[tenpinn]

Hi I have a couple of questions i am asking for a collegue. Her husband had a car accident which wrote off the car and they are only covered third party fire and theft and they left the car in a near by car park and it got stolen 2 days after the accident, are they still insured for the theft side? Also they believe the other driver had been drinking however the police did not breathalize him, are there any reasons for this and should they of done? if you have any more questions just ask and any help/advice on this would be greatly appreciated,

[tenpinn]

can anyone help please????

[sparklelard]

Was the vehicle locked when it was left in the car park?

Did the police attend the scene?

[tenpinn]

Thanks for replying sparklelard.

The car was locked and the police did attend. the car was a write off and had rolled during the collision so the windscreen was smashed in and the back wheel was bent so it was in undrivable condition.

[Jem111]

If the original collision was the other driver's fault your friend should look into claiming off the other drivers insurance. Or, the Motor Insurance Bureau if they are uninsured.

If the car was written off and it was the husband's fault - they are not covered for the damage.

As for the theft - if the car was undriveable/ a write off - is it only theft of a scrap car?

Speak to their insurance company.

[tenpinn]

well the crash was due to the other driver however his insurance is saying as they dont have the car to asses the damage then they wont pay plus its the whole thing about proving who is to blame, the car was a write off however could be used for spares as it was a rear side collision

[Jem111]

Without wishing to imply anything, any insurance company is going to be suspicious if the vehicle goes missing - it must seem quite a coincidence.

Still, you say the police attended the scene so an officer would be able to provide a staement proving that the accident had taken place.

Your friend has no claim on his own insurance policy - TPFT only. He must have informed them about the accident before the vehicle was stolen. At which point his policy effectively ended - I think - check with them for certain.

As for claiming off the other driver - he knows who the insurance company is, the attending police officer can verify the vehicle details - i.e. your friend is not claiming an inflated amount - the police officer should be abble to confirm the details of the two vehicles involved.

It's going to be a battle but - as long as there is no fraud involved - your friend should pursue the claim with the other driver's insurers

If the car was of lowish value (otherwise you would have comprehensive cover) and it was a write-off - the insurers will wonder why anybody would steal it.

[snutalafalut]

You will need to submit 2 seperate claims on your insurer! one for the accident and one for the theft.

[KJC1000]

Its standard procedure for the police to breathalyse after a RTC so I'm suprised that they didn't and I'm not sure what happens given that they haven't - I would imagine that this is a point worth pursuing. On the theft - check your T&C's - I can't imagine that it says that the car has to be in a certain condition? Its still theft whether you'd just had the window smashed or a new stereo fitted. So long as you meet the conditions set in the T&C's then you should have a case

[Snowball]

If you have police evidence that the vehicle was badly damaged, to the point of obviously being written off, the following conditions apply:

If the car was fairly new, the insurers would pay out for write off, take possession of the vehicle, and sell it on to the trade.

As it was only Third Party insured, I guess it may have been fairly old. In this case, any sizable repair would far exceed the write off cost, and the car would have little scrap value.

So, if the fault lies with the driver who hit you, then his insurers should have no problem in paying out a write off sum, based on expected average condition for age of vehicle. The police, the DVLA, and your own insurers can confirm existence of the vehicle.

Your only problem is getting round the natural habit of insurance companies in avoiding any payout if an excuse can be raised.

[myoldcar]

you have probably hit the nail on the head there, I bet someone took it and cashed it in for scrap value probably around £50

[Snowball]

Originally Posted by myoldcar

you have probably hit the nail on the head there, I bet someone took it and cashed it in for scrap value probably around £50

Unless the scrap merchant obtained proof of ownership (which he could not in such circumstances), he could be charged with receiving/handling stolen goods.

[tenpinn]

Just want to say thanks for your replys, i have passed onto my colleague and this is where it stands. her insurer paid out to the other driver as they said they shouldn't of turned if there was a oncoming car, didn't seem to care that he was speeding in a bus lane but oh well they have let it be and have put it down to experience and have now gone back to fully comp and have decided to never have TPFT insurance again to save a few quid because it ended up costing them a lot more. as for the theft the insurance doesn't want to know so they are leaving it as that and have changed insurance company's too.

[Snowball]

Most of our expenditure these days is because of what someone else may do; more so than to cover our own errors.