Write off valuation issues.

[Adam.]

On the 28th Jan some youth in a Corsa clipped my dad on a roundabout. The car is an A3 Black Edition that's less than 6 months old. The car was wrecked. Insurance(admiral) decided to write it off.

Gap insurance say the car is worth 23k so will only pay between that and the invoice price. Admiral have decided that the car is not a Black Edition therefore are undervaluing it by a fair amount. They have been sent the V5 and the original purchase invoice but today have again said nope it's still not a Black Edition therefore they will not raise their valuation on it.

It's becoming a bit of a piss take here as they said they had issued the settlement cheque to Audi finance 3 weeks ago which is another lie.

Any ideas? There are no A3's on the Audi site or auto trader in the same spec to compare it too.

 

[The Fatty]

Was it insured as a black edition? because if it wasn't then it makes no difference if it is.

 

[MarkCup]

So they've been sent the original invoice that clearly states it's a black edition, and it was insured as a black edition, but with all that in hand they're saying 'no, it's not a black edition'?

Really?

Insurance ombudsman maybe?

 

[Adam.]

Yes insurance certificate says "A3 SLINE BLK EDT TD".

 

[Adam.]

So they've been sent the original invoice that clearly states it's a black edition, and it was insured as a black edition, but with all that in hand they're saying 'no, it's not a black edition'?

Really?

Correct.

 

[withoutabix]

Yes insurance certificate says "A3 SLINE BLK EDT TD".

Why are they saying its not then? They given you any reasoning behind there decision?

 

[Lawro]

I work as an insurance underwriter and this is plain rediculious. Personally, I would call the insurance and state you have sent them the purchase invoice and V5 clearly showing the car is a black edition and they either adjust their valuation to reflect this or you will be registering a complaint with the FOS.

They then have 48 hours to resolve the issue or the FOS will investigate. The insurer will be fined just for a case being opened and they won't stand a chance of winning this case so it should be resolved pretty swiftly.

 

[Daniel]

On the 28th Jan some youth in a Corsa clipped my dad on a roundabout. The car is an A3 Black Edition that's less than 6 months old. The car was wrecked. Insurance(admiral) decided to write it off.

Gap insurance say the car is worth 23k so will only pay between that and the invoice price. Admiral have decided that the car is not a Black Edition therefore are undervaluing it by a fair amount. They have been sent the V5 and the original purchase invoice but today have again said nope it's still not a Black Edition therefore they will not raise their valuation on it.

It's becoming a bit of a piss take here as they said they had issued the settlement cheque to Audi finance 3 weeks ago which is another lie.

Any ideas? There are no A3's on the Audi site or auto trader in the same spec to compare it too.

GAP is supposed to pay the difference between the invoice price and the insurance payout. What's going on here??

And WTaF are the insurers playing at??

This whole thing seems mental.

 

[Adam.]

Why are they saying its not then? They given you any reasoning behind there decision?

Iit's not a Black Edition so we're not paying that. Our independant valuer has also said it's not a Black Edition"

I work as an insurance underwriter and this is plain rediculious. Personally, I would call the insurance and state you have sent them the purchase invoice and V5 clearly showing the car is a black edition and they either adjust their valuation to reflect this or you will be registering a complaint with the FOS.

They then have 48 hours to resolve the issue or the FOS will investigate. The insurer will be fined just for a case being opened and they won't stand a chance of winning this case so it should be resolved pretty swiftly.

Cheers he's going to call them first thing.

GAP is supposed to pay the difference between the invoice price and the insurance payout. What's going on here??

And WTaF are the insurers playing at??

This whole thing seems mental.

Have you ever claimed from GAP?

According to GAP the market value of the car is 23k therefore insurance need to pay up 23k and they will bridge the difference. And as they say the car isn't worth less than 23k so refuse to lower to what Admiral are offering.

Admiral also said if the car was a Black Edition they would pay 23k but as it's not they won't.


:banghead:

 

[-J-]

Just get Audi to write a letter confirming spec and supply to the insurance along with the sale invoice.

Supply letters like this regularly from work for customers.

 

[5678]

This doesn't make any sense!

Surely you just let Admiral pay what they want and claim the balance from the gap cover?

 

[Daniel]

Have you ever claimed from GAP?

I used to sell it! Our GAP (Was supplied by Renault Financial services at the time) paid the difference between the insurance payout and the invoice price. Upto a maximum of £10,000.

