Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs

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Sun 12 Mar 2017 17:57
Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs - Matthew Breckons

This might be a daft question but here goes.

Over the past 5 years me and my wife (who is a named driver on my insurance) have had a few, all non-fault or windscreen, claims on our insurance policies.

What the insurance companies never seem to do is provide the value of the repairs which is, as I understand it, one of the pieces of information I need for a new insurance quote, or at least it is on the comparison websites (some have a 'price unknown' option but others don't). Last year I had my bumper cracked by a van hitting me but as the other party's insurance company paid I didn't receive any documentation, I went back to the company that did the work and they eventually sent me a copy of the invoice.

Then last week a lorry thew up a stone which broke my windscreen, we had windscreen cover with a £75 excess. My wife asked the autoglass mechanic what the cost of the repair was that she should put in for future quotes and he told her £75, she said this was the excess and not the cost of the repair but he said he didn't know how much the repair was but it was only the £75 that she needed. What I did was go back to autoglass as a prospective new customer, give them my reg and get a quote which I've used on the comparison site.

Do I have the wrong end of the stick here? The figure I need for quotes is the bottom-line, what was the cost of the damage caused which you claimed for (either through your own or another insurance company)....isn't it?

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Sun 12 Mar 2017 18:18
Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs - Andrew-T

Your question suggests that you left the repairs to the insurers to sort out. I have had two cars repaired under insurance since about 2004, one very recently; the early one was a self-inflicted accident, the other caused by someone driving into my path from a side entry.

Insurers usually expect to use one of their affiliated repairers to do the work. On the first occasion I said I would prefer my recommended bodyshop, as the insurer's repairer was about 25 miles away; no problem. On the recent occasion, when the third party admitted liability, I again preferred a local repairer (the collision actually happened 30 yards from it) and got a quotation from them. The insurers expected to write-off my 8-year-old car, but I chose to top up their offer with £250 to put my car back on the road.

So if you arrange the repairs yourself, you will know what it costs. It may also cause less inconvenience while your car is unavailable.

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Sun 12 Mar 2017 18:27
Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs - skidpan

About 5 years ago when dad hit a barrier in a car park I arranged for the approved repairer to collect the car. They fixed it but we collected it since he got it back a day earlier. No ide how much the damage was, must have been a tidy sum, needed a whole side and since it was metallic the paint had to be blended into the front, rear and roof.

When the insurance came up for renewal I did the usual internet price checks for dad and none asked what the repairs cost, just as well since we had no idea and "a fair bit" would probably have been insufficient.

Suggest you try a different search provider.

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Sun 12 Mar 2017 20:40
Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs - Galaxy

The last non-fault accident I was involved in, several years ago, I used my insurance companies recommended repairer. I asked them for copies of all the relevant documentation, including the invoice they were going to send to my insurance company and the photographs they had also send. I received all this without any problem, for which I concluded you just need to ask.

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Mon 13 Mar 2017 06:00
Car Insurance Quotes - Value of repairs - catsdad
Being asked for the cost might well be a good thing. For example if you drive a company car where every ding has to be recorded you can accumulate a few "claims". If you then buy your own car and need insurance it will presumably keep the cost down if the repair costs have been insignificant?
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