Damaged Cali Ocean - insurance

[couplands]

Our 7 month old Cali Ocean suffered a damaged front bumper in a car park incident. The 3rd party had admitted fault and is just debating whether to fund the repair directly or go via insurance. Given the cost its likely to go via insurance.

What are the pros/cons of using an accident management company..? I've spoken to 2 VW approved repairers who have both suggest the same company.

I spoke to my insurers (LV) today who want to manage the repair and then claim back the costs (plus excess) from the 3rd party, but they stated that I need to use their own repairers. If I want to use my preferred repairers then they said I will need to pursue the claim directly with the 3rd party.

When I mentioned I might need to use an accident management company they stated that I would be protected by the Insurance Ombudsman in the event of any issues. Again, does this sound correct...?

 

[andyinluton]

Our 7 month old Cali Ocean suffered a damaged front bumper in a car park incident. The 3rd party had admitted fault and is just debating whether to fund the repair directly or go via insurance. Given the cost its likely to go via insurance.

What are the pros/cons of using an accident management company..? I've spoken to 2 VW approved repairers who have both suggest the same company.

I spoke to my insurers (LV) today who want to manage the repair and then claim back the costs (plus excess) from the 3rd party, but they stated that I need to use their own repairers. If I want to use my preferred repairers then they said I will need to pursue the claim directly with the 3rd party.

When I mentioned I might need to use an accident management company they stated that I would be protected by the Insurance Ombudsman in the event of any issues. Again, does this sound correct...?

Ask LV for their list of approved repairers & see if any of them are acceptable.
Plan B would be to contact the other parties insurers direct and see what they say - if they will talk to you, I would be surprised if they didn’t agree to your preferred repairer to avoid the add on costs of a management company.

LV were very good dealing with a claim I had on my Morgan last year where the other party admitted liability. I didn’t pay an excess and it went to the only approved repairer other than the Morgan factory - bill of about £11k for a dent the size of a 10p piece in the rear panel.

 

[couplands]

Ask LV for their list of approved repairers & see if any of them are acceptable.
Plan B would be to contact the other parties insurers direct and see what they say - if they will talk to you, I would be surprised if they didn’t agree to your preferred repairer to avoid the add on costs of a management company.

LV were very good dealing with a claim I had on my Morgan last year where the other party admitted liability. I didn’t pay an excess and it went to the only approved repairer other than the Morgan factory - bill of about £11k for a dent the size of a 10p piece in the rear panel.

They only provided one LV approved repairer https://www.geminiarc.co.uk/ in my area. I cant find out from their site if they are an approved VW Repairer and their reviews seem mixed to say the least.

I was a bit disappointed with their response to be honest as feel as if I'm left on my own if I don't want to follow their route. Not sure I understand their reluctance as its the 3rd party who will pay.

I feel for you with the damage to a cherished Morgan, its amazing how the costs for repairs escalate.

 

[andyinluton]

Doesn’t say that they are a vw approved repairer. As a minimum if your van has any sort of warranty left on it it should go to a VW approved one.
Keep your cool with LV and just tell them to keep the warranty intact it need to be vw approved. That is far easier to justify than insisting on a particular repairer and isn’t an unreasonable demand.

 

[couplands]

Doesn’t say that they are a vw approved repairer. As a minimum if your van has any sort of warranty left on it it should go to a VW approved one.
Keep your cool with LV and just tell them to keep the warranty intact it need to be vw approved. That is far easier to justify than insisting on a particular repairer and isn’t an unreasonable demand.

Yeah, the Cali is only a few months old and it’s got 5 yrs warranty so don’t want to mess that up.

 

[Californication69]

I had some muppet cave my 6 month old Ocean rear tailgate in (Dec 20) and LV were great on the phone. They gave me the option of paying an extra £200 on top of my XS, to use a VW appointed garage. After going through multiple garages in a 90 mile radius she found Coventry and that was on their list of approved garage.
I said that’s VW, so only the XS to pay and yep.
So give them another call and go via LV and they should find you a VW repairer…

 

[couplands]

I had some muppet cave my 6 month old Ocean rear tailgate in (Dec 20) and LV were great on the phone. They gave me the option of paying an extra £200 on top of my XS, to use a VW appointed garage. After going through multiple garages in a 90 mile radius she found Coventry and that was on their list of approved garage.
I said that’s VW, so only the XS to pay and yep.
So give them another call and go via LV and they should find you a VW repairer…

How come you had to pay excess and the extra £200 if the 3rd party as at fault..?

I’m not sure what LV are doing in my case, as I could go direct to the 3rd parties insurer. They just seem to be making it harder than it needs to be.

I’ve found a brand new Bayleaf Green bumper for sale (a take-off from a new van) for £170, I’m sorely tempted to buy that and just do it myself and save the £2.5k I’m currently being quoted…!

 

[Californication69]

How come you had to pay excess and the extra £200 if the 3rd party as at fault..?

I’m not sure what LV are doing in my case, as I could go direct to the 3rd parties insurer. They just seem to be making it harder than it needs to be.

I’ve found a brand new Bayleaf Green bumper for sale (a take-off from a new van) for £170, I’m sorely tempted to buy that and just do it myself and save the £2.5k I’m currently being quoted…!

The muppet decided to drive off without leaving their details. A car park. LHR, so any loss is not the fault of LHR car park.
And they have camera on the entry and exit but not on every bay.
So I had to go with LV Insurance as it was £3k.
And only paid XS as VW Cov was on their preferred list.
You’ve told LV, it will be on your file even if you don’t go ahead and claim with them.
It’s all Legal money making scheme.
They’ll charge you more for the premium, next year, with or without you claiming via them….

