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Philh46

Active Member
Dec 24, 2017
81
3
Sheffield
Most insurers limit the length of time that a courtesy car is provided for; typically a couple of weeks, so I’d check your policy document or check with your insurer.

If deemed not your fault then it doesn't matter. Courtesy car until you have a car.

Oops Sorry already pointed out by others
 
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Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
Thanks for all your replies. I STILL haven’t heard from the insurers repairer!! I rang them this morning and was told the same as the last 4 days, it’s with the estimator, who will call you when finished. Rang several times since and they answer the phone then hang up. Very frustrating!!

Ultimately, I don’t particularly want the car back knowing the speed of impact etc.

If a total loss, SEAT Finance confirmed they will spend 30 days finding a replacement vehicle of exact spec. Failing they they will cancel the agreement.

Reassuring to hear that I won’t be left without a car if I have to order from scratch. I bet the price I’m paying currently £233 won’t be around then though!


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jezyg

Active Member
Feb 21, 2003
2,323
21
Derby
Thanks for all your replies. I STILL haven’t heard from the insurers repairer!! I rang them this morning and was told the same as the last 4 days, it’s with the estimator, who will call you when finished. Rang several times since and they answer the phone then hang up. Very frustrating!!

Ultimately, I don’t particularly want the car back knowing the speed of impact etc.

If a total loss, SEAT Finance confirmed they will spend 30 days finding a replacement vehicle of exact spec. Failing they they will cancel the agreement.

Reassuring to hear that I won’t be left without a car if I have to order from scratch. I bet the price I’m paying currently £233 won’t be around then though!


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It is a frustrating long wait - still some good deals out there and use Drive The Deal to get a quote, its the finance deposit allowance that has gone but still some big discounts for the taking :D

Fingers crossed you get a result soon!
 

russbellrfs

Active Member
Jan 7, 2018
286
26
It is a frustrating long wait - still some good deals out there and use Drive The Deal to get a quote, its the finance deposit allowance that has gone but still some big discounts for the taking :D

Fingers crossed you get a result soon!
And maybe explain situation and they may do u a good deal

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Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
Still no update

SEAT Finance said, in the event of a total loss, they will attempt to find a replacement vehicle of equal spec (Leon FR, 1.4 ECOTSI, with SEAT Sound & Driver Assistance Pack Plus) within 30 days. Failing that, they simply cancel the agreement.


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russbellrfs

Active Member
Jan 7, 2018
286
26
Still no update

SEAT Finance said, in the event of a total loss, they will attempt to find a replacement vehicle of equal spec (Leon FR, 1.4 ECOTSI, with SEAT Sound & Driver Assistance Pack Plus) within 30 days. Failing that, they simply cancel the agreement.


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Best way to go at the moment. Something may crop up.

This is all supposing SEAT finance, ur insurer, drunks insurer are all singing off the same hymn sheet!!

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Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
Doesn’t sound like the third party insurer has admitted liability! God knows how they couldn’t.


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Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
standard policy for many is not to admit liability - if your insurance company does their job they should be able to show that all they will do is lengthen the process and their liability for costs..

do you have any witnesses?



I believe there are some witnesses yeah. The police attended and reported the collision as well. He hit me head on on my side of the wrong so his WRONG side of the road, and was subsequently arrested for drink drive. He wasn’t charged with drink drive due to a delay getting him on the evidential machine is custody.

Literally never been involved in a collision so now idea how this all works.

My parents are telling me that I should approach the third party insurer?

My insurer is saying they’ll handle it but I’ll have to pay my excess then claim it back at a later date. Plus my premium will rise until liability is established and all costs are recovered. Is this right?


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Lmbarrett83

Active Member
Sep 8, 2017
1,538
619
Sheffield
I believe there are some witnesses yeah. The police attended and reported the collision as well. He hit me head on on my side of the wrong so his WRONG side of the road, and was subsequently arrested for drink drive. He wasn’t charged with drink drive due to a delay getting him on the evidential machine is custody.

The police attended my accident and took witness statements. As there was no prosecution they weren't interested. Said they'd leave it to the insurers.

In my case the 3rd party the T-boned me (tried to cut across me). The 3rd party was trying to argue my speed and a witness account said that I was going at a speed not fit for the conditions.

My insurer instantly said they'd pursue a non fault claim based on that information alone.
The speed thing couldn't be proved. The 3rd party shouldn't of tried the manourve if they couldn't judge my speed accurately.


Literally never been involved in a collision so now idea how this all works.

From my recent experience It took a while to get 100% confirmation from the insurer and I read loads about split liability so I got nervous and started sending them all the scene photos and a diagram. I kept calling for updates too.


