Advice for when insurance assessor decides the fate of your mini..
Turbo Mini Forums

Anything i should do or say or prove?

He doesnt sound classic/modified friendly...
Said i dont need to be there, but i want to because its not just a normal std car!
He said he may not value it at what it is valued at?!

Im not looking forward to this at all!! Any advice would be appreciated

Edited by D4VE on 13th Jun, 2016.

Where is the car?

Isn't that the whole point of having 'agreed value' on your insurance policy? I'd go! They probably have no idea how much it costs to rebuild it :(

They don't die, they just get faster!

Is it agreed value?

Car is at my bodyshop... they are great guys always doing classic stuff, yes it is agreed, when i said yeah its agreed he said well if i dont agree you maybe best going through your own insurance? I said what!?! The other party has admitted liability so why would i do that?! I really want to be there and so does the bodyshop guy i just hope when i tell my boss tomo he'll let me off for a lil while so i can be there

The agreed value is with your insurance, not theirs. If they wont agree to that value, your insurers need to fight the case with them, ergo, you need to speak with your insurance.

Last I heard, you don't accrue no claims bonus with a classic policy anyway, but expect your next premiums to be higher. Surely a small price to pay in the long run?

I'm earning no claims with Adrian Flux on a classic policy

They don't die, they just get faster!

If they don't agree surely you could provide evidence for parts and the body shop can let them know how much labour it would take? I never considered that if someone smashed into me their insurance would be the ones deciding the value! Sucks man, I hope it works out well for you. It would be such a shame for your mini to be less than it was before when it wasn't even your fault :(

They don't die, they just get faster!

Insurance is just a big con! They'll do anything to get out of paying!!

Hope you get this sorted mate!! Keep us posted

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

i'd notify your insurer if you have not already.

Yeah ive let my insurance know for info purposes, since it wasnt my fault my bodyshops people fight and sort everything for you, theyre doing a good job so far.. just this last hurdle before getting some form of payment/repair

Just remember that the purpose of insurance is to mitigate your loss. In this instance you are not at fault and so it is down to them to mitigate your loss, so to repair your car or to pay you money in lieu of that repair. So be polite, but stand your ground.

Thats the problem though Tom. The third parties insurance inspector will look at the book price for that car and if that is less than or close to the cost of repair, its 'written off' and you get handed a cheque for that value. There needs to be an independent assessor not concerned with financial outcome.

Happened to one of our club members. His car had only been on the road two weeks after being re shelled (brand new car in reality), when he was shunter from the rear. The damage was clearly repairable, but the book price said otherwise. Despite the subsequent debates that followed, they still sent him a cheque in the post for the book value, and the debate went on. Eventually they shifted and repaired the car, but only after his insurer got involved.

Well, this guy turned up.. me him n the bodyshop guy looked it over pointed out stuff thats moved etc as im the only one who knew certain gaps at certain areas like between fan and brace bar etc he took photos and notes but then i had to disapear and them 2 had to discuss what time/costs etc roughly would be involved and then he would submit his report n i shall hear the outcome then i suppose?

Mines agreed with limited milage and I'm earning NCB. I did when I first took out insure with them before switching too (two of my four years will have been earned through them in September). I can't remember who my insurance is actually with under Adrian Flux but maybe that has something to do with it? Or the fact it isn't your main car? It's strange if they would give me the option to insure me to drive anything fully comp (I'm under 25) if they weren't going to give me any NCB. Footman James didn't give me any on their classic policy as I was with them last year.

On 13th Jun, 2016 Sprocket said:

On 12th Jun, 2016 Shauna said:
I'm earning no claims with Adrian Flux on a classic policy

On 12th Jun, 2016 Sprocket said:
The agreed value is with your insurance, not theirs. If they wont agree to that value, your insurers need to fight the case with them, ergo, you need to speak with your insurance.

Last I heard, you don't accrue no claims bonus with a classic policy anyway, but expect your next premiums to be higher. Surely a small price to pay in the long run?

Agreed value of 15k, 300mile limited mileage classic policy........ No NCB

Edited by Shauna on 13th Jun, 2016.

They don't die, they just get faster!

