Can anyone advise on insurance write off please

[Dhf]

Hi,
Firstly don't worry I have another much older jeep to launch the RIB, PHEW!!
Can anyone give me some advise as to how insurance companies deal with write off's.
I was very unfortunate to encounter black ice tuesday morning, which sent me sliding sideways then into the hedge which caused the rear end to flip over and land heavy on the passengers side roof I'm pleased to say there where no injuries and I was the only person involved,
In what was a very nice 2005 import Mitsubishi L200 Warrior, auto, double cab, black leather, 45,000 miles ish, complete with back box fully lined, in what was mint condition, never touched salt water as my wife had threatened to remove certain parts of my anatomy if so,
The emergency sevices were called by a lady who said she was coming round the corner whilst I was in mid flight, they only took five min to get there, but luckily I was able to kick the windscreen out, and get out myself after about four min, After having a quick checkout in the ambulance and found to be okay, one of the pc's guiding traffic said I was the fourth ice related local incident that morning, and no gritting had taken place.
I mainly used the RIP vehicle for family use and for towing longer distances, only bought her back in 2010 and she really looked the DB, I've looked for similar but can't find one to the spec she was,
Anyway after speaking to the large superstore insurance company, they where very vague in letting me know when to expect a payout and how much, after concluding it was writen off over the phone, well fare enough i've got to give them a chance but how long, as i've never had this happen before, so if anyone can shed some light on this matter it would be much appreciated, thank you in advance.
Q1, How long should I wait.
Q2, I've heard not to accept the first offer, Is this true?
Q3, How much should I accept?, bearing in mind she was in A1 with 45,000 on dial,
Q4, Does anyone fancy a cup of tea?
Don't worry i'f I can take the knock i received the other day, i'm sure I can take another knock about Q3, and no I don't want a Land Rover , I know thats what some of you are thinking, been there done that,

The spectators couldnt believe how calm and intact I was minutes after the incident, I replied, "Don't worry i'm a boatman, My kind are used to being thrown around,"


Here's my mate covering the screen to protect the electrics, I asked him to be carefull not to scratch her. +++++++++++

[AMac]

dont wait get on to them every day
they will offer you a pittence for the vehicle
go on the net and get evidence for what price similar vehicles are selling at autotrader also has a value my vehicle link on the web site its quite good
similar vehicles mean model, age, mileage, service history etc
also if you have extras on the vehicle and havent told the ins co they will reduce the payout saying you were under insurred so look for that
if they have not sent an assesor out yet be there when he comes and get him to report that the condition before accident was above excellent if he will
dont hand over any doccuments for the vehicle untill you are happy with the settlement figure and you have the offer in writting
just be civil and dont swear at them when they make the first offer as it will be about 25% of what you think the vehicle is worth
ins co`s are bandits they rip you off with the preimums and then when you have to claim they never give you what the vehicle would cost to replace it
Good Luck!!!!

[Carl]

do a search for "return to invoice" insurance,for your next vehicle,its a good product,but at which point can you over insure

[Pikey Dave]

Stick your reg into we buy any car.com They usually offer top dollar on the net & then chip you when you take it in, but at least you'll have a guide price.

[PeterM]

What everyone else said - if they send anyone out try and be there and be nice to them. Back to invoice is a steal at a few hundred quid for up to 3 years cover to avoid problems if the worst were to happen again. I dont expect they will allow to keep the wreckage, but giess you wont want it anyway , but be wary of them just taking it without you knowing as it is yours until its sorted.

Of course if it were to have add 'shiney' bits taken off and sold on .......they may never know, but may give you a few hundred quid more in your pocket without affecting the settlement offer at all.....

You may never know , but they might make a decent first offer ...the seem to have realied it costs them more in time etc to haggle or start with a low offer than to just be reasonable from the outset.

I'd expect it to sorted in week or two , but have seen it drag for months - just down to luck really , but keep chasing them as its clearly never going to be fixed.