My parents are telling me that I should approach the third party insurer?

I was given this advice too by friends/family but my insurance company and SEAT ensurance assured me it was in hand. They were waiting on the 3rd party.

They said if someone goes into the back of you or pulls out on you, then by default they are at fault until proven otherwise. If they were on the wrong side of the road and blew positive for alcohol I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Did you not get a police incident number with the witness telephone number (s)? The witness wasn't required in my case.


My insurer is saying they’ll handle it but I’ll have to pay my excess then claim it back at a later date. Plus my premium will rise until liability is established and all costs are recovered. Is this right?

With regards to costs that may depend on the insurance company's policy.

I'm with esure and as they were pursuing a non fault claim they said I had no excess to pay. It would be claimed from the 3rd party. That would only change if the decision on liability did.

Your premium will rise anyway. Unfortunately for me my insurance was up for renewal a week or so after the accident. I had to stick with the insurer because i had an open/unsettled claim. I never even entertained the idea of a new quote. I had to accept the automatic renewal.

Now my insurance is higher because you have to declare the accident (and will for a few years), whether you are at fault or not. Statistically you are now more likely to be involved in an at fault claim because of your recent experience.

Its hasn't gone up by much as you still have your experience and no claims discount.

The claim was officially settled last month and the incident happened last September.



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Bleon

Active Member
Sep 11, 2016
9
0
My parents are telling me that I should approach the third party insurer?

My insurer is saying they’ll handle it but I’ll have to pay my excess then claim it back at a later date. Plus my premium will rise until liability is established and all costs are recovered. Is this right?


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There is no point in you personally approaching the third part insurer, you won’t get anywhere and will likely just lead to frustration.

It’s a frustrating situation but it’s best you just leave your insurers too it, they know what they are doing (if they are decent). It will no doubt take a while to sort liability however if your insurers are confident they have a strong case they should take it all the way

Having an independent witness in your favour would help alot
 

SRGTD

Active Member
May 26, 2014
2,388
1,279
My parents are telling me that I should approach the third party insurer?

You shouldn’t do anything that might prejudice a satisfactory outcome in your favour. Any contact with the other party’s insurer should be through your insurer, or if you do contact the other party's insurer, it should only happen if you’ve got your insurers agreement to do this.

If you make direct contact, that’s an additional communication channel in the process, which is likely to lengthen the timescales of getting a settlement in your favour, rather than speed things up. Plus, it introduces the risk of conflicting information or misinformation if any conversations or communications you were to have with the other party's insurer aren’t consistent with conversations or communications your insurer have had with them.

My insurer is saying they’ll handle it but I’ll have to pay my excess then claim it back at a later date. Plus my premium will rise until liability is established and all costs are recovered. Is this right?

Yes, it’s pretty normal for the innocent party to have to claim back their excess from the ‘at fault’ party’s insurer, and an unfortunate consequence of this approach is that if your insurance becomes due for renewal before the claim is settled and your’ve not got your excess back, your premium is likely to increase. Once you’ve recovered your excess, any premium rise due to the claim should be written off.
 

andycupra

status subject to change
the non-charging for drink driving is worrying... the road side test is not final, it just provides indication for proper test at the police station..
So either they delayed too long for it to be used (i don't believe that)
or by the time they tested they had dropped below the legal limit, (or indeed were never above it..)
or finally, it may be that they did drop below the limit, but the police are persuing a back calculation...

Was this in the morning? - many people are over the limit after the night before but the alcohol is reducing so you can get positive followed my negative at the station.

If there is no prosecution or injury, the police will not help at all. Its a civil case in their eyes.
And in my experience, no matter how blatently at fault they are, if they simply refuse to back down and provide false declarations of the event then you need a decent insurance company to follow it through.
Thus the importance to get witnesses. I would recommend speaking with the police and seeing what the situation is re the drink drive charge, and request witness details if they are not persuing things.

and as mentioned above, it is normal for the excess to require claiming back later, and any renewals WILL be affected until it is settled. (beware i think for my one accident it didnt get sorted for somewhere like 3 years despite proof there signed account was incorrect on 21 different points...
Also, protected no claims does not mean premiums will not increase, all it means is the discount is maintained, - the premium before discount is applied will be higher with an outstanding claim.
and sadly, even if later confirmed as not your fault is does increase your premium in 90% of cases, just not as much as with a fault claim.
 
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Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
the non-charging for drink driving is worrying... the road side test is not final, it just provides indication for proper test at the police station..
So either they delayed too long for it to be used (i don't believe that)
or by the time they tested they had dropped below the legal limit, (or indeed were never above it..)
or finally, it may be that they did drop below the limit, but the police are persuing a back calculation...