Had a very promising call from my bodyshop guy... said the inspector werent bad in the end and that hes kind of agreed to our way of thinking so need to get some prices across to him asap..

Now this is kind of the opposite to bargain hunting the steeper the better i suppose?

1st thing is the subframe.. im seeing these genuine ones on minisport around £460

The brace bars are around £40 but im sure ive seen these around 80 for better? Ones on one of the fg sites? Anyone remember which one? Oh and the flip front hinges to whilst i think of it

My wheels, ive been told theyre the early ultralites when they used to be made in australia? So are lighter? I think ive found the same wheel on minisport/minispares but is it going to differ at all? Be heavier?

I have continental tyres at the mo but cant find them anywhere now?

My arches are miglia style but are narrower and have slightly different ends to anything i can find on offer now?

Basically im going crazy with like 10 tabs open at the same time trying to get a list of links together for all these bits so any help is much appreciated!

EDIT- mannn my eyes are shot now from all the tabs open and links ive put together for all the pricing... all done now so fingers crossed..

Edited by D4VE on 13th Jun, 2016.

This whole experience is making me not want to own any car that i actually care about at all ever again!!!!

Basically the quote to fix was just short of 3k.. the insurance company werent prepared to have the work carried out because of the mods.. so offered me 2500 as cash in leiu.. i said no its not enough i just want what it was going to cost and ill just get the bodyshop to do it once claims all done n dusted. They said no and gave me a cheque for 2150... i said why would i take that now if i turned down 2500? They said the assessor valued your car at 2900 pre accident and as your keeping it heres the 2150.. i just laughed and said show me the minis like that at 2900 and ill buy them all!! She said cars devalue sir.. i said classics dont! I said i have agreed valuation of 6k etc.. but she said well thts what the assessors said so...

Also she said youve had an offer for injury from them.. i said brill maybe thatll make up for what they are not giving me for the car!? She said well that offers no longer on the table as we have medical evidence.. i said so could be worth more? She said well it could be worth less...? I said what idiot gets an offer and says its ok we'll take less?!?!

One thing ive learnt is minis as projects for years are safer staying as projects in the garage!! Dont let them out into the world of stupid drivers to just hit them and get away with it and for their insurance to fuck ya over!

Why not claim on your own insurance, they claim it back from the other party, and you get your car fixed? Is that not part of the point of fully comp with agreed value?

What ever you Do, dont cash the cheque. Get some info together on values, ebay, magazines etc and tell them if you cant get a reasonsble settlement in 7 days, your going to the ombudsman. My brother had all this shit when his car was stolen. They tried telling him it was market value etc. They were using autotrader to find comparisons at the other end of the Country. He politely told them that as they already had his address, they were more than welcome to drop off the replacement the next morning as he needed a car for work.

To be honest, you should have had your company do the fighting.

This is why I continue to call insurers criminals. Everything about what they do and how they treat people id disgusting.

If someone crashes into you, they are at fault...then without question you should be getting paid to make good, like for like as to what was lost. There shouldnt be any bullshit or quibbling.

If they hit a Lambo or Ferrari, would they try and say here, Accent this Ford Focus instead ? Sure it's a car, it has 4 wheels, it will still get you about.

Just a shower of dirty bastards, and some in the trade get annoyed when I call them that !! Which in itself is baffling.

Also on the phone dont even hint at whether you're putting in an injury claim or whether you are or are not injured.

Dont forget, like the police etc, they absolutely will take down whatever you say in an attempt to twist it as much as possible and always use it against you at a later date...even more so when they are recording those phone calls etc. So be careful with that stuff.

9.85 @ 145mph
202mph standing mile
speed didn't kill me, but taxation probably will

Spunds like a nightmare! What does your insurance company say about this all? Who are you with?

My build thread..

http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=542985

You've got 2 years to start a injury claim, so your neck could start hurting about now from the whiplash. Something that even doctors can't disprove…..

I fully understand were your coming from after being hit twice in my own mini both times I had to fight to the cash but both time I might as well as been given a blank cheque as I said I'd do the work my self and they agreed that was ok and they would just pay for parts. Don't stop fighting oh and neither time did it go on the register

Done now needs redoing lol