[secondopsman]

Dont forget as its a commercial vehicle if you buy a new one if may have the vat to be added so tell the insurance that.
We have just part exchanged at work a 2009 animal that was mint all the toys and leather but with 63,000 on they gave us £7300 plus vat.
Pete

[Razorbill RIBs]

Originally Posted by PeterM

You may never know , but they might make a decent first offer ...the seem to have realied it costs them more in time etc to haggle or start with a low offer than to just be reasonable from the outset.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck... only metal at the end of the day. My most recent (don't ask ) experience with Ins co's is exactly as Peter suggests..... My wife rolled a Civic Type R on black ice on the mountain road near Llys Y Fran a couple of winters ago (along with a couple of other spinners, but her effort won top marks for execution ).....was prepared for the argument, but their opening offer was SIGNIFICANTLY more than i'd paid for it some time previously..... Later was contacted by bloke who bought it as write off..... Sold him the spare keys and the induction kit I'd removed

Luck in any case

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Razorbill RIBs

.....their opening offer was SIGNIFICANTLY more than i'd paid for it some time previously.....

I know it's not far, but are you sure you're not from Ceredigion?......

[Razorbill RIBs]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

I know it's not far, but are you sure you're not from Ceredigion?......

I am .... Llangrannog....my family farmed Cefn Cwrt (now Urdd Camp).... Cardi farmers, thriftiest of the thrifty

[Downhilldai]

I knew it.....

[Dhf]

Thank you guys,
I've been on Auto trader and can't find anything for a good match, she was the the 2.8 import full spec, there's only one 2005 2.8 AUTO and its nothing like mine was, It's got a horrible colour, no back box, and asking 8,000, +VAT. I must point out it's got to be auto due to slight disability, however I don't mind the 2.5. auto, Or I might go for a different vehicle, As for shiney bits all still on vehicle as I bought her,
I tried we buy any car, and there was no section for the L200, as for vat i think thats been paid as it was a private sale and bought for pleasure originally.
I also looked at return to invoice and yes well worth it, never heard of them before.
The insurance co are asking me for a copy of the mot and reg doc's now, I guess they want to check milage records, no problem, And they've already taken it from the local compound which was charging them x amount so she's been taken to a breakers now 50miles away, I phoned them and they recon the examiner will be there monday, and apparently he will phone me when he's there, so should I travel the 50 mile or speak on the phone?
I got the milage wrong in earlier post, I realised it was in km but converted wrong, The milage for last August MOT was 57,000 klm not miles which converts into 35,000 miles, I can't remember what's on it now but it's not much more than 60,000 klm = 37,000 miles, ish
Good to hear your wife was okay Dan, I would'nt like to crash up there, Used to go trailing by the dam, few years ago and there's some testing roads up there, as you said "only metal" very true.
Very many thanks again guy's, I feel more armed and ready to fight em now, if necessary,
Cheers paul.

[Simon B]

If they do "write it off" get a certificate of destruction, my mate keeps getting tickets from London relating to a car of his that does not exist. The relevant council is not interested in his protests and keep sending bailiff letters.

[Dhf]

Originally Posted by Simon B

If they do "write it off" get a certificate of destruction, my mate keeps getting tickets from London relating to a car of his that does not exist. The relevant council is not interested in his protests and keep sending bailiff letters.

Cheers Simon I will do, That must be a right pain for your mate, sounds like he needs to send a solicitor letter to that council, Insisting on compensation for harrasssment.

I phoned the breakers today asking for the exact milage, or I should say Kilometers, as this is what the past three mot cert's have logged on the odometer section, being an import, however the speed dial is in mph, He said there was 062,687 km = 038,865 miles , Thats what my mob phone km to m converter says, so rounded up to 39k that's not bad for a nearly seven year old vehicle, Infact the odometer reading on the mot cert from august 2009, was 39,908km =24,742 miles, which was eight months before I bought her, so hopfully when the insure co see thats she's had light private use they'll make a good offer, I will have great trouble finding one as good i'm really gutted tbh.
I think i'll give them till tuesday to make an offer, they should have all the paperwork they requested by then, so bearing in mind the low milage, the fact she was in imaculate condition, auto, fully lined back box, Top spec with black leather seating, all round bfg's A/T, Well I can't find anything cheaper than ten grand at the moment, which is more than what i paid nearly two year ago, They asked me how much I originaly paid and I said I couldn't recall that figure without looking at paperwork first.
Thanks again for all the support,
Paul.

