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'My car was written off but my insurer's paying peanuts'
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My car was written off in an accident that wasn’t my fault.
It was assessed and deemed to be a total write-off, and my insurer made an offer of £15,500 to replace the car.
However, it’s simply not possible to buy a like-for-like vehicle for less than £19,000. Where do I go from here?
A Which? Money member
'Don't write off your chances of winning this'
Hannah Heath, Which? money expert, says…
Complain, complain and complain, because the record of insurers in treating owners of written off vehicles leaves a lot to be desired.
In September, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced an estimated 270,000 motorists would receive £200m in compensation for historic claims where they were underpaid.
This came after a prior warning to insurers about undervaluing write-offs and assuming pre-existing damage had occurred, when it hadn’t.
The FCA was concerned that some customers were only offered a decent sum after complaining to their insurers – and it looks like that’s what you’ll need to do to get a response.
The FCA was concerned that some customers were only offered a decent sum after complaining
You pushed back and your insurer offered you £17,100. If it’s unwilling to go higher you could escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
You told us that you’d found ads for five similar cars on sale as evidence of higher valuation.
Ads are a good starting point, but the FOS says that it looks at online valuation guides such as AutoTrader, CAP, Percayso and Glass’s. Some of these can be used online for free.
It’s possible that your insurer is offering a lower sum because of pre-existing damage to the car. But the FOS warns this is only acceptable if such damage affected the car’s market value.
It notes that while small scratches would lower the value of a new vehicle, scratches wouldn’t matter on one that’s 15 years old, for example.
- Find out more: How to get the best price on a car
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