Was this in the morning? - many people are over the limit after the night before but the alcohol is reducing so you can get positive followed my negative at the station.

If there is no prosecution or injury, the police will not help at all. Its a civil case in their eyes.
And in my experience, no matter how blatently at fault they are, if they simply refuse to back down and provide false declarations of the event then you need a decent insurance company to follow it through.
Thus the importance to get witnesses. I would recommend speaking with the police and seeing what the situation is re the drink drive charge, and request witness details if they are not persuing things

Thanks for the reply mate.

The reason he wasn’t charged was due to a time delay. He went straight to hospital with suspected injuries. In those circumstances, the hospital/police Dr would usually take a blood sample, however this didn’t happen for whatever reason. He was taken to custody 5 hours after the incident and subsequently blew under the limit, presumably because of the time.

He was above the drink drive limit as he failed the roadside breath test, hence why he was arrested.

I agree, it is longer cut and dry but the other facts still stand, he entered my carriageway well above the speed limit, I had no where to go (pedestrians on left, moving vehicles on right), and hit me head on on MY side of the road.

It was in the middle of the afternoon.




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CUPRoAr

Active Member
Oct 7, 2017
69
16
There is no point in you personally approaching the third part insurer, you won’t get anywhere and will likely just lead to frustration.

It’s a frustrating situation but it’s best you just leave your insurers too it, they know what they are doing (if they are decent). It will no doubt take a while to sort liability however if your insurers are confident they have a strong case they should take it all the way

Having an independent witness in your favour would help alot

You most definitely should have pursued it with their insurers only. Your insurance company doesn't need to get involved as it's an open and shut case regarding liability.

Furthermore the comments by another poster regarding 'making additional communication that will delay your case' is complete crap. If anything not relying on your insurer to chase them up makes the process quicker.

Twice i have been hit by a 3rd party and pursued it with their insurance company, if they try and stall things just start mentioning accident management companies and see how quickly they start getting the ball rolling. You don't have to let your insurer deal with it, just inform them for information purposes only that you have been involved in an accident and you are personally dealing with the other parties insurer.
 

Bleon

Active Member
Sep 11, 2016
9
0
You most definitely should have pursued it with their insurers only. Your insurance company doesn't need to get involved as it's an open and shut case regarding liability.

Furthermore the comments by another poster regarding 'making additional communication that will delay your case' is complete crap. If anything not relying on your insurer to chase them up makes the process quicker.

Twice i have been hit by a 3rd party and pursued it with their insurance company, if they try and stall things just start mentioning accident management companies and see how quickly they start getting the ball rolling. You don't have to let your insurer deal with it, just inform them for information purposes only that you have been involved in an accident and you are personally dealing with the other parties insurer.


The third party insurer would only be liable for the market value so would take into account depreciation , however most decent comprehensive policies have the clause of replacing it with a new car if less 12 months old, for that reason I wouldn’t be claiming through the TPI.
 

Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
So in my circumstance, my insurance would settle with the finance company (SEAT Finance), and I’d be left without a car? Is that right?




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kazand

Is powered by Medtronics
Jun 6, 2010
4,138
73
Brum
You most definitely should have pursued it with their insurers only. Your insurance company doesn't need to get involved as it's an open and shut case regarding liability.

Furthermore the comments by another poster regarding 'making additional communication that will delay your case' is complete crap. If anything not relying on your insurer to chase them up makes the process quicker.

Twice i have been hit by a 3rd party and pursued it with their insurance company, if they try and stall things just start mentioning accident management companies and see how quickly they start getting the ball rolling. You don't have to let your insurer deal with it, just inform them for information purposes only that you have been involved in an accident and you are personally dealing with the other parties insurer.

This is only the case if the other driver admits liability 100%, in which case their insurance will deal with it totally as you say, you only need to inform your insurance to log the incident. However if the other driver disputes liability, you would be best advised to use your insurance company to fight your claim. Doing anything else can be costly.
 

Luke_bank

Active Member
Aug 11, 2017
383
45
This is only the case if the other driver admits liability 100%, in which case their insurance will deal with it totally as you say, you only need to inform your insurance to log the incident. However if the other driver disputes liability, you would be best advised to use your insurance company to fight your claim. Doing anything else can be costly.


I have informed my insurance company who are handling the claim. Other side haven’t confirmed liability yet, citing that they are having issues getting hold of their policyholder.


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russbellrfs

Active Member
Jan 7, 2018
286
26
I have informed my insurance company who are handling the claim. Other side haven’t confirmed liability yet, citing that they are having issues getting hold of their policyholder.


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I hope to god he has not done a runner!

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