What are my options ?

[pxh38257]

My motorhome was damaged and the other parties insurance accepted full liability.
My Insurance used 2 local repairers 45 & 90 miles from me, but knew both would take at least 3 months before they could look at what work and parts were required. I was asked by my insurance to get quotes from 3 other repairs which I did and was then given the choice of which one to use. My insurance then authorised the work to be carried out by another company 200 miles from me but it was one that I had got a quote from. Motorhome repaired and ready for collection so wife drove me up there and I drove the motorhome back. At this point I have had no communication with the other persons insurance company just my own. Submitted a claim for 600 miles and 3rd parties insurance has offered me £50 as they say “They have a repairer who is only 30 miles away and I should have used them”. My insurance says i am entitle to 47p per mile but are not prepared to help with my out of pocket expenses.
There are other expenses that the 3rd party accept so they have offered me an interim payment which is £250 short of my claim.

what are my options.?

 

[Carpmart]

Your options are to stick to your guns or chalk it up to experience. Only you can decide.

 

[pxh38257]

Your options are to stick to your guns or chalk it up to experience. Only you can decide.

As they only told my insurance company I should have used one of their repairs 30 miles away 2 months after the repairs were carried out and I had collected the motorhome, I’m going to take them on. They have offered £1100 of a £1356 claim as an interim payment but I know as soon as I agree that will be the end of it.?

 

[pelican]

Think I would accept their generous offer and be pleased I had motorhome back.

 

[TheBig1]

I would suggest you speak to your insurers again about recovering all your losses from the incident. That is what you pay for and hopefully you took the optional legal cover with the insurance or breakdown cover. If they persist in not paying up, tell them that you will raise the complaint with the insurance ombudsman. You could also potentially claim for loss of use and any loss of earnings whilst taking time off work to sort the claim

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[Ernesto]

Tricky one … in all these cases, the test of what’s “reasonable“ usually applies ….and it’s a little odd to drive 200 miles to get a repair done - that journey would mean driving past a lot of potential repairers so unless it could be shown the repair required specialist skills or parts or no one else could do it within a reasonable time frame, they are on sticky ground I reckon.

Your insurer authorised it though, so they must have had a reason (assuming they didn’t just fail to clock the distance involved). I think it’s up to them to make the case to the other insurer as to why the repairer 200 miles away was a reasonable choice … they are under a duty to keep costs to a reasonable level and should be able to justify their decision.

If they can‘t, then it sounds like they may have screwed up …..and it’s then up to your insurers to reimburse you.

 

[pxh38257]

Tricky one … in all these cases, the test of what’s “reasonable“ usually applies ….and it’s a little odd to drive 200 miles to get a repair done - that journey would mean driving past a lot of potential repairers so unless it could be shown the repair required specialist skills or parts or no one else could do it within a reasonable time frame, they are on sticky ground I reckon.

Your insurer authorised it though, so they must have had a reason (assuming they didn’t just fail to clock the distance involved). I think it’s up to them to make the case to the other insurer as to why the repairer 200 miles away was a reasonable choice … they are under a duty to keep costs to a reasonable level and should be able to justify their decision.

If they can‘t, then it sounds like they may have screwed up …..and it’s then up to your insurers to reimburse you.

Of the 3 quotes I obtained for my insurance company they were the cheapest by about £700 and had me back on the road sooner than any of the other quotes. The problem I have is the other insurance company is saying I should have used their repairers because they were closest although I have not received any type Of communication from them until after the repairs were carried out and then it was to the company who submitted my claim for my insurances behalf.

 

[Wh05apk]

For £250 is it really worth months of arguing? Take the money, spring is here, enjoy the van and your time.

 

[St3v3]

They have offered £1100 of a £1356 claim

How much has it actually cost you?

 

[pxh38257]

How much has it actually cost you?

Around £1700

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[St3v3]

Around £1700

Why is the claim lower? And what price are you putting on the mileage?

 

[Ernesto]

Of the 3 quotes I obtained for my insurance company they were the cheapest by about £700 and had me back on the road sooner than any of the other quotes. The problem I have is the other insurance company is saying I should have used their repairers because they were closest although I have not received any type Of communication from them until after the repairs were carried out and then it was to the company who submitted my claim for my insurances behalf.

I dont believe the other insurers have any legal basis to dictate which repairer you use whatsoever.

Your only legal requirement is act reasonably. A £700 saving over "normal" rates, combined with good availability would seem to be very reasonable and ample justification. I reckon your insurers should give them 7 days to pay and then threaten them with interest and further proceedings, unless they can demonstrate how you acted unreasonably.

By not engaging with you until the repair was already complete, the other insurers have completely undermined their position

 

[pxh38257]

Why is the claim lower? And what price are you putting on the mileage?

