Volvo V50 - Need urgent car insurance advice please

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Wed 5 Sep 2018 20:36
Volvo V50 - Need urgent car insurance advice please - gordon40uk

Hi I'm hoping someone can give me some advice. Last month while driving along the road our car filled with smoke/fumes then packed in. Passers buy helped get my grandkids out the car and someone phoned the fire service. The fire service attended, opened the bonnet, hosed the engine down then left.
I phoned my insurance firm and told them what had happened and that the fire service attended and they had a recovery service pick the car up.
One week later i got a report from the insurance company telling me the car was beyond repair and the sequence i had to take, i.e, contact DVLA and put the car in there name, contact the finance company for a settlement figure all of which i did.
Now today i had a phonemail saying there engineers had examined the car and it was not a fire but a major failure of the turbo which sent fumes throughout the car and that as such it was repairable. They then went on to say that if i wanted them to have the car delivered to my address i would lose my no claims bonus. Now my question is, where do i stand as they have previously written to me saying the car was NOT repairable, that i was to put the car in there name through DVLA so really I'm not the owner and already had my early settlement figure from the finance firm based on the letter from insurance that they had written the car off. The guy on the phone says they made that decision on writing the car off because i said possible engine fire and apologised and told me to ignore the letter! Any advice on what i should do, if there is anything would be very appreciated. Thanks

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Wed 5 Sep 2018 22:16
Volvo V50 - Need urgent car insurance advice please - KJP 123

I do not disbelieve the OP but it seems such an odd sequence of events that I wonder if it is normal practice.

The insurance company wrote off the car before their examiners had seen it.

Put the car in their name – I would have thought that would only be done when the claim is settled.

Finance figure would seem irrelevant to settlement figure, ie value of car, could be higher or lower. Surely up to insured to sort out directly with finance company or do insurers pay direct to finance companies?

It could have been a relatively minor electrical fire so insurers were too hasty to write the car off and maybe a warranty claim for fire or turbo.

If it is a just a blown turbo, not a fire from that, is not covered under motor insurance, so no claim.

As there is no claim you should not lose NCB. Rather than possibly losing it I would use a local garage to recover the car and argue costs later.

But car was owned by OP, then insurance company, then maybe OP again; that is not going to look good if he sells.

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