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Dragonhawk ficht

the exact milage, or I should say Kilometers...the speed dial is in mph

The speedo's in MPH and the odo's in KPH? Why would that be? There's no logic there at all...

Edit: Yes there is...Japanese imports are in KPH... The speedo dial will have been changed to show MPH leaving the odo in KPH. :wilk:

[Dhf]

Originally Posted by Leapy

The speedo's in MPH and the odo's in KPH? Why would that be? There's no logic there at all...

Edit: Yes there is...Japanese imports are in KPH... The speedo dial will have been changed to show MPH leaving the odo in KPH. :wilk:

Cheers for that Wilk.

As wilk say's when a vehicle is imported from Japan it's usually just the speed dial thats changed into mph, I supose they could calibrate and alter the odometer as well but i've never seen this done, As its easy to just convert when neccesary into miles, most peoples mob phones have a converter,

I wonder if they'd be happy with Nautical miles, That converts to only 33,852 Nm, opposed to 38,867 Good old British statute miles,
OR 205672,5724911 international feet,
I can't even say that number only print it.
Cheers

[m chappelow]

Originally Posted by Dragonhawk ficht

Cheers for that Wilk.

As wilk say's when a vehicle is imported from Japan it's usually just the speed dial thats changed into mph, I supose they could calibrate and alter the odometer as well but i've never seen this done, As its easy to just convert when neccesary into miles, most peoples mob phones have a converter,

I wonder if they'd be happy with Nautical miles, That converts to only 33,852 Nm, opposed to 38,867 Good old British statute miles,
OR 205672,5724911 international feet,
I can't even say that number only print it.
Cheers

I was speaking to an insurance inspector last year as a friend was keeping a write off vehicle on my property,
he said
Insurance company assesses/inspectors are really keening up on accurate mileage /odometer readings not as much on vehicle value /depreciation as that some insurance quotes seem reasonable but don't always mention upfront that a very limited annual milage clause is in place .
Even though it was involved in a straight forward collision he also needed to see and try both sets of ignition keys .

[PeterM]

They wont ever offer you more than you paid for it ..... In reality start with whatever you paid and start taking value off .......

Essentially if you got more than you paid then you'd be in profit ....which just wont ever happen ( of course assuming its not a 'classic' - which alas its nver going to be).

[Dhf]

That sounds good for me then with odo km converted to only 38,867 miles on the clock, And stands to reason I guess as low milage is a big bonus when looking for any second hand vehicle,
Cheers for that Mr M Chappelow.
As for how much I paid for her, Am I obliged I let them know that figure, When I purchased the vehicle as there where a few issues like needing a new exaust system, New tyres, brakes, disc's, all round, So I talked him down well over a grand on the day, but still paid a healthy sum. I think the that was needed put a few people off, so he let her go for a good price. As long as they give me enough to find a suitable replacement I'll be satisfied, I'm not looking to make any profit, just to get the full value of what she was worth previous to black ice encounter , As we all know there quick enough to collect our premiums, plus I must point out that I've never had to make any insurance claims in my 25 years of fully insured driving,
How right you are Peter she'll certainly never make a classic.

[Dhf]

Update;
Can't believe it, After making them aware of the accident last tuesday morning the 7th,
Insurance co have now on the 15th sent me a renewal reminder due for March the 8th, On the very same vehicle they said was a "total loss" write off, Are they taking the proverbial, or what? I noticed they have also more than doubled the annual premium price coming in at a whopping £1090.
Now if the accident was all related to say dangerous driving or something like that, I would fully understand, But having the misfortune of loosing traction on a busy road due to black ice, Is something that can happen to anyone, Infact as mentioned earlier there were four local black ice incidents within the hour that morning.
Now just to ad insult to injury, The DVLA also sent me a tax renewal today, after also being notified of said incident. However that's fair enough as I haven't returned section 9 of the reg doc to them yet, which I've been told to retain until insurance payout.
Guess there's no chance of them catching me driving round with no road tax that's for sure.
I phoned the insurance co today asking what's happening, And they recon there still awaiting a full engineer report, Which should be sorted by next week, Why so long.

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Dragonhawk ficht

Why so long.

Pembrokeshire time....