The car insurance information contained within these pages is based on information supplied by The Claims Guru, a site packed with useful information about the inner workings of insurance companies and their products.
Car Insurance FAQs (U-Z)
Uninsured Losses:
Q : Have looked at your site with great interest and have a question to pose for your FAQ section. My car was a total loss after an accident and was not my fault, is it possible to claim (under uninsured losses) for the further expenses incurred in replacing the car? Eg time off work, vehicle history checks, inspections, hire car.
A : You can reclaim any reasonable expense that a court would award you. Assuming you are making the efforts to replace the car whilst awaiting the settlement cheque, the costs involved in finding a replacement for your car could come under 'general inconvenience' and car hire is certainly claimable. Where you can produce a receipt or documented evidence of a loss, such as an invoice for car hire, you should not experience any difficulty. Where you are claiming for general inconvenience, the figure is usually negotiable. Some third party insurers will be more generous than others.The problems start to arise when you claim for costs incurred after you have been sent the cheque for your total loss value. Insurers seem to think that you can then wave a magic wand and a replacement car just appears. i.e. they are more reluctant to pay up for losses incurred at this stage. At the end of the day, if you don't get what you think you should, go for a hearing in the small claims track of your county court.
"I was on my way to see an unconscious patient who had convulsions and
was blocked by a tanker"
Extracts taken from actual claim forms submitted to
a number of UK car insurance companies
Q : I am writing with regards to claiming for Loss of Vehicle use resulting from a Road Traffice Accident. I would appreciate it if you could provide information as to the rates at which u can claim, for loss of vehicle use per day.
A : The rate is usually negotiable. In my experience, most reasonable insurers would settle at £10 a day/£70 per week for short term loss of use. If you are looking at longer term then £50 a week would seem reasonable. If you want more, you would need to be able to justify it.
Q : Why do I have to accept a total loss when my car could be repaired for more money?
A : This question was considered in the Courts some years ago. Darbyshire V Warran (1963) held that an owner of an old car cannot expect to have it repaired at a cost greater than its market balue unless the car is uniquie and irreplaceable and where the car is readily replaceable, the measure of damage shall be the vehicle's market value.
"I was backing my car out of the driveway in the usual manner, when it was struck by the other car in the same place it had been struck several times before."
Extracts taken from actual claim forms
submitted to
a number of UK car insurance companies
