Insurance Car Value question

J

jamiez

Senior member
 SW London
So...just had the insurance folk on the phone trying to negotiate the value of my car.
They came in with a silly price which i refused. I told them according to glasses guide its worth 19.4 dealer retail and 17 in a private sale.
They then instantly came up to the price it insured for (what I paid) 16.250 (but it was actually 16.5 – so will talk to them about that if I need to)

I explained that I can’t buy the same car with the same spec for that money due to price increases.
He said legally you’re not allowed to make a profit on a theft of a car

Any advice?
Do i have chance of getting more money out of them?

Thanks
Jamie
 
You won't be making a profit if you buy another car of the same spec. However they don't know if you're going to do that or take the higher offer and buy a banger, pocketing the difference.

Insurance is ther to ensure you are put back in the same financial condition as you were before the theft - if the price of these cars had plummeted they would only offer you Market value anyway, and that's whst you're asking for here.
 
Don't think you can ever get more than the value it is insured for from a settlement, that is the whole value that they are covering. Same with your house which is insured for a maximum value if it burns down not the value it might be if you had a surveyor round the previous day. Go with the maximum value you insured it for and you are not out of pocket though obviously it may cost more to buy another one. If you have GAP insurance it will cover the difference.
 
jamiez said:
I explained that I can’t buy the same car with the same spec for that money due to price increases.
He said legally you’re not allowed to make a profit on a theft of a car
Click to expand...
Sounds like they might have the wrong end of the stick. I think they're referring to insuring an assett for more than it's market worth (which provides an incentive to the owner to claim and would rightly be prohibited), whereas your contention is that that market value of the vehicle has increased.

An extreme example of the situation at issue might be a Ferrari 250 GTO. By the logic that the insurable value can't increase, ergo you can't make a profit, you presumably wouldn't be able to insure a 250 GTO for more than the £12k they cost new (back-calculated from the US Dollar sale price back in '62, c/o Wikipedia, so might be inaccurate). So if it's stolen from your (presumably carpeted and air-conditioned) garage, you'll be down a little on the c.£9million that's the going rate for one on the private market at the moment (or at least in late 2007!).
 
The price you paid is irrelavant, not sure where you stand though if you said it was worth £16.5k though :(

A few years ago my wife bought a car for £6k and within a month somebody wrote it off for her in a head on. I managed to get her £6.5k £500 more than we had paid because I could prove I couldnt find a replacemt of similar age, milage, spec and condition for less.

I also dont recall them asking how much I paid for it, I also got our entire premium back because they didnt pay out under there own 48 hour promise. :D
 
'Most' policies are based on the prevailing market value unless you specifically ask for an agreed value policy. This normally ensures that 1) the insurer doesn't give you any profit; 2) the insurer doesn't make you lose anything in replacing the car.

Sometimes it's to you benefit, sometimes it's to their benefit.

I run a guideline of refusing at least the first two offers and then writing a strongly worded letter stating I want their bet & final offer before I go to the ombudsman. Although I also include uptodate advert showing asking prices and accepting that the asking price may not be the selling price.
 
Crusoe said:
Don't think you can ever get more than the value it is insured for from a settlement, that is the whole value that they are covering. Same with your house which is insured for a maximum value if it burns down not the value it might be if you had a surveyor round the previous day. Go with the maximum value you insured it for and you are not out of pocket though obviously it may cost more to buy another one. If you have GAP insurance it will cover the difference.
Click to expand...

Well actually you can change the value of the insurance on the home at any renewal, in line with estimated cost from your mortgage lender or whatever, whose guideline price may well be on a surveyor who came around the previous day if you so wished.

Insurers that have this in their small print ideally should be avoided imho, because when a car is less valuable they drop, and when it's more, they use this to limit the top payment. Not so good on a car that has appreciated. The whole market has appreciated. You may as well not be insured because you are now at a loss due to the claim (not a profit due to theft)
Even if you pocket the sum you are worse off as you could have walked into a dealer and got more on a straight trade in for cash... you'd have to be a retarded criminal to thieve YOUR OWN car for LESS money than you could trade it for!

Cretins.

Get the best payout you can then find a better insurer!

Dave
 
Thanks for your responses guys.
I like how you put it mr whippy "Even if you pocket the sum you are worse off as you could have walked into a dealer and got more on a straight trade in for cash... you'd have to be a retarded criminal to thieve YOUR OWN car for LESS money than you could trade it for!"

By the sounds of it i might have a chance, so im gonna give it a go...and see what happens.

Thanks guys!
 
Go pull the insurance policy document that nobody ever reads in detail and see what the basis for settlement is. If you havn't got a copy ask for an email copy from the insurer pointing to the clauses related to settlement. Might as well be as familiar with the appropriate small print as the clerk settling it is....
 
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