Crashed! Advice please re options re insurance (1 Viewer)

[tullie]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]I crashed into a herd of horses roaming around the motorway in the dead of night.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]There were other cars behind me who did the same. I am with the AA for European breakdown and recovery who I managed to convince to take me and the motorhome to the ferry port at Santander so at least I could get home if the ferry let me board.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Little did I know that this happens a lot and Brittany Ferries are used to it. A recovery truck takes you onto the ferry last of all and when we arrive in Plymouth a recovery company will take me off.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Yes I am still in the middle of my little adventure ..the ferry was delayed because of bad weather and we will arrive in Plymouth at 1.00pm[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]So my Hymer Camp55 with a Fiat Ducato 2.5 engine has suffered some damage. Only the door and a grill on the camper is affected. The main hit was in the passenger side which is completely stoved in. Can't get the bonnet open to see any damage in the engine, cant't open the passenger side door. Well maybe you can but then it possible wouldn't shut.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]So my problem now is what to do. The camper is full of stuff mine, my passengers large cases, and some tools belonging to a neighbour.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]The insurance company Alliance will be in touch soon. They want to take it to a garage/repairer which they use in the area and decide whether its worth repairing. Then they will have to take it to Carlisle where I live. This is what want to happen in the first instance as I want all my stuff with me and the camper. ( I already have another holiday in it booked for August).[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]If they say it will be written off they say something about transporting all my stuff to me. The AA will take over getting me and my passenger home but they are not responsible for any of my things.[/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Help Please! Some advice...other options?? are there any??[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]I haven't slept well and am still a little shocked over the accident and the consequences. So I am not best place to make any major decisions. The camper is insured for £7000. It cost me £5,500 last year and I have spent about £2,500 on it recently replacing the transmission. [/FONT]


[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Any advice would be most helpful. We get into port at 1.00pm after which I'll have to start to decide what to do or be told what to do by my insurance company which is Alliance[/FONT]
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Thanks[/FONT]

 

[buttons]

If you cant get the Hymer and contents home then hiring a van to drop off at home for yourself and passenger is an option to clear the Hymer out and leave it at a garage empty.

 

[tullie]

If you cant get the Hymer and contents home then hiring a van to drop off at home for yourself and passenger is an option to clear the Hymer out and leave it at a garage empty.

Yes. The easiest way for me to get home is by hiring a vehicle which my insurers or the AA will pay for I think. It will be cheaper than other options eg, train and less time and faff for me.

However I want my camper to come home with me whether it is repairable or not and I don't know if I can insist. I don't want anyone else packing up my stuff after they decide what to do with it. There is so much and I don't want anything to go missing in transit. The transit will have to be a van anyway!

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[alfandM]

when you land in the uk,speak with your insurance and the AA and tell them you would rather have the motorhome taken to your home county, as it will be more easier for you there, i,e the MH in a local garage for the repairs and for your collection when finished, all your goods will be in the right place and your selfs,making it all cheaper for your insurance company in the long run, thats the best route i would of thought for you's, good luck, Regards Alf.

 

[tullie]

when you land in the uk,speak with your insurance and the AA and tell them you would rather have the motorhome taken to your home county, as it will be more easier for you there, i,e the MH in a local garage for the repairs and for your collection when finished, all your goods will be in the right place and your selfs,making it all cheaper for your insurance company in the long run, thats the best route i would of thought for you's, good luck, Regards Alf.

Thanks Alf.
I agree. Its what I want. But it seems the insurance company may have other ideas and will not pay for the transport if they decide the motorhome cannot be repaired.
I do not know if I have the right to insist that they take me and it home!

 

[rainbow chasers]

You are welcome to store the stuff at our unit until you are ready to collect. We are based near st austell (about 40 miles wrong direction). Only have a caddy van though - so depends how much stuff you took! lol!

Option is there is you get stuck!


Failing that - there are storage places around Plymouth where you can store indoors 01752 604604. Insurance would probably cover that.

Whichever, with your recovery package, they should give to a hire car to take you home which will be collected later when they decide what to do with your vehicle.

You should (if you have full) be able to take the whole lot home, though they try not to. Which company is on the recovery sheet (ie euroassist, etc)

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[Terry]

You can insist that you and camper are taken home and repaired by a garage of your choosing They will try and convince you otherwiseIf you want you could let them take it to there local repair shop for a quick assessment i.e. write off etc, then get them to repatriate you van and contents home so that you can get whoever to repair, even if you agree to use there recomended repair firm they will have one near to you/home
Terry
Edit moved on abit while typing heehee

 

[alfandM]

Hi Tullie, the advice from terry is in your write, do not let the insurance ,sway your mind to there direction, keep your foot firmly down,that,s why you pay your premium, and read your policy why your at it, good luck Alf.