Dead simple.

 

[Neil@greenlight]

Thats crazy they are covering you a black edition as per the certificate of insurance, you have sent them a V5 and invoice showing its a Black Edition yet they are still refusing to payout on a black edition!

Admiral are normally very cheap but its only at a claim stage you find out how good your insurer are.

The next step would be to contact Admiral complaints department and lodge a formal complaint. Also check the small print of the policy as some insurers offer a new car replacment if your car is written off within the first year of ownership.

If you want any advice id be happy to have a chat with you tommorrow to give you an industry guide on what to do next. I know you are not with us but id be happy to offer any help/advice i can.

If you wanted to call me on 01277 376000 (just ask for Neil) and i'll talk through the best options for you.

Best Regards
Neil
Greenlight

 

[Adam.]

This doesn't make any sense!

Surely you just let Admiral pay what they want and claim the balance from the gap cover?

I used to sell it! Our GAP (Was supplied by Renault Financial services at the time) paid the difference between the insurance payout and the invoice price. Upto a maximum of £10,000.

Dead simple.

The problem is Admiral are undervaluing the car by a substantial amount therefore GAP say they are not paying more than the difference of a market value one.

Thats crazy they are covering you a black edition as per the certificate of insurance, you have sent them a V5 and invoice showing its a Black Edition yet they are still refusing to payout on a black edition!

Admiral are normally very cheap but its only at a claim stage you find out how good your insurer are.

The next step would be to contact Admiral complaints department and lodge a formal complaint. Also check the small print of the policy as some insurers offer a new car replacment if your car is written off within the first year of ownership.

If you want any advice id be happy to have a chat with you tommorrow to give you an industry guide on what to do next. I know you are not with us but id be happy to offer any help/advice i can.

If you wanted to call me on 01277 376000 (just ask for Neil) and i'll talk through the best options for you.

Best Regards
Neil
Greenlight

Thanks for the advice and help guys. I've just had a call from my dad to say he phoned and asked what their final decision was. "Yup, it's not a Black Edition and that is ours and our independent valuations final decision". So my dad said he was going to raise a complaint with the ombudsman. Bricks were shat, 2 minutes later the car is magically a Black Edition again and the money will be sent via BACS before lunchtime. LOL

Thanks also for the offer of help Neil, he will be in touch when he gets something else as he doesn't want to be insured with them again. He won't be getting a replacement as they stopped production for the new shape A3.

I'll stick a few pics up once the claim is settled as everyone loves a crash pic .

 

[skyinsurance]

Well done to your dad Adam. It sounds like your father may move insurers anyway but as I said on another thread this morning, unfortunately the insurer he is with are well known for upping premiums for non-fault claims

I'll stick a few pics up once the claim is settled as everyone loves a crash pic .

:clap:

 

[Chrisgti6]

Don't some policys say that they will provide a brand new car of the same specification in the event of it being written off < 12 months old? I know my wifes policy does on her car. That's with Churchill.

 

[DB.]

Good result from the trusty advice from CS. Another reason I can justify renewing every year!

 

[Adam.]

Cheers guys.

Replacement isn't an option as that shape of A3 is no longer made.

Also there are no second hand ones on AutoTrader or Audi approved used that are in his spec regardless of colour!

 

[The Fatty]

seems to be complete ignorance from admiral on this one, well done on fighting it and setting the straight.

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

I f**king hate admiral with a passion. They really are conmen. Glad you got this sorted though mate.

Any pics of the damage?

 

[Adam.]

Yeah I've got a few but they're on my phone, I'll get them sorted later. My dad received the tax disc last night from HBC so I assume it will be on their auction site soon.

Also cheers to Kev/Gally for the advice a few weeks ago ;-)

 

[The Chubby Pirate]

Good news! Was it your old one or did he have one aswell?

 

[Adam.]

He had one too lol.

 

[Martin.]

So my dad said he was going to raise a complaint with the ombudsman. Bricks were shat, 2 minutes later the car is magically a Black Edition again and the money will be sent via BACS before lunchtime..

Brilliant!

 

[Gally]

Lols. I told you boi. Mr Obudsman makes things happen. Utter shower of t***s by the sounds of it. I'm guessing a complaint will be going in and they've lost a customer.

I can understand the Gap issue. They're not willing to cover an insurance company undervaluing the car which is fair enough as that's not what they "insured" as such.

