Legal advice please. Insurance is refusing to pay?

Question

my motorbike was written off in an accident that wasn't my fault. The third partys insurance is refusing to pay the amount my bike was insured for. In fact they have offered me less than a third of the price. it was insured for 900 and they've offered me 270. Theres no way i can replace my transport for 270 pounds. what rights do i have and what can i do?

Answer 1

That will be their first offer - refuse it and keep refusing till you are offered enough. Ins co do this in the hope that you will accept and go away. don't let them get what they want. Also, when you accept an amount ask to buy your bike back at a fraction of the value to fix it.

Answer 2

Get a Lawyer

I don't know how they do it over the Pond on your side

BUT over here I recommend a Lawyer ...

Look for a lawyer that will take your case for 15 to 20 % or all the fee's,,,, they can make the other person pay for and/or their Insurnace company...

Their job is to short you (give you less) and save the company money in the long run.

Call a Lawyer near you...

Answer 3

Insurance companies always work on the following basis:-

First Deny responsibility and refuse claim

Second accept claim with limited liability and make stupidly low offer.

Third Accept claim and make another low offer

Fourth Accept Claim and make a 75% offer

and if you pressurise them and don't give in by insisting that rather than pay you cash THEY obtain the replacement bike (As is your right) they finally make a reasonable offer.

Stick to your Guns and the offers will improve - you do NOT need a lawyer as that will cot more than the  ÃƒÂ‚£900 you asking for!

Answer 4

The third party don`t care what you insure your bike for.

If you wanted top book price, you should have paid for fully comprehensive insurance and claimed from your own policy then had your insurers claim back their costs from the other party.

But, as to answer what you can do, the answer is, nothing.

A lawyer can`t do anything.

Answer 5

Insurance doesn't pay the maximum something is insured for.  In the case of a write off, a total loss, they will pay fair market value, adjusted for condition, at the time of loss.  Not replacement value, not what it cost you new, not the maximum it's covered for.  Fair market value.  Sorry, other than finding several other bikes in the exact same condition as yours in your area and showing their offer is low based on that, there is nothing you can do.

Answer 6

As other posters have suggested provide evidence the bike was worth £900.

Insurance companies sometimes try and offer low amounts in the hope you aer mug enough to accept a low value.

Answer 7

Because the value of the motorbike was not high then I disagree with the other contributors that you should go to a lawyer because the costs of a lawyer will outweigh the amount they will charge you or the percentage they will take from you. Instead, warn the third party insurers yourself in writing that if they do not pay up the £900 (get evidence that was indeed the market value of the m/bike from autotrader-available online and your receipt and service record etc) and then you wil issue proceedings in the county court.  If you have to issue proceedings in the county court you can go the court service website which is very useful and there you will see that you need to issue what is called a claim form and and particulars of claim. In those two documents you need to set out what has happened, what you are claiming, why you are claiming and how much you are claiming. You can even claim interest at 8% !  The third party insurers will then have 14 days to defend your claim. If they do you will go to a small claims hearing and if they do not then you should seek what is called "judgement in default" which means you win.  For more details go and speak to the court office at the nearest county court to where you live.

Best of luck.

Answer 8

Assuming you are in the UK your case is not unusual Insurance companies are getting away with murder. Insurance is one thing which should have been brought into line regarding the European Union. Insurance abroad is much fairer and policy holders are better protected!

Answer 9

If you have a third party who is fully to blame, sue him in small claims court. He will have to pay out what it costs you to repair or replace your bike, plus any incidental costs. What his insurance offers will be irrelevant

Answer 10

although you give an estimated value when you buy the insurance, the policy will say "market value".

You need to prove with them that the bike is worth more by providing adverts for similar bikes.

Most insurance companies will take adverts from AutoMart as evidence of market value.

done it.

Answer 11

The trouble is it has been written off. If it is written off, you only get market value.

I was driving my mother's car and someone went in the back of me causing a lot of damage that wasn't visible at first - the whole floor pan under the boot was shunted forward. Mum drove a 99 BMW and so the value of the car on the market was £3000 approx.

However, to her, knowing the provenance of the car and the fact that to get a car as comfortable and nice to drive would likely cost £5000 upwards it felt like a kick in the teeth. The logic behind it is that £270 is adequate to get you an equivalent replacement.

What we did was take it to various garages and get quotes for the repairs.

Surprisingly, the BMW main dealer came out cheapest under £3000 so the car was repaired and not written off.

All you can do is get alternative quotes for repairs I'm afraid. I know it sounds horrible to hear, but my father had to say to my mother the truth - if your car is written off, then they can only go on market value for the car, even if to you, it is worth more.

All you can do is get other garages to carry out repair or write off estimates.

Answer 12

If your bike was insured for a certain "stated" value on your own policy, then use your own coverage.  Otherwise, you are likely receiving the Actual Cash Value for your vehicle.  

Do you know if they have deducted any percentage of liability from the settlement?  You say you were not at fault, but do you know if the insurance company has actually assessed some liability on you?  

Do you know if they adjuster has all of the correct info related to your bike?  For example, the correct year, make, model and mileage?   Ask the adjuster how they determined the ACV.  

At this point, you need to do a little homework, if you want them to offer you more.  The burden of proof is on you to prove that your vehicle was worth more than the offer.   Find similar bikes from dealers, private sales etc., and send this info to the insurance company.  

If this should fail, you can file a complaint with the Insurance Commissioner, or whatever you call  it where you live.

Answer 13

well i think you can claim more than what you have got ..

There are lot of forums like this one which may help you...

http://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/index....

vamsi:

http://insurancedone.blogspot.com

Answer 14

The payment to you does not and should not have anything to do with what it is insured for.  The payoff for a totaled vehicle is based on what your cycle is worth called "Fair Market Value".  You can, if you like, get your own "opinion(s)" as to what your cycle is worth if you don't think they are giving you enough.  Take your new opinion(s) to the insurance company and try to negotiate a higher payoff.