When an insurer says a car is "written off" or a "total loss", are there any circumstances where they repair?

Question

My S-reg Ford Escort was hit at a T-Junction by a brand new Renault Megane. Accident was their fault. She had a scraped bumper while she totalled my bumper, bonnet, wing & headlight. Is this a fair case to insist her insurers repair my car even if they end up rating it a Category C? Serious answers from those with experience of such a matter please...

The accident was too small an impact to deploy the airbags, so they're still intact. There wasn't even any damage to the wheel-arch!
And yes, I'm well aware of the "buy it back as salvage" option as the car was only just back on the road after an accident 2 months ago caused by faulty brakes despite passing it's MOT in January! The insurers said it was a total loss then, we bought it back, and this 2nd accident happened only hours after the car passed it's VIC after we got it repaired privately. I really don't want to have to go through that malarkey again if at all possible...

I forgot to mention...
This second accident happened a week past Monday there, and while it's lying on-site at a bodyshop, we're still awaiting an adjudication from assessors on it.

Answer 1

Once the claims adjuster has written off the vehicle as a Total loss " totaled " they have decided that it would take more money to repair the car than it is worth. Once they have made that determination, they usually stick with it.

One thing you can do is arrange a settlement with the insurance company that allows you to keep the car. That way you can either repair it yourself or sell it for scrap. Depends on if you think it can be repaired easily or that you can get it done more cost effectively.

Good luck!

Answer 2

When a vehicle is totaled it means that the cost to repair the vehicle is greater than the vehicles value. For example why spend $9,000 to repair a car that is only worth $6,000.
Now what you can do however is offer to buy the totaled vehicle from the insurance company or whomever holds title after all monies are disbursed. Some insurance policies are structured such that if a vehicle is totaled the insurance company owns the car and the remaining totaled value is figured into your totaled payout. So talk to your insurance agent and get the details about your specific policy.

Answer 3

There is a reasonable chance that the insurance company will sell you the car back , but they will not repair it for the reasons already stated. One thing you need to think about also though is that if you do buy it back and have it repaired it will always show up as a vehicle that has been written off which when you come to sell it will be a huge problem, so overall it just probably is not worth it long term.

Answer 4

If the insurers declare the car a write off, you can opt for a reduced total-loss payout in order to retain salvage of the vehicle. From there, you can get the car repaired but you will have to have it re-MOT'd and obtain an independent engineer's report (at your own cost) to confirm the vehicle is roadworthy.

You will also have to declare all of this to the insurer (probably best to stay with the current insurer of the car) - they will want to see a copy of the new MOT certificate, engineer's report and receipt/invoices for all the remedial work carried out.

Answer 5

I live in Michigan USA and I totaled a 91 Corvette ZR1 that I fixed and got the salvaged title for.

It also passed the DMV ( dept. motor vehicles) safety inspection.

I searched every insurance company known to man, and I could not get any full coverage because of the salvaged title, so I was only able to get property, personal coverage.

They would not fully insure a already totaled car even though it was 3 years old and had only 5000 miles.

Answer 6

Depends on the wording. Is that car a write off or an insurance write off? An actual write off means the car isnt fixable. An insurance wrote off means that it can be fixed but it isnt worth it financially. In the case of an insurance write off you can buy the salvage from the company and fix it yourself. If you do this though the car has to be re-registered and is usually on a Q plate. These are harder to insure.

Answer 7

In my experience, no. All you can do is accept their offer and fund the repairs yourself. You could try and get a couple of independent assessors to prove that the vehicle is not 'beyond economical repair', but you'd have to face the cost of the assessments yourself, and there's no guarantee that you'd get the answer you want, or that the other parties insurers would accept it. Sorry if it's not the answer you were hoping for.

Answer 8

Insurance companies are hard nosed. They have an appraiser add up the cost to repair your car. If repairs exceed the book value of your car they declare it a total loss. They then pay you the book value. The check, if it is from your insurance company, is minus of course any deductible on your policy. If it is from her company and she has 100% fault you will get a check without any deductible.

BTW they don't care if you just put on new tires or if it had great sentimental value or if you really can't replace it for that "replacement value."

Answer 9

In some cases you can buy the car back from the insurer and get it repaired yourself after it has been written off. I was in a situation where the insurer had sold my car to a taxi company even before they had officially written it off.

Answer 10

Yes, this happened to my sister. She bought the car back for next to nothing and took the money and had it fixed. PS: It help that he father inlaw owns a body shop. She got it fix for just parts.