My rights when claiming against someone's insurance company?

RynSpn

Hi there,

I'm looking for some guidance or advice re a situation I am currently in. I've done some research online but can't find sufficient material to help me understand completely my rights.
It is not financially feasible for me to employ a solicitor, and I have learned that I cannot contact the financial services ombudsman because or the circumstances.

I'll give a very quick run down of my situation...

The Crash

A truck collided and totaled me and my neighbors car as it was parked on the street. The driver of the truck admitted liability and blamed being tired/fatigued. It was later found that he was over the legal drink driving limit.

The drivers insurance company (which happens to be mine also) reached out to me to begin the settlement process. They offered a rental car while I was without mine.

They had the vehicle assessed using VMS (thats another story) and came back with what I believed was a low offer. Along with the offer, the claims handler told me that I had to return the rental within 5 days of the offer being made.

I thought this was strange as I know I am entitled to 10 days to consider the offer. I told him I felt like I was being backed into a corner as they were taking the car off me, forcing a decision on me, but I would not receive any money and would be left without a car.

Expenses

I have been summing all my expenses since the crash, the claims handler even asked me to lie about some of my expenses to bring up the settlement amount. This was immediately after I said the first offer was too low. He was trying to keep me happy without changing the vehicle valuation (which he later did once I identified issues in the VMS report).

My real question is - If I am being forced to return the rental car before a settlement has been agreed, who covers my travel expenses? Are these valid to be used in my expenses? In my mind, they are an expense I would not have ordinarily have incurred had the crash not happened.

Any advice or guidance on this? Any help is greatly appreciated.

As a side - my neighbor accepted the very first offer without hesitation. Something I would advise against given the fact I have evidence that the way in which the value of my vehicle is calculated is unfair and flawed.

Kimbot

Your expenses will all be handled as part of the claim tbh. If the cost is a result of the crash then claim it.

Sue Pa Key Pa

Firstly, you are entitled to be compensated for your financial loss. The test for what is reasonable is to imagine if there was no insurance in place. If you necessarily incurred expenses, you are entitled to them. You are not entitled to drag out your decision on whether to accept or reject the offer and keep the meter running so as to speak.

In short, if you can justify the additional expense, you will be compensated. Can I ask, specifically, what the claim handler asked you to lie about?

RynSpn

Sue Pa Key Pa wrote: »

Firstly, you are entitled to be compensated for your financial loss. The test for what is reasonable is to imagine if there was no insurance in place. If you necessarily incurred expenses, you are entitled to them. You are not entitled to drag out your decision on whether to accept or reject the offer and keep the meter running so as to speak.

In short, if you can justify the additional expense, you will be compensated. Can I ask, specifically, what the claim handler asked you to lie about?

Thanks for the input. I am in no way trying to drag out this settlement process nor keep the meter running. If anything I am happy to return the rental asap (it's a 172 plate and worth nearly a years salary).

The process is being dragged out because I felt the offer/valuation was low. The claims handler supplied a report detailing car advertised online/offline that were used to calculate the average value of my car. When I looked into the report I found that:
- 2 of the cars had no valid NCT for 6 months or more.
- 3 of the vehicles had non standard alloys (NCT issue).
- 5 of the vehicles had bodywork damage.

The claims handler acknowledged these as legitimate points/flaws with the valuation system. I am awaiting another offer, but the rental is due back tomorrow.

Regarding your question: when I received my first offer over the phone and I made him aware it was too low, to which he moved over to my expenses. He asked had I any travel expenses in between the crash and getting the rental. I said had did have a friend bring me to work once and home (would not even cost 50c in fuel). And also my friend brought me to college once too (again, minimal fuel/cost).

He went on to tell me to "just put down €40/€50 per day and that might help bring you closer to what I cant get you for your car". It was to that effect.

That in my eyes, is telling me to lie. What do you think?

Sue Pa Key Pa

That's not telling lies. That is trying to help you when you obviously couldn't get receipts for your expense. Good luck, I'll leave this to others

mgbgt1978

VMS have basically looked up the lowest priced cars similar to yours on Donedeal. They don't consider factors such as Petrol/Diesel, Manual/Auto, etc.
The funny thing is they actually get paid handsomely for this huge effort :rolleyes:.
You have to be proactive and get back to the Insurer with examples from Carzone.ie which would be a more realistic valuation if you were to walk into a Garage looking to purchase a Car similar to your own.
Point out to the Insurer that the examples VMS gave are totally unrealistic and that you have some examples of Cars for sale that are a better match for your Car.
They will eventually up their offer, but usually to somewhere in the middle of the range.

RynSpn

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

VMS have basically looked up the lowest priced cars similar to yours on Donedeal. They don't consider factors such as Petrol/Diesel, Manual/Auto, etc.
The funny thing is they actually get paid handsomely for this huge effort :rolleyes:.
You have to be proactive and get back to the Insurer with examples from Carzone.ie which would be a more realistic valuation if you were to walk into a Garage looking to purchase a Car similar to your own.
Point out to the Insurer that the examples VMS gave are totally unrealistic and that you have some examples of Cars for sale that are a better match for your Car.
They will eventually up their offer, but usually to somewhere in the middle of the range.

That's exactly what I did. Prepared a spreadsheet with every car I could find and listed why it was or wasn't a suitable match. The insurer chose to ignore this and said there was nothing they could do about the valuation.

When they eventually sent the VMS report, they sent it along with a slightly increased offer. What I found in the report was very similar to what you have just said. Some of the cars had fewer doors than mine, different sized engine, no NCT, no tax, to name but a few things.

The claims manager told me he doesn't like the VMS system... Neither do I. I threw things like the OMSP (Open Market Sale Price) from Revenue.ie and a few other free and paid valuations at them, but they don't seem to care. But as soon as I spot an issue with the VMS report content, they are all ears.

Henry Ford III

Get a claims assessor. Let them argue the case.