Insurance Claim - Non Standard Parts

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

My wife was driving my Impreza WRX yesterday when a van went into the back of her at a roundabout. No injuries luckily, but some damage to the car.

It's been dealer modified with the prodrive performance pack which includes a prodrive exhaust, this is declared on the insurance.

The exhaust system has been damaged during the shunt.

 

My question is, am I within my rights (or likely to receive resistance from the repairers) by insisting that the exhaust is replaced with a subaru supplied prodrive system, not an aftermarket bog standard one? The cost of a new prodrive system will be significantly more.

 

To my mind we are claiming from the other parties insurance anyway and they should restore the car to its previous condition. Is this logic correct? I've never claimed on an accident before, so not sure where I stand. I have a feeling the repairers will try to cut corners.

 

thanks

James

[GilesW 41]

Yes. Insurance is there to provide you with a like for like replacement.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

As above like for like however only upto the value of the car at the time of the accident (unless you have personal accident cover which goes much higher - your mods were declared right?) so you could end up with standard parts or a cat d write off due to uneconomical repair with which you would have the option to buy back at 10% of the claim cost or rather 10% less of the claim settle.

[nveeate 78]

As long as you'd declared the mods (whether or not it's your insurance paying out), then yes - you should be asking for them to replace the Prodrive stuff. If you hadnt separately declared them, I'd keep quiet or you could put yourself in an uninsured position!

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

Thanks for the replies, yes the mods have been declared so I shouldn't have any trouble there. Hopefully it won't be written off as it's worth at least £4k (or it was..). In any case I'll now press for genuine prodrive parts and see what they say.

 

cheers

[omega 82]

iam not so sure

I had a modified car and all mods where declared but in the small print of the insurance it said they only replaced with standard parts.

but as you are claiming against someone else it could be different as you can claim for loss.

I would take it back to where you had the work done and get a quote and submit it to them.

Edited July 14, 2013 by omega

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Probably best to check the t&c's & small print in your own policy paperwork as it tends to vary from insurer to insurer, who the underwriter is, etc, as what I have agreed for my Focus RS, is different to the t&c's on my 205 & my Saxo all of which have different agreements on how mods are replaced.

 

In the instance of my Focus RS it's worded that all parts are replaced with the same modified part, but only where the part is readily available - if it's not available (I.e company that made the exhaust / manifold no longer makes them) then it's either replaced with the nearest equivalent available in terms of quality/price or a payment is made to myself directly to the value of the original part minus any wear & tear to contribute towards the purchase of a suitable replacement part.

 

My Saxo however has no provision for this however, due to the low market value of the car, and therefore the car would be automatically written off instead.

[nveeate 78]

I think the point is he's not claiming off his own insurance, so the t&cs and small print re modified parts are irrelevant. As long as he's fully insured (i.e. mods declared, as James has said they were), then there's no harm in jumping up and down about the mods - it'll be the other insurance company that's paying, and their t&cs etc don't apply to third parties.

 

I'd be pushing to get the car returned into its pre-accident condition, ie. with the prodrive bits...presumably your insurers are aware of the accident, so I'd ask them to push it for you if possible.

 

Good luck!

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

Just read the policy wording and looks like they will only replace with standard parts, even though they were declared on the policy... always read the small print.

 

I'm still unclear though as we're claiming against someone elses policy, so surely the onus is on the other party's insurers to reinstate my car to it's original condition (my t&C's shouldn't come into it)? Only seems right, when it's entirely their fault. I have a feeling I will lose out though..

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Yeah sorry, should have added to my last post that the t&c's on the policy I have on my cars relate to any claims made by myself or against a 3rd party. Essentially replacement is replacement regardless of whether you've claimed for something you've done or something someone else has done to the car.

 

In any case you're probably best calling your insurer direct & asking them for clarification as all we can do is speculate based on our own experience / policies

 

What's the current age / value of the WRX? and how much, if they are still available, are the Prodrive exhaust systems to buy new? Bear in mind the % that insurers allow for before a car gets made a cat d, if it's an older lower value WRX & the exhaust is of relatively high value new, compared to the value of the car, you could still end up with the car being made a cat d

Edited July 14, 2013 by AlexRS2782

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

Alex, the car's a 2004 WRX with 70k on it. Probably worth £4-4.5k. I've asked Subaru for a price on the prodrive exhaust and they're going to get back to me, but I think the backbox alone is over £300.

Depends whether the damage extends further back up the system or not as I imagine the catted centre section would be more again. There's also the cost of a new rear bumper if it can't be repaired. I could hazard a guess at the total cost, but it would be pure speculation, so will have to wait and see.

