Need Help With Insurance Claim

[azzamckazzar33]

hey i have recently ridden of my r33,which i will be getting payed for

But...heres the f***** part i also had a stereo in there worth 5k?

when i set up the insurance i told them how much i paid for my car which was 17k so the car was insured for 17k.

then they asked have you got a stereo that you would like to insure so i insured my stereo for 5k.

So they call me up the other day

to tell me that the car is classed as a ride off and that the excess would be 2100 or 2900 if the stereo is damaged which i dont think the stereo is.

but i called up to find what the go with the stereo is.whether i would take it out if it was undamaged or

if they would just leave it in the car and pay me out 5k.

Turns out i cant pull out the stereo no matter what and that i would not receive a pay out at all!!!!!!!!!!!

But wtf are they talking about...that if the stereo is damaged it would be an $800 excess but i'll never see the money or stereo again?

sorry if this makes no sense at all its just i cant make sense of it myself.

Please help and how can i fight it?

[NO_RSPECT]

dig out your last policy schedule that they sent you

Look through the schedule.. or renewal.. if you have had a renewal at all.

Look at the specified items.. if you have any listed.

This all sort of works 2 ways. and also is compan dependent.

here is an example of the 2 ways it can be if it is specified.

example 1:

car = $20000

stereo = $5000

Total coverage/sum insured is $20000

this usually means. If the stereo is stolen it will be replaced. if the car is stolen/written off you get 20K

example 2:

car = $20000

stereo = $5000

Total coverage/sum insured is $25000

this usually means that you are covered for theft of stereo to 5k

and if the car is stolen or written off you get a full payout of 25K for the total loss of everything.

There is a difference in itemising the stuff and then having it covered in the event of a total loss or in the event of singular theft/damage to it all

its kinda hard to suss out.. sometimes you can say there is a stereo and then you can just insure the whole car for 25K

some companies dont do that.. they want it all listed separately etc..

I cant stress how important it is to just ask the questions..

Companies are governed by a code of practice and there is also an insurance act..

if you are given advice on a phone call ask for a reference for the call or ask who you are speaking to.. jot it down on your policy documents..or keep safe till the documents arrive then jot it down..

there are also means for appeal IF YOU FEEL YOU ARE WRONGED.

pop into a branch or check online.. grab a copy of the policy...go through it.. check the exclusions section etc..

do some research.. asking if you are getting shafted is entirely dependent on if you have the coverage you required for this circumstance or not.

enjoy

[Tezzah]

buy the wreck off them

[IMPORTD]

yeah buy the wreck off them. You've already made $5k by keeping the stereo, then you can sell the parts separately...

got any pics of the car?

Mitchy paid $4k for his wreck. Well worth it in the end!!

I don't get why you insured the car for $17 then added a 5k stereo to that... total insured should be 22k

Kylie

[_8OO5TED_]

if the car is a write off, why should it matter if the stereo is damaged? sounds like a load of bullsh*t to me.

your saying they have an extra "stereo" excess?

[azzamckazzar33]

yeh no_rspect example one is right on the mark mate.

I didnt realize that the stereo was in the amount covered ,meaning the agreed value of the car.

They sorta left that out when i set it up but probally mentioned it when they take you through the conditions,i thought it was separatly covered from the the car...

They're tricky bastards,if i had known that if the car was ridn of,that they get to keep the stereo i might of thought twice about,but then again if i had payed more attention i would'nt be in this dilema,i was only 18 when i set it up and had know idea how sneaky they can be.

As for them saying that if the stereo is damaged there would be an $800 excess i dont know what the f*** they are on about...

But yeh very unhappy about the way its going down...do you guys reckon that i could get my rims back in exchange for the stocks cause they are not on the policy?i guess i should probally talk to the insurance company bout this,but im just going to end up losing my cool with the c****

yeh kylie this is the only pic i got,the quotes something like 16k!but i dont think there is any engine damage,,yeh theres some hidden goodies in there but i would'nt know what to do with it plus i'm broke so if i buy it,i'de only have whats left over from the pay out.

Cheers for ya help

azza

Edited July 1, 2007 by azzamckazzar33

[mitchy_]

doubt the insurance company will let you swap anything over, regardless of if its on the policy or not.

however, if its on the policy, and its not there, they will deduct it... (ie, i had my stock rims on my car, and i had sparco rims on my policy, and they dropped my payout figure $2000 due to the rims not being there.)

if you need the money for another car asap, just take the payout, but if you are willing to take the car apart, and sell it over a few months, you will recover some of the lost costs..

ie, i paid $4000 for my wreck, and so far i've sold atleast 1.5 times that and ive still got my rims, most of the interior, panels etc.

Some of the parts, like the front and rear calipers and rotors were also put on kylies stagea, so there is more i could have sold.

what's damaged in the front of your car? its more parts from the front, than the rear (of which mine was rear ended) that you can sell, so it might no be worth buying the wreck.

good luck with insurance, make sure you get on their back everyday to speed up the process, and go get checked out by a doctor if you have even the slightest of pain in your neck.

i had no pain the day of my crash, but that night i couldnt move my neck, and 3 months on i'm still getting pains.

[_8OO5TED_]

if the car is a write off then the car, its mods and all its accessories go with it. that includes the stereo system. the stereo system value makes up part of the $17K your car was insured for.

either there is mis information on their behalf or lack of understanding on your behalf. either way, if u get paid out $17K, you will be able to buy a nicely modded R33 GT25t to replace your crashed one anyway as there are plenty for sale

[Kaido_RR]

if the car is a write off then the car, its mods and all its accessories go with it. that includes the stereo system. the stereo system value makes up part of the $17K your car was insured for.

so if i understand you right, if i have 20k worth of mods, my car should be valued at 17k + 20k ?

(just as an example?)

Cheers Michael

[_8OO5TED_]

mods and accessories depreciate, so no. stereo gear in particular usually halves in value the moment you walk out the shop with it. realistically, insuring your car for replacement cost in the market place is usually about as good as you would get from most insurance companies id say, in terms of an agreed value.

for example, a 400rwhp highly modded R33 GTSt may owe the owner $50K, but in the market place could be replaced with similiar mods and condition for, say $25K, then you would probably insure it for around the $25K mark if your insurer is flexible. may not sound like much, but its a whole lot better than the $13K market value otherwise.

[azzamckazzar33]

Hey guys cheers for ya help.

Spoke to the insurance today and i have managed to work something out with them.

I can remove the stereo from the car and will have to take in a head unit and some speakers to replace my stereo with.

but they will reduce the value of the car but no $800 stereo excess.

It will bring my pay out down $700 less after paying my $2100 excess but its better then nothing.

And i also managed to work out something with my rims,because they were put on the car after i set

up my insurance they are not on the policy,so they have given me 2 options i can leave them on the car

and they will up the pay out by $350 or i can replace them with stocks and i can have my rims back but it might bring down the value of pay out?i will find out tommoz about that one.

Hey mitchy when you bought back your car of the insurance company,did they give you first priority to buy it back or did you have buy it at an auction?if you dont mind me asking what was your car valued at?

My mechanic wants to buy the wreck if its a good price,and he will let me take the stereo out and will work out something with the rims which would save me a bit of money?i know its stupid cause you dont know my car or the extent of the damage but what do you reckon i could get it back for?with the rims and stereo left in it?

cheers once again

AZZA

[NO_RSPECT]

i would love to know this super flexible insurance company.

edit: umm... So I NEVER go to them