 

[Adam.]

Lols. I told you boi. Mr Obudsman makes things happen. Utter shower of tw*ts by the sounds of it. I'm guessing a complaint will be going in and they've lost a customer.

I can understand the Gap issue. They're not willing to cover an insurance company undervaluing the car which is fair enough as that's not what they "insured" as such.

Twice I fell out with him telling him to pull the finger out and tell them the ombudsman is getting involved. If you ever meet him you will see why it's taken this long. He is far too laid back LOL.

He will still be putting a complaint in about the way it has been handled and also won't be insuring with them in the future.

Wouldn't Admiral be recovering the costs from the other party anyway? Oh and the lad that hit him was charged with careless driving.

 

[Gally]

Yeah they would mate but everything still has to be accountable.

 

[skyinsurance]

Wouldn't Admiral be recovering the costs from the other party anyway?

Yes, which makes it even more backward.

 

[Gally]

Not really, they still have to value the car correctly. They can't just pay out and go to recover costs only to be told you valued the car wrong here is 20k instead of 23k.

 

[skyinsurance]

Not really, they still have to value the car correctly. They can't just pay out and go to recover costs only to be told you valued the car wrong here is 20k instead of 23k.

The refusal to recognise a car they have insured and recorded on their documents , can only be described as backward.

Refusing to offer the true value only to back down when the magic FSA word was issued also can only be described as backward.

Of course though, that is my opinion.

Cheers

Ollie

 

[Gally]

You're comment was in reply to recovering costs. There's nothing backwards about that process. They were still wrong though.

 

[bradsmith88]

I work as an insurance underwriter and this is plain rediculious. Personally, I would call the insurance and state you have sent them the purchase invoice and V5 clearly showing the car is a black edition and they either adjust their valuation to reflect this or you will be registering a complaint with the FOS.

They then have 48 hours to resolve the issue or the FOS will investigate. The insurer will be fined just for a case being opened and they won't stand a chance of winning this case so it should be resolved pretty swiftly.

Close but not quite.

I work for another well known insurer and recently claimed via Admiral and the valuation process was nothing short of shocking - valuing the wrong car twice.

RE complaints - once you raise the complaint the FOS allow the business 8 weeks to give a final decision - only once you have a final decision or the 8 weeks has expired will the FOS take on your case.

Once the FOS have the case there is an immediate cost of approx £500 to the insurer.

And just because youve complained to the FOS doesnt mean you will win - take a look on the FOS website there are plenty of case studies.

There is a FOS guide for how they asses a vehicles value. Looks like this is sorted now anyway but if there is anything else you need help with drop me a PM.

Brad

 

[Neil@greenlight]

No problem Adam im happy to help as i said so if you need any advice or tips just give me a buzz.

Best Regards
neil
Greenlight
01277 376000

 

[Adam.]

And that's it sorted. Thanks again to those who have given me advice and help with this situation. It is appreciated. Apparently GAP insurance are also going to report Admiral as Admiral phoned up and claimed someone else from GAP had called to accepted their lower offer LOL.

Time for some pics.

I got an email from my Dad and after seeing the title I thought cool, he's found another classic hot rod he wants. Then the picture loaded. "lol someone has crashed on his new roundabout" I thought as my Dad loves a good wind up. Then I zoomed in and clocked his reg. :dapprove:

 

[JackJack]

Ouch, at least it's sorted now.

 

[jesus]

What a mess! Nice cars those too. I bet Admiral were quick enough to charge the extra (if this applies) for the Black Edition but not so quick to pay out for it...

 

[Adam.]

What a mess! Nice cars those too. I bet Admiral were quick enough to charge the extra (if this applies) for the Black Edition but not so quick to pay out for it...

Surprisingly it's cheaper to insure a Black Edition compared to a boggo S-line. They have their own Thatcham code and less accidents recorded against them I think.

 

[jesus]

A pleasant change!

 

[.GAZ.]

Wouldn't Admiral be recovering the costs from the other party anyway? Oh and the lad that hit him was charged with careless driving.

Yes, which makes it even more backward.

Maybe the other party was with Admiral, too.

 

[Adam.]

Maybe the other party was with Admiral, too.

Nah he was with co-op and had a "black box" lol.

In the auctions now. Jakeys have sooked out half the diesel as it had a full tank 11 miles before the accident.

http://www.hbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/zyview/D=vehicles/V=bidding/R=5070750