 

[couplands]

The muppet decided to drive off without leaving their details. A car park. LHR, so any loss is not the fault of LHR car park.
And they have camera on the entry and exit but not on every bay.
So I had to go with LV Insurance as it was £3k.
And only paid XS as VW Cov was on their preferred list.
You’ve told LV, it will be on your file even if you don’t go ahead and claim with them.
It’s all Legal money making scheme.
They’ll charge you more for the premium, next year, with or without you claiming via them….

Ah, that’s not good. At least the guy who bumped mine was good enough to own up. It was also witnessed by the showground parking staff and the AA Heritage Display team…!

I expect premiums to go up anyway, regardless of informing LV or not as the claim would be on the 3rd parties insurers database anyway. As you say, all great money making business.

 

[Corradobrit]

The muppet decided to drive off without leaving their details. A car park. LHR, so any loss is not the fault of LHR car park.
And they have camera on the entry and exit but not on every bay.
So I had to go with LV Insurance as it was £3k.
And only paid XS as VW Cov was on their preferred list.
You’ve told LV, it will be on your file even if you don’t go ahead and claim with them.
It’s all Legal money making scheme.
They’ll charge you more for the premium, next year, with or without you claiming via them….

Insurance is a real racket. Went through something similar in San Francisco when I called my home insurer for advice. No claim yet it was on record and used against me the following year to increase premiums.

 

[couplands]

Insurance is a real racket. Went through something similar in San Francisco when I called my home insurer for advice. No claim yet it was on record and used against me the following year to increase premiums.

I hate to think what the renewal premium will be as we have a multi-car policy with the Cali & Tesla on it.

At least I managed to get them to change the repairer to a VW Approved (actually a VW bodyshop - Inchcape VW in Manchester) so feel a bit happier about that. I'm still not confident about how LV will handle the claim with the 3rd party and I'm expecting further trouble ahead.

I'm thinking it might have been better to use a claims management company instead - I get the feeling they are more likely to work harder for you than your own insurer. It'll be an interesting journey.

It all makes you want to run an old banger and not worry about any damage....;-(

 

[Californication69]

I hate to think what the renewal premium will be as we have a multi-car policy with the Cali & Tesla on it.

At least I managed to get them to change the repairer to a VW Approved (actually a VW bodyshop - Inchcape VW in Manchester) so feel a bit happier about that. I'm still not confident about how LV will handle the claim with the 3rd party and I'm expecting further trouble ahead.

I'm thinking it might have been better to use a claims management company instead - I get the feeling they are more likely to work harder for you than your own insurer. It'll be an interesting journey.

It all makes you want to run an old banger and not worry about any damage....;-(

LV are great. Handled my claim really well.
VW new tailgate was awesome.
I’ve just gone for multi car & house policy with LV.
A lot cheaper than messing around and having 4 different policy’s.
Saab is still with Churchill as £200 fully comp with 0 NCD is cheapest around…

 

[Betty67]

I Used to work for LV setting up repairs/claims, there will be a vw approved repairer maybe not in your area ask to go further out of your area, I’m sure you can then arrange a drop off yourself and pick up loan. If no luck ask to speak to team leader.

 

[Ian789]

I hate to think what the renewal premium will be as we have a multi-car policy with the Cali & Tesla on it.

At least I managed to get them to change the repairer to a VW Approved (actually a VW bodyshop - Inchcape VW in Manchester) so feel a bit happier about that. I'm still not confident about how LV will handle the claim with the 3rd party and I'm expecting further trouble ahead.

I'm thinking it might have been better to use a claims management company instead - I get the feeling they are more likely to work harder for you than your own insurer. It'll be an interesting journey.

It all makes you want to run an old banger and not worry about any damage....;-(

Why do youb hink LV won't pursue the 3rd party's insurer? They'll want to reclaim the cost of the repair as much as anyone otherwise they're out of pocket.

Pleased you've managed to get it booked I to a VW approved repair shop. At least that's a bit of progress for you.

 

[couplands]

I Used to work for LV setting up repairs/claims, there will be a vw approved repairer maybe not in your area ask to go further out of your area, I’m sure you can then arrange a drop off yourself and pick up loan. If no luck ask to speak to team leader.

I think I had a bad time with the original claim handler, having called back (and pushed back) on the non-approved repairer I found the next agent much nicer to deal with.

The VW body shop is not too far away and I've another vehicle, so will drop it off and all should be good.

Just the post claim renewal premiums to watch out for now...!

 

[Devaprem]

I made claim for damage with LV (own fault damage) and they were very helpful. The added bonus was that Motofix, their approved repairer, was also a VW approved repairer. As well as a 4 year warranty on the repair, I also got a VW certificate of conformity for it.

Your could check with LV if there's a Motofix repairer near you (https://www.motofix-arc.co.uk/) that they approve. Then check with that centre to see if they are still also a VW approved repairer.

 

[couplands]

I made claim for damage with LV (own fault damage) and they were very helpful. The added bonus was that Motofix, their approved repairer, was also a VW approved repairer. As well as a 4 year warranty on the repair, I also got a VW certificate of conformity for it.

Your could check with LV if there's a Motofix repairer near you (https://www.motofix-arc.co.uk/) that they approve. Then check with that centre to see if they are still also a VW approved repairer.

They actually swapped me to a VW body shop, that is also a VW dealership so happy with that. I spoke with the damage assessor and I am happy with their repair process. At least now I have LV and VW warranty/assurances to fall back on in case of any issues.