 

[rainbow chasers]

Thanks Alf.
I agree. Its what I want. But it seems the insurance company may have other ideas and will not pay for the transport if they decide the motorhome cannot be repaired.
I do not know if I have the right to insist that they take me and it home!

As Terry has already said - they have to if you have repatriation with your cover. This is usually covered in euro packages as standard. Check your policy! They should give you a loan car at least if you have full recovery - which a euro would be.

Oh - if they offer to relay you home, insist on a hire car for whatever reason you can think of - as a relay will take forever to get you to carlisle!

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[tullie]

You can insist that you and camper are taken home and repaired by a garage of your choosing They will try and convince you otherwiseIf you want you could let them take it to there local repair shop for a quick assessment i.e. write off etc, then get them to repatriate you van and contents home so that you can get whoever to repair, even if you agree to use there recomended repair firm they will have one near to you/home
Terry
Edit moved on abit while typing heehee

This is what I want. At the moment I cannot contact anyone by phone until we reach the English coast and get a phone signal. They don't have my email and I have tried to find theirs so at least we can be in contact. Tried Skyping but signal not strong enough. I want to insist in writing!

 

[Wildman]

hi and welcome to the fun, sorry to hear of your predicament. I am however a little confused as to your location
Location: near Velez-Malaga, Spain
About Me: running a bar and holiday cottages in white village near Costa del Sol
or Carlisle? The insurance company will be equally confused if they see it. with the amount of personal goods you seem to state you could be construed as moving house, and your insurance could then be invalid so do tread very carefully. Unless of course you have fulltimers insurance. It looks like a tricky one to me with lots of loopholes for the insurance company. I do hope I am wrong. Any decent insurance will repatriate both you and your personal belongings. Do let us know how you get on.

 

[RogeTeri]

I agree with previous posts. If your breakdown includes recovery it should be to your home address or a garage of your choosing. If they won't agree to this insist on speaking to a manager. They will try to get it to one of their recommended repairers to save on claim. But I'm sure you can demand otherwise. Read your policy documents I understand you're tired and shocked but it may well be worth it.

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[Mel]

You are welcome to store the stuff at our unit until you are ready to collect. We are based near st austell (about 40 miles wrong direction). Only have a caddy van though - so depends how much stuff you took! lol!

Option is there is you get stuck!


You should (if you have full) be able to take the whole lot home, though they try not to. Which company is on the recovery sheet (ie euroassist, etc)

And its things like this that mak Fun worth mutch more than just a forum.

Very nice of a fellow funster to offer help.

Mel

 

[ourcampersbeentrashed]

Our insurance is with Alliance.

They have been great so far. Assessors wont normally do a roadside inspection so if you have a driveway at home theres no reason why you cant be relayed there.

Tell Alliance you are worried about damp getting in and that you want it stored locally undercover until the assessor views it.

Our was stored just 10 minutes away and the assessor telephoned us and we met him at the storage facility.

I said to them that I was concerned it was going to be written off (but continued with but I hoped it could be repaired) and pointed out that for them to automatically convey it straight to a repairer could end up costing them more money so I got my way.

It is my guess it will be written off if I have understood the damage you listed.

Safe journey and good luck with your claim.

 

[jhorsf]

I am sorry to hear of your accident but you are very lucky you were not hurt, although you are no doubt a little shaken, a nice offer from [HI]rainbow chaser[/HI]:thumb: to help with storage, but that is the norm on here someone usually puts themselves out if possible. I hope you get things sorted out I would not worry to much the insurance company sorts things every day for people just like you. Keep us all up to date with what is happening and safe journey home

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[tullie]

Thanks for all the help and advice, the offer of storage and the comments on my status duly noted.
I am now home but the camper stayed in Plymouth.

I am in an insurance nightmare. I bought fully comp through Safeguard and they told me that recovery was not included as the van was over 20 years old. However I have 365 days abroad cover. So when I travelled down to Spain I bought what I thought was AA European Accident and Breakdown recovery with full legal cover for 365 days.