Cat d would be a crime.

[deathbringer929 49 1 Cars]

best to claim directly from the 3rd party insurer without involving your own. who is the 3rd party insurer? you say you think the repairer might cut corners? remember the repairer is governed by the insurer and can only replace or repair as authorised by the insurer.

 

some insurers may repair up to 100% of the pre accident value others only 60%. if the damage is not too heavy and its still roadworthy you may ask for a cash in lieu settlement, ie they would pay you a cheque normally for the cost of repair less the vat. if the repair cost exceeds the pre acc value or repairable threshold they would total loss and may let you retain salvage for a percentage of the pre acc value.

 

have you got an accurate pre acc value and repair cost?

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

Unfortunately we've already gone down the route of going through our own insurance company. I think the cost of repairs should be low enough to make it economical (I hope). I don't have either an accurate pre acc value or repair cost though. Will have to play it by ear when the repairers assess the damage.

Thanks for the info

 

cheers

[m_attt 31 1 Cars]

beacause its not your fault, im sure you can refuse it to be written off, and make them repair it. I did it with my old bmw

[deathbringer929 49 1 Cars]

Unfortunately we've already gone down the route of going through our own insurance company. I think the cost of repairs should be low enough to make it economical (I hope). I don't have either an accurate pre acc value or repair cost though. Will have to play it by ear when the repairers assess the damage.

Thanks for the info

 

cheers

 

then you will be bound by the t&c's in your policy. dependant on insurer it may be dealt with via an image engineer or have a physical inspetion carried out. your best bet would be to talk to the inspecting engineer regarding any outcome, dont bother with anyone in any claims dept. as they wont have all the technical details.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Was a PPP not an option available at purchase? Thus not a modification more of an option?

 

I know mine had both a PPP and the SL pack at original delivery.

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

ORB,

 

PPP was a factory option from 2005 onwards, mine's a 2004 so was a dealer fit, though arguably still an 'optional extra', I may be on dodgy ground trying to claim that though.

The logic of the insurers is beyond me, today their claims dept have been arguing the toss over replacing the mods and whether we should pay and then reclaim the excess (less keen on getting in touch with the other party's insurers though) whilst their own legal department has been in touch saying don't worry, if you're out of pocket in any way we will get you reimbursed. Not exactly joined up thinking.

 

Deathbringer - I think you got it spot on, had I known better I would have dealt directly with the other party's insurers.

[deathbringer929 49 1 Cars]

ORB,

 

PPP was a factory option from 2005 onwards, mine's a 2004 so was a dealer fit, though arguably still an 'optional extra', I may be on dodgy ground trying to claim that though.

The logic of the insurers is beyond me, today their claims dept have been arguing the toss over replacing the mods and whether we should pay and then reclaim the excess (less keen on getting in touch with the other party's insurers though) whilst their own legal department has been in touch saying don't worry, if you're out of pocket in any way we will get you reimbursed. Not exactly joined up thinking.

 

Deathbringer - I think you got it spot on, had I known better I would have dealt directly with the other party's insurers.

 

have you tried claiming from the 3rd party insurer directly? you may be able to cancel your claim with yours. excess is always applicable fault or non fault though some insurers may waive it but not all of them. who are yours and the 3rd party insurers?

[skyinsurance 2]

Some insurers will cover modified cars but not actually cover the modifications, a good specialist insurer will offer like for like modification cover.

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

have you tried claiming from the 3rd party insurer directly? you may be able to cancel your claim with yours. excess is always applicable fault or non fault though some insurers may waive it but not all of them. who are yours and the 3rd party insurers?

 

Yes, after speaking to the repair garage we've done exactly that and cancelled the claim in order to go direct. Our insurers attitude and communication was very poor. Had I known we could do this to start with we'd have saved a lot of time and hassle.

 

thanks for all the input - have learnt a few lessons.

[AlexRS2782 136 1 Cars]

Don't forget that because you've advised your insurer of the bump, but even though you've not asked them to process a claim, it's still on the system so you can still expect your premium at renewal to go up

[James_K 6 1 Cars]

Yeah, I was expecting something along those lines. I assume you have to declare any accident anyway, whether or not you are at fault. I would hope they'd recognise the difference between a fault and no-fault accident though (being optimistic)..

[welshpug 1,657]

indeed you would have needed to declare it regardless.

[Slo 283 1 Cars]

only at renewal and an unsettled claim doesn't affect loss of ncb OR renewal price i speak from experience

[deathbringer929 49 1 Cars]

only at renewal and an unsettled claim doesn't affect loss of ncb OR renewal price i speak from experience

 

not strictly true, all insurers treat these matters differently.