Mileage was what my insurance company recommended and I think it was around 42p per mile In all I think we did 660 miles between us, my wife took time off to drive up and down to Perth,
We did not claim for any meals or drinks On that day
We were due to go away so we both lost a days holiday as we could not travel until we made alternative arrangements.
no storage fees claimed Whilst we were off the road.
I spent a day trying to get a local repairer to do a suitable repair to get us back on the road.
we ended up booking 2 hotels but 1 required us to make a ferry journey so we paid for that.
no claim for my time dealing with my insurance company, repairers, and organising transportation of the MoHo to Perth.
loss of a weeks camp site fees as we could not give the required cancellation notice.

 

[Odd-no-more]

Do you have legal protection cover on your insurance? If not you need to decide if it's worth it to you to pursue the claim. If it was myself I would go after every penny, but I like a fight, my guess is if a small claims summons is sent the insurers will pay up.

 

[St3v3]

Mileage was what my insurance company recommended and I think it was around 42p per mile In all I think we did 660 miles between us, my wife took time off to drive up and down to Perth,
We did not claim for any meals or drinks On that day
We were due to go away so we both lost a days holiday as we could not travel until we made alternative arrangements.
no storage fees claimed Whilst we were off the road.
I spent a day trying to get a local repairer to do a suitable repair to get us back on the road.
we ended up booking 2 hotels but 1 required us to make a ferry journey so we paid for that.
no claim for my time dealing with my insurance company, repairers, and organising transportation of the MoHo to Perth.
loss of a weeks camp site fees as we could not give the required cancellation notice.

I think the per mile charge is about the only on anyone can actually complain about, as it hasn't actually cost you any where near that. The wear and tear element is fine for a company asking someone to use a personal car for up to 10,000 miles, but questionable here.

Everything else sounds like you're being perfectly reasonable though, so it's up to you. Take the cash and forget it or possibly get it upped by a little bit with a bit more time spent arguing with them.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

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[stuartholmes]

Your insurer told you where to get the repair done & you followed their instruction. That makes it their job to reimburse all your reasonable & related essential costs and THEIR job to re-claim against the other vehicle's insurer.
Remind them of this (politely, I don't need to add!) and tell them you will be expecting payment within 14 days. If you don't get it your option is an equally polite, concise but comprehensive explanation to the Financial Services Ombudsman with the request that they intervene on your behalf to ensure you are ''properly & fully compensated for all the costs in getting the vehicle repaired''..

I know someone who used to work in motor insurance, he loved the ombudsman. Or ombudswoman.

 

[Nanniemate]

Can you prove that you needed the vehicle ie booked ferries/campsites so you could wait the 2 months is it your only vehicle, I'm sure these questionable maybe asked

 

[pxh38257]

Well it’s been just over 7 months since my motorhome was damaged and I’m pleased to say was repaired within about 10 weeks but then it has taken about 6 months to receive my out of pocket expects from the other insurance company who admitted liability. The main stumbling block was weeks after the repairs had been carried out and I was back on the road they argued I should have had my motorhome repaired locally. The fact that they never contacted me or my insurance company about the repair beforehand meant that everything was done and dusted.

 

[PaulOH]

That's a result! This is a case history to be preserved for others who may run into this type of nonsense. It is very regrettable that you had to wait, but you got a result.

In this day & age, where we're assured of compliance and fair-play, there are many who will try to avoid compliance and buck fair-play using any available 'legal' route. Looks like your's tried it on and found it was a non-runner! Spend the money on something nice!!!

 

[Ernesto]

Glad to hear its sorted...but I don't think I would be rushing to reinsure with your insurance company. To keep you waiting that long, doesn't feel like great service at all

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[pxh38257]

Glad to hear its sorted...but I don't think I would be rushing to reinsure with your insurance company. To keep you waiting that long, doesn't feel like great service at all

They too were waiting to be refunded the cost of having my vehicle transported to Perth. When I spoke to them originally about the damage the guided me through the process and spoke with their nearest repairers but advised me that it would be November before they could even look at it so if I knew or wanted to use another repairer that was fine as long as I had at least 2 quotes. They even provided me with an email with confirmation the other insurance company acepted liability and it was classed as a no blame claim on my policy. Within a week of getting my quotes they contacted the repairers and gave the go ahead. As soon as the parts were in they organised for my motorhome to be collected and delivered to Scotland. The only problem we had was as it was the Tuesday before we could report the issue properly and we were due away on the Thursday they did not have enough time to sort out a replacement motorhome for us so we used hotels instead, I’m insured with Comfort and had no hesitation in renewing our policy this year the other parties was with another big company.

 

[Geistguy]

Your contract of insurance is with your own insurer, if you decide to claim on your own policy then it's what your insurer agrees to that is important. It sounds as though you have tried your best to mitigate your loss by going for the cheapest quote by £700. You may struggle to recoup all of your travelling expenses so it may worth considering a close offer. Do remember that accepting an offer it will be on a " full and final" basis unless classed as interim.