, I had pics from the week before when it was cleaned but they were on the phone only which was left in the wreck, it's all my opinion and I appreciate that but all I am after is current selling value for a decent condition 182 with no knocks, scratches, fully kitted out, I even declared all the Mods and the Exhaust alone is over £400 to buy, let alone the Turinis and Cup bits etc etc, seems like robbery to me and not much point in declaring everything, seems like declaring these bits is just to stop them not paying out and nothing else.

 

[Harbinger]

I think people are ignoring properly good advice by members in here.

The only way of getting the car value is proving, using adverts etc that the car is worth more. If it is worth 3.5k, which I doubt, you'll be able to find an example online to prove.

For someone with enough money to buy an Evora you really do worry about small things.

No there are decent examples out there at the moment, I think Steve might have some going but they are the best ones I think and not like his, nothing out there branded as VCG actually exists, only mint or shitter it seems,

And f**king right I will worry about these things, why should I have to swallow the cost of a £700 phone, 3 pairs of glasses @ £200 a pair just because some t**t can't drive?
I'm willing to bet even you would be on here crying about this if someone took out your Motor and you got fucked by the insurers.

Nether the less I'm sure my claims handler will sort it all for me.

 

[skyinsurance]

You can look at it another way though, the modifications may not actually have increased the value of the car.. Also, the money you spend on mods is not going to be recouped via the insurer. I've spent many thousands on my weekend toy but do not consider the vehicle's value has increased.

The advice you need has been posted, gather evidence of similar examples selling for the figure you are looking for, find as many as you can and submit these to the insurers.

It may help you if you post up the details of the car, mileage, pics, mods etc and let the CS members offer you their opinion on value so you have other views.

 

[MWRS182]

Someone wrote mine off last June I got 2400. Car had 90k on clock and was immaculate. Just had belts done with dan@sjm less than 1000 miles before accident. All standard except eibach springs koni shocks and rs192 exhaust. Tried to offer 1800 but I claimed 2500 would be necessary to buy a like for like replacement, they came back and gave me 2400.

 

[Harbinger]

You can look at it another way though, the modifications may not actually have increased the value of the car.. Also, the money you spend on mods is not going to be recouped via the insurer. I've spent many thousands on my weekend toy but do not consider the vehicle's value has increased.

The advice you need has been posted, gather evidence of similar examples selling for the figure you are looking for, find as many as you can and submit these to the insurers.

It may help you if you post up the details of the car, mileage, pics, mods etc and let the CS members offer you their opinion on value so you have other opinions.

I've done half of that, and I'm sorry if I coming across as Greedy, I didn't think the mods would increase the value but surely if they are declared they should be taken into account in the amount of money that went up in flames?

I have no pics at all of the car, I have lost all pics I have ever taken up to March this year it seems, I did my upgrade and they transferred everything over in the shop and never back it up, last back up was my old phone in March, so I've lost a lot of stuff on there.

It was just a regular Arctic 182 with Turinis ( renault ones not speedline branded ) Splitter was genuine and immaculate, all paintwork was perfect, no dents, new brakes all round, freshly serviced in May with all belts, waterpump, thermo, dephaser which everyone looks for when buying, and then there is the matter of my Treadlines which were in the car, there was an awful lot of money put into this car to make it as nice and OE as possible for a 9 year old car, car was on 60K.

 

[skyinsurance]

I've done half of that, and I'm sorry if I coming across as Greedy,

I wasn't insinuating you were being greedy but a lot of people seem to add value of base car plus modification cost together and then demand that figure from the insurers.

I didn't think the mods would increase the value but surely if they are declared they should be taken into account in the amount of money that went up in flames?

The one statement contradicts the other.

Have a look at our agreed value application wording I posted earlier on.

 

[Jaff.]

I've done half of that, and I'm sorry if I coming across as Greedy, I didn't think the mods would increase the value but surely if they are declared they should be taken into account in the amount of money that went up in flames?

I have no pics at all of the car, I have lost all pics I have ever taken up to March this year it seems, I did my upgrade and they transferred everything over in the shop and never back it up, last back up was my old phone in March, so I've lost a lot of stuff on there.

It was just a regular Arctic 182 with Turinis ( renault ones not speedline branded ) Splitter was genuine and immaculate, all paintwork was perfect, no dents, new brakes all round, freshly serviced in May with all belts, waterpump, thermo, dephaser which everyone looks for when buying, and then there is the matter of my Treadlines which were in the car, there was an awful lot of money put into this car to make it as nice and OE as possible for a 9 year old car, car was on 60K.

None of that last paragraph adds value to your car FYI.

 

[Harbinger]

I know it doesn't add value to the car and isn't going to make it worth the extra 2k I've put into it, but what I would have thought is that is would come into the equation, surely anyone can put a car up for 3.5K as mint and it may well be if completely OEM, but mine which is like for like to this car but with all the extra such as £800 seats and £500 wheels alone definitely makes it more desirable and therefore worth more than the first standard car?

I know it clearly isn't the case now but was certainly how it seemed prior the accident and I'm sure it would to a few others too.

 

[Mr R.]

I dont why you're wasting you're time.