I now find I am insured by Allianz, fully comp. In my telephone calls to both the AA and Allianz as a result of the accident I have received such conflicting information about what they can do for me. During one call I was told by Allianz that I did have recovery. In fact they organised a recovery vehicle to come on to the ferry and take the camper to a secure lot where an assessor/engineer will be going to look at it to see if it is worth repairing. They also said they would pay for my goods to be transported home if the van was written off.
The AA meanwhile have told me that they do not do accident recovery and should not have taken me from the site of the accident to the port of Santander, nor later taken me from outside the port, into the port and onto the ferry! They should only have taken me to the nearest garage. However I and the camper got to the UK and the AA agreed to the hire of a vehicle to get me home when the insurance company said the camper had to stay in Plymouth for an assessment. They agreed to the hire of a large car but I upgraded to a van and will have to suffer the difference in cost and reclaim from them what they should have paid for the car. ( Its only the difference in the one way cost. A Van costs £100 to hire one way and a car £50. The actual hire cost of a van was within a few pounds the same as the car)

I am happy to have emptied the van myself and not to have someone else trawling through my stuff. It was not a lot of stuff but a van made the transfer easier and the packing up quicker and I just wanted to get home!

So now it is out of my hands and I will just have to wait and see, fingers crossed that the van is repairable and I can continue with my plans to visit France and Spain in it in August. Or if it is written off ...use whatever money to but a newer van and have insurance that includes recovery?

Has anyone ever had a van written off? How does that work. Maybe I should put that question under the insurance thread. Thanks again to everyone who replied in my hour of need.

 

[jhorsf]

I will bump this as I know some of you have answers

 

[tullie]

I will bump this as I know some of you have answers

Hello, bump it to where? thanks.

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[busby]

I had my Autocruise written off after an accident in Germany. I managed to drive it back to the uk ok. It took them (caravan guard) about six weeks to make their mind up to write it off. They paid out the amount that i had insured the van at very quickly. It took a little longer for them to pay out on damaged contents. Good luck with your claim.

 

[ourcampersbeentrashed]

I am sorry you have experienced problems with Allianz. Our experience has been very different.

As for advice with regard to if they write off your vehicle start collecting information of any vehicles of the same make model that are for sale. Select only those that have similar mileage and condition to yours. You may find that if say its insured for a value of £10k they may only offer £6k. It would then be up to you to argue the difference and get a better offer.

I am hoping you took photographs inside and out. If damp or rain gets in, this will drastically reduce their offer to you. We had this on our first motorhome that was trashed. Luckily we had taken photos before it was taken away (not through allianz I would add) when the assessor saw it 2/3 weeks later the ceiling had collapsed and rain had penetrated through. We were originally offered about £2k but ended up receiving about £5k on a vehicle we had paid £7k for.

Make sure you detail anything that was damaged. Damage could include damp getting in the clothing etc that you couldnt remove/take home at the time of leaving the vehicle.

Wishing you good luck with it

 

[bigfoot]

It seems you were sold the insurance on the basis of misrepresentation. I'm sure there is a legal expert who could come on this site and correctly advise you,but in short ther is an abitration service through The Motor Insurance Bureau http://www.mib.org.uk/Home/en/default.htm
I am sure it will be resolved to your satisfaction.

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[rainbow chasers]

Insurers will typically reduced by around 25% of the value of the vehicle - some go as low as 50% (trade auction value) but do not accept that. This enables them to sell you 'gap' insurance to cover the large deficit - clever eh? Rip you off for another policy to insure you against them ripping you off!

As already stated, get you heads on, find models of your type, and prices they are selling for. Go to dealer forecourts, local papers etc and print these details or get proof. Must be same model and similar year.

If yours has a particularly unusual layout or interior colour/attribute then use that as the reason why you CANNOT replace the vehicle with the same standard and for the amount they are offering. You will need to fight, and it may take some time.

As for your recovery/insurance packages - you need to go through your paperwork and particularly terms now that you are home with a fine tooth comb.

 

[tullie]

It seems you were sold the insurance on the basis of misrepresentation. I'm sure there is a legal expert who could come on this site and correctly advise you,but in short ther is an abitration service through The Motor Insurance Bureau http://www.mib.org.uk/Home/en/default.htm
I am sure it will be resolved to your satisfaction.

Thanks for your reply. I am unsure of why you think I was sold the insurance on the basis of misrepresentation. Could you explain why you think this is so. I have had so few accidents that I am very 'green' about these things.

 

[Terry]

The simplist way around all the your vans only worth xxxx is to get an agreed value on the van when you insure it :thumb:This happens a lot with self builds :thumb: van costs say 5k then 5 k parts and 5k for doing it total value 15k all agreed at time of insuring so in the even of stolen/write off 15k is what you get Don't think for 1 min that because you paid 5k and 2.5k on the van that you are going to get 7.5k it is the ins mans job to part with as little money to you as he can
terry

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