Has your car been damaged after an accident?

GETTING it repaired? Your insurer may want to send someone to inspect your car before you get it repaired.

They may ask you to use an approved repairer or provide them with estimates before getting repairs done.

You may have to pay some of the repair cost yourself if your vehicle is in a better condition after repairs than it was beforehand.

If your insurer decides that it is not economical to repair your vehicle they should offer you the vehicle’s market value. They normally then take the vehicle from you but you may be able to negotiate to keep it. This is known as an insurance write off.

If your car is an insurance write-off and your insurer decides that it is not economical to repair, they should offer you the car’s market value at the time of the accident. They normally then take the car from you but you may be able to negotiate to keep it.

If you don’t agree the amount you’re offered is fair, you’ll need to give the insurer or insurance broker evidence to show your car is worth more.

For example, you could give prices of similar cars for sale in the local area. You can also get a valuation from an independent qualified engineer, if you wanted to pay for this.

Once the claim is settled, your insurer will keep the damaged car. If you want to keep it instead, you can negotiate with the insurer. The insurer will only let you keep the car if it’s possible to repair it to make it roadworthy again. In this case, money will be taken off the amount you get, to cover the cost of the salvage value of the car.

Your insurer should get your consent to send your written-off car to the scrapyard for sale or to be broken into parts. If they don’t get your consent, then scrap the car and decide not to settle your claim, you are entitled to claim the salvage value of the car.

If you have an accident in an older car with minor damage, you may decide not to claim on your insurance in case the car is written off. Then you can get the car repaired yourself and keep it.

If you do claim on your insurance and your car is declared a write off, you could ask the insurance company how they work this out.

For example, some insurers will write off a car if the cost of the repairs is as little as 60% of the value of the car.

In some cases you may be able to claim on your insurance and avoid the car being written off by negotiating with your insurance company.

You can negotiate to get your car valued at a higher price than first offered by the insurance company.

You may also be able to find a garage that charges less for the repairs than the insurer’s approved garage. The insurance company will have to give their approval before you go ahead with the repairs from another garage.

You can get help, information and advice from your local Citizens Advice or visit www.citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk or contact Citizens Advice Wokingham at

Second Floor, Waterford House, Erfstadt Court, Wokingham RG40 2YF. Tel: 0300 330 1189. email: public@ citizensadvicewokingham.org.uk