My wife had a crash 100% not her fault, as soon as it was reported they couldn't deliver her a loan car quick enough so that could start charging the 3rd party.

When it came for her car to be assessed which it was a right off they got her top money and well above what I payed for the car at the time.
Because the bill was going to be given to the 3rd party.

She had whip lash and had to go to the hospital for treatment, again all of this was added up.
All of her experiences, even postage stamps for when she had to post to her insurance company where payed back to her once the claim was complete.

I had a crash in my van 2 months ago, guy reversed into the side of me, again they couldn't get me into a new VW caddy hire van quick enough.
My van got collected and taken to the main dealer for its repair.
Any expenses/time off of work have been taken care of.

In both cases the minute its not you're fault everything is taken care of and you get top dolla for everything.

By the sounds of things your case is not so open and closed, seems like it might have been your fault.

 

[172Ben]

Nightmare! I had such a ball ache when I crashed the JDM. Had to send all the paperwork to them to prove it was an important, all the Japanese stuff etc. Stuck with it and eventually they paid out what I thought it was worth.

Although as it wasn't my fault, as above they were very quick in giving me a BMW hire car and getting me to visit a doctor etc.

 

[skinz]

i wrote off my mr2 a couple of years back - luckily no injuries but chasis was twisted.

The key for me was to hold off on offers until they got to the target price in my head that i was happy with. Bottom line if you paying a premium to insure your car @ £3500, and the insurance company are charging you appropriately for this evaluation then imo you are within your right to say you want the value of what your premium was based on.

These are big companies so stick to your guns, if you broke your iphone 5 on home insurance would you settle for a 3g replacement? no, so why be different for a car

 

[...]

Ignoring the mods , as forget those , for future reference mods are for your pleasure only and carry no premium(even options on a lease car are devalued to zero after the lease period). then look at the clio 182's on pistonheads that have between 55 and 65k miles . Take off the highest priced (ignore the trophy) and the lowest priced and you will find that if you look at whats left (about 5 cars ) then they average around the 3k mark.

If i was an insurer i would be looking to pay you a fair price of between 2750 and 3k as thats what i think you will get .

go in to things with that in mind (just think 3k tops) and thats what you will get .

with all your mods i am going to hazzard your car would have sold for 3500 and what you might have got an agreed value policy for , but as you havn't i don't think you are likely to see north of 3k ,and my guess would be you will get 2800 tops .

 

[...]

i wrote off my mr2 a couple of years back - luckily no injuries but chasis was twisted.

The key for me was to hold off on offers until they got to the target price in my head that i was happy with. Bottom line if you paying a premium to insure your car @ £3500, and the insurance company are charging you appropriately for this evaluation then imo you are within your right to say you want the value of what your premium was based on.

These are big companies so stick to your guns, if you broke your iphone 5 on home insurance would you settle for a 3g replacement? no, so why be different for a car

You sir ,most of the time would be a very disappointed man , unless its not far of market value there is no point whatsoever claiming a car is worth more than market value , unless you can prove it , its valued independently and you have an agreed value , and for that you will pay and increased premium .

If you overvalue a car on a standard policy your just pissing money into the wind .

 

[Rob]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the value on Harbingers insurance policy has no bearing here anyway? As it's not his insurance he's claiming off of? So it's the market value from the other insurer. Also, I'd imagine that because of this, there are no limits as to what you can claim for from the car. Surely if it's gone up in flames it needs to be inspected, and what doing so, if they find the remnants of your belongings you should be entitled to be reimbursed on these too?

 

[Chip-mk1]

Im not sure why all the chat of agreed value, if its someone elses insurance he is claiming on?

You can be insured thrid party only and still claim the value of your car back from someone else if they hit you?


He (406 driver) is liable for your losses, including your phones etc, and therefore by extension his insurer is, thats irrelevant of what your car is or isnt insured for surely?

 

[Chip-mk1]

FLOL!

Beaten to it by Rob!

 

[Mr R.]

Im not sure why all the chat of agreed value, if its someone elses insurance he is claiming on?

You can be insured thrid party only and still claim the value of your car back from someone else if they hit you?


He (406 driver) is liable for your losses, including your phones etc, and therefore by extension his insurer is, thats irrelevant of what your car is or isnt insured for surely?

This is what happened to my wife and I.

 

[Chip-mk1]

I've done half of that, and I'm sorry if I coming across as Greedy, I didn't think the mods would increase the value but surely if they are declared they should be taken into account in the amount of money that went up in flames?

I have no pics at all of the car, I have lost all pics I have ever taken up to March this year it seems, I did my upgrade and they transferred everything over in the shop and never back it up, last back up was my old phone in March, so I've lost a lot of stuff on there.

It was just a regular Arctic 182 with Turinis ( renault ones not speedline branded ) Splitter was genuine and immaculate, all paintwork was perfect, no dents, new brakes all round, freshly serviced in May with all belts, waterpump, thermo, dephaser which everyone looks for when buying, and then there is the matter of my Treadlines which were in the car, there was an awful lot of money put into this car to make it as nice and OE as possible for a 9 year old car, car was on 60K.

Where was it serviced?