My son had a bump on Friday & heard today that they will be writing it off.

What I want to know is whether that is effectively the end of that policy - do they pay up & close it down, then we have to start again, fresh, for another year - effectively losing 6 months no claims - or do we get a new car, pay the difference in premium & carry on ?

The real pain is no courtesy car - his policy only provides one if they are repairing the car - so want to get a new car ASAP - if I'm starting a new policy, I can do that tomorrow, but otherwise might have to wait until we agree a settlement.

When I wrote my defender off on black ice a couple of years ago they paid out promptly, but I think you will find, as I did, that once they have paid out that is the end of the policy, notwithstanding that I had 8 months still to run on it - might be worth asking them if you can get a refund of the 'unused' premium?

Best of luck.  2006 (56 Reg) 4.4 V8 Vogue In Bonatti Grey (Gorgeous!!)

Thanks - The premium is one thing - but at 18, the extra no claims is also worth having - as it wasn't his fault & he has witnesses etc.

If it wasn't his fault and both insurance companies agree (there's your problem) then he will keep his policy until it runs out, what will happen is that his ins will pay him (less any excess he has) and then claim it from the other side, (incl his excess if he has legal protection if not he claims his excess back) as long as they get it back, or he does then he will keep his policy, either way they will (should) give him insurance for another car now and sort it out later...

Nice and simple...  Pete
__________________________________________________
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I can�t help with info but i do hope all concerned were not injured Alistair... Scary phone call to take i guess

I had a car written off ,but I got to keep it and my insurance wasn't cancelled

Basically my car was backed in to outside the house by my mates brother in law, they wrote the car off cos it would cost too much to repair, but it wasn't recorded and I kept the salvage........ If memory serves me right I got �1200 and the car, got a friend of mine who has a paint shop to knock out the rear quarter and respray the car for �500

If it wasn't you sons fault, be careful that they don't fob you off with a Trade price payout, if you need an accredited insurance engineer so that you don't get ripped off, give me a call, I also have a pal who is a Member of the Institute of Motor Engineers, who has experience of loss adjusting and also been an Expert Witness  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Thanks - no injuries, but he was a bit shaken up

Scary phone call as it was someone else who called on his phone

Ideally I want to get him back on the road ASAP, but don't want to be forced into a quick acceptance of whatever price they offer today - but sounds like I might have to wait until he's spoken to them to really understand the lie of the land

Gather some evidence of forecourt prices of vehicles of similar age/type/mileage so you have some concrete facts to counter any low insurance valuation -t's worth challenging the first offer (unless it's fair of course!)

As above, start gathering as much evidence of values as possible. Do your own "3 guide check", and make sure the insurers do too - the ombudsman requires them to do this, but in the case of our FL2, we found they hadn't until we kept kicking up a stink. Remember, they have to pay you a reasonable/average price, not rock bottom. Even though it wasn't our fault and the money would be claimed back off the other side, they were still trying to get away with less than the market value.

Good luck.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

^^ Wot he said

Plus, I will now assume that your son is not at fault in any way and this can either be proven without a doubt, or, the other parties Insurance have accepted responsibility.

1. Your son is entitled to another car (hire) or out of pocket expenses, as it is not his fault that he no longer has a car. If they have not provided a car then he will be forced to taxi's which he will be entitled to claim for, but he will need a receipt, most taxi's write it on the back of a business card, so it would be possible to cover any expenses incurred to date.

2. Your sons NCB should not affected in any way, because he was "Not at fault", and the insurance policy should also not be cancelled. If however they do try to load any future policies, you will be able to make a claim against the other party for loss of No Claims Bonus.

3. As has already been pointed out, don't let them fob you off with a low price for the car, find as many cars of the same spec and condition on the net in your area. Now lets say that your sons car was owned by a little old lady before him and it had only covered 6K in 3 years, that will increase its value, but the insurance company will offer you trade on a car of the same age, but with 30K on the clock. This would not be a true representation of the value of your sons car, and you will find that the law will see it that way too.
But not to be unreasonable, you will accept another car of the same spec or better, with a similar mileage, from the insurance company, ie. like for like. That will put the cat among the pigeons

4. Lastly your sons insurance company should be dealing with this, you have paid them for this. But as most people find now a days, in the weasel words, they will only handle a claim on the policy and not a third party one. But they should be willing to help if your policy is fully comp.......... otherwise you might have to claim on that.......... and they really wont want that. You could try phrases like "independent claims adviser" ( ambulance chaser ) that will make them more interested to play ball

But what ever you do, don't sign any papers until you are 100% happy with the settlement, once you have it will be final and very hard to come back from. The longer the claim is unsettled, the more compensation you are entitled to ( inconvenience and out of pocket expenses ).

Insurance Companies are there to make money, they employ companies to handle the claim and pay out as little as possible, not what is fair, and some times you have to employ your own loss adjuster to ensure that all is fair. Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Thanks

Independent witness also the police attended & the other driver admitted responsibility - basically pulled out of a side road, turning right immediately in front of my son who ploughed straight into the side of him.

He spoke to the insurance co today (annoying that they will only deal with him & not me despite the fact that I pay for everything ) sounds like the policy continues and we can get a new car so will do that whilst figuring out the value of the old one.

Small print says courtesy car only during repairs, so with a write off it's taxis, so keeping receipts - he's unable to get an independent hire car due to his age.

Car shopping this weekend it is then

What happens will be specified in the policy and they may vary from insurer to insurer. The thing to do is probably to read it first and then phone the insurer or broker.

When I wrote off a motorcycle the policy continued until the normal renewal date and covered the replacement. I'd be very surprised if this did not count as a "claim" for NCD purposes, even if the insured driver was not at fault. I'd be even more surprised if any premium refund could be obtained following a write-off claim. Only Range Rovers since 1988

Quote:

Small print says courtesy car only during repairs, so with a write off it's taxis, so keeping receipts - he's unable to get an independent hire car due to his age.

The courtesy car bit applies if you're claiming on your own policy (you never get a courtesy car if you write it off yourself), so he's still entitled to one if you can get one.

(When our FL2 was written off, Enterprise were absolutely excellent, I must say, even buying a towbar for the vehicle for us. ) Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

It's worth remembering that insurance companies operate on a 'no claim' not a 'no blame' basis. Therefore if you claim against your own insurance policy ( in the hope they'll recover from the third party) it may affect future premiums. You'll be obliged to inform your own insurance company of any accident but it might be worth making it clear to them (in writing) that you want to claim against the third party's insurance company.

Alistair bud, the insurance company should deal with you, but your son will have to tell them that you are his agent. After all if they only dealt with the policy holder, all the claims handling companies would go bust........... interesting concept...... would reduce insurance premiums, Nah they'd just pocket the extra profit  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!