- Joined
- Jun 10, 2007
- Messages
- 195
- Points
- 75
Finally got the cheque from FORTIS insurance for the Multipla I wrote off. They started with an offer of £2,500 which after excess would have come to £2,300. Eventually after a LOT of arguing, they offered £3,300 (net to me £3,100
). It's not impossible to get fair value from insurers but you HAVE to argue. In my case I got `paid for' valuations specific to my car from both Parkers's and Glass's; cost me just over £5 total but worth every penny. Use the dealer market value; when they tell you you can get one cheaper on Ebay, tell them you want to buy from a dealer for the legal protection it gives. When they baulk, tell them you're taking it to the Financial Services Ombudsman and ask for a `Letter of Deadlock'. They are required by law to send this to you, and believe me, they really don't want to do that. They know that from that point on-wards, it's going to cost them time, paperwork and ultimately, money. That's when they'll make the genuine best offer they're prepared to go to.
To them, it's an adversarial game. No matter how sweet the little girl on the `phone might sound, the money's not coming out of her pocket; there's no reason to feel like you're being mean, or a bully when you argue for more money. Just try to remember how you felt the last time your insurance premium went up
). It's not impossible to get fair value from insurers but you HAVE to argue. In my case I got `paid for' valuations specific to my car from both Parkers's and Glass's; cost me just over £5 total but worth every penny. Use the dealer market value; when they tell you you can get one cheaper on Ebay, tell them you want to buy from a dealer for the legal protection it gives. When they baulk, tell them you're taking it to the Financial Services Ombudsman and ask for a `Letter of Deadlock'. They are required by law to send this to you, and believe me, they really don't want to do that. They know that from that point on-wards, it's going to cost them time, paperwork and ultimately, money. That's when they'll make the genuine best offer they're prepared to go to.To them, it's an adversarial game. No matter how sweet the little girl on the `phone might sound, the money's not coming out of her pocket; there's no reason to feel like you're being mean, or a bully when you argue for more money. Just try to remember how you felt the last time your insurance premium went up
