82 replies to this topic

[james94]

they dont because they dont own them or anything :)

[Ryang556]

they dont because they dont own them or anything :)

Nobody will ever understand the mini thing until you own one

[coopdog]

cant you buy back the mini and strip it?
thats what id do

[Cooperman]

cant you buy back the mini and strip it?
thats what id do

No, because the insurers are required to scrap it and get a destruction certificate.

[Ryang556]

It's just the way it is

[adam_mini]

Have you declared your exhaust on your insurance as it may get pulled when assessed or has the car already been looked at?

[Ryang556]

I would say I wasn't a biggest fan of the exhaust either, must be loosing a fair bit of power through there!

[james94]

yeah they have to keep the car , they have allrerady been round and looked at it and the bloke said about the exhaust but he raced mini's and said he would put it is a exhaust for noise not a perfomance one so they havnt said anything yet luckily :), i got it for £25 of a mate so was a bargain and is a full stainless steel sytstem, sounds nice.

[Ryang556]

yeah they have to keep the car , they have allrerady been round and looked at it and the bloke said about the exhaust but he raced mini's and said he would put it is a exhaust for noise not a perfomance one so they havnt said anything yet luckily :), i got it for £25 of a mate so was a bargain and is a full stainless steel sytstem, sounds nice.

Thats the problem with insurance companies they'll do anything and everything they can not to pay out

[86mayfair]

You need to talk to the settlement company dealing with it, not the insurance company. They are the ones who have to go through all the ads they can find trying to get as similar as possible with model, age, miles, location, condition etc. They are the ones who actually put the value on your car by market value. They do try to be very fair all of the time because they are independant companies, they have no axe to grind.

If they have given you a value which is too low, which it looks like they have, explain that it was a special edition and rare. If you want to dispute, they will ask you to send in at least 4 or 5 classified ads of cars as close as possible to yours which you feel justifies an increase and they will have a senior engineer review it

[james94]

yeah i will get hold of them aswell, well it has been viewed by an engineer and thats what he said £1100 but i dont know how as it is a limited edition and it is very good origional condition, i will speak to my insurance company and sort it out with them tommorow, but thank you for all your help guys appreciate it

james

[86mayfair]

Hi James,

Firstly, do your own research. Be as honest and reasonable as you can, in other words try and find as many exact matches as you can. Keep details of these advertisements. You are allowed to make adjustments, i.e. if you find a very similar car but it is a year different, include it in your research but deduct or add a small amount to reflect the different year. Do the same for the mileage and any other relevant details.

Secondly, once you have done that, decide for yourself what the value is based on your research. Unless you have an agreed value policy, your indemnity is against MARKET VALUE. This is critical. Once you have a figure that you believe to be right, stick to it. Don’t necessarily give that figure to the negotiator; he will almost certainly try a lower value once he knows what you will settle for.

Thirdly, you are claiming from your own insurers. My guess is that unless you have a remarkably quick reverse gear and very limited eyesight, that you have in fact been hit in the rear by a Third Party. Now if this is the case, and the third party is insured AND if the is no question over the blame, you should consider claiming from HIS policy. This has several benefits. Firstly, they are on the back foot and usually want to settle quickly, especially if you start demanding a loan car while this is sorted. Second, they will settle quickly and usually higher than your own insurers because if you push, you are seen as the 'injured party'. Thirdly, they cannot deduct an excess from the settlement figure which your own insurer will do. Lastly you should not lose any no claims bonus discount when you re-insure. Might be worth considering but none of this will work if the Third Party is not insured.

Lastly, Contrary to what you may have seen written in some of the other posts above, your course of action if you can’t agree figures with the insurer is to go to the Insurance Ombudsman. This is something that your insurer will not want you to do and the threat of it is often enough to prompt a fast settlement. The Ombudsman will make a final binding decision on the value and will nearly always put the interests of the 'little guy' above that of the insurers. ONLY do this if you genuinely feel that your research supports a higher value.



That is the advice that a friend who works in the trade, as a loss adjuster has sent me. I hope you find it useful!

Edited by 86mayfair, 04 January 2012 - 11:05 PM.

[Cooperman]

Best advice yet.

[james94]

thank you very much for that appreciate it, has been a massive help, will keep you all posted :)
regards james

[gazza01]

Run some ads yourself in the freeads, Dodgy phone numbers etc, then use them when haggling