Warning! Is your Mk1 LCR 'properly' insured?

[6th.replicant]

My Mk1 LCR was recently written off while parked. (Drunk driver, who was arrested; he was insured.)

My 2003 LCR had a genuine FSH (a stamp for every year); 111k miles; one former keeper; OEM spec / no mods. And it was in very good / tidy condition inside and out, incl recent alloys refurb; calipers refurb (AMG heat-resistant paint), Goodyears all-round, etc, etc.

My LCR's market value? Autotrader, Pistonheads, etc, showed similar Mk1 LCRs for sale from c. £4500 up to c. £6500. There were also some one-owner minters with sub-60k mileage, but non-FSH, at c. £7000.

My LCR was insured for 'current market value'. So, I assumed I would receive and insurance payout of at least £4500.

My insurer, Hastings, offered £1850 in full and final settlement. Huh??

I requested Hastings provide examples of 1 former keeper / pukka FSH / OEM-spec Mk 1 LCRs for sale at c. £1850 in evidence.

Hastings presented ads for two cars. Both were dilapidated, shabby shitboxes - eg, 8 owners, incomplete / patchy SHs, 250k mileage and general signs of neglect, etc.

I presented examples of several LCRs in similar condition / history to mine, all for sale at £4500 to £6500.

So, you'd assume my factual evidence contradicted the theoretical estimate and I won - yes? No.

The insurance companies are allowed to use Parkers, Glass's, Cap guides as the basis of their payout. And if the guides say a car is worth c. £1850, then that's what an insurer is allowed to adhere to.

I then officially complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

The FOS appointed a part-time ombudsman, who, by their own admission, knew nothing about cars in general. In turn, the ombudsman was clueless about how or why ‘one former owner’, 'full service history’ and ‘unmodified’ adds value.

It turns out that the FOS merely refers to the same guides' theory-based estimate to determine value, not research what's actually on sale, and then see if the values correlate. Logic, anyone?

I then appealed to the 'boss' ombudsman, who merely agreed with his inept colleague and referenced the same guides.

My next available step is the small claims court.

So, my advice to you if you own a half-decent MK1 LCR that would obviously sell for more than £1850? In the event of a non-fault write-off, make sure you have an 'agreed valuation' with you insurer.

Don't assume that 'market value' actually means, umm, market value.

And I strongly advise avoiding Hastings: as well as being manifestly unfair, Hastings is also alarmingly inefficient and ponderous.

 

[Alexis27]

With respect, this is how the insurance market works. They'll offer you book price and then you have to refuse and point out they're low balling you so you can get a couple more hundred quid out of them. It doesn't matter what your car is - you'll only ever get the Glass's Guide price. It's pretty common knowledge.

A 2003 on 111k is worth £3.25k tops anyway nowadays? There's a 2005 one on AT at £2500, 104k miles.

I'd leave it and move on.

 

[martin j.]

I recently inure my Honda with Hastings, I manually adjusted the value on the application to today’s market value, premium went up a bit but at the least we have an agreed value on the car, approx double what they initially had on the application. Always read the small print.

 

[Brimfull]

One word has been mentioned which explains everything....Hastings.

They are often the cheapest policy provider for a reason, you only find out what the reason is until you need them.

I had two years of headache with them over a non fault claim.

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[6th.replicant]

With respect, this is how the insurance market works. They'll offer you book price and then you have to refuse and point out they're low balling you so you can get a couple more hundred quid out of them. It doesn't matter what your car is - you'll only ever get the Glass's Guide price. It's pretty common knowledge.

A 2003 on 111k is worth £3.25k tops anyway nowadays? There's a 2005 one on AT at £2500, 104k miles.

I'd leave it and move on.

In effect, my insurer expected me to downgrade from a perfectly-maintained car in A1 condition to a dilapidated poorly maintained and abused car. To me, that does not seem fair; especially when I'm non-blame for the write-off.

Are you referring to the silver LCR on Autotrader for £2500? The car that's had 4 owners; has a non-OEM two-tone colour scheme of dubious taste; has been lowered; has had a remap plus other engine mods; has spacers and non-OEM wheels; a wiper delete, etc. And I bet if you ask the owner to define his claimed FSH, it doesn't translate as a service for every year. Also, the ad states: "...There is a dent underneath the door trim on the drivers [sic] side door."

Clearly, you're missing the point: my LCR had a genuine FSH; one former keeper; and was not modified - mechanically nor aesthetically. Nor did it have dents in any of the doors.

 

[6th.replicant]

One word has been mentioned which explains everything....Hastings.
...
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Indeed. And it seems that the FOS supports Hastings' specious and slippery conduct.

 

[mty12345]

In effect, my insurer expected me to downgrade from a perfectly-maintained car in A1 condition to a dilapidated poorly maintained and abused car. To me, that does not seem fair; especially when I'm non-blame for the write-off.

Are you referring to the silver LCR on Autotrader for £2500? The car that's had 4 owners; has a non-OEM two-tone colour scheme of dubious taste; has been lowered; has had a remap plus other engine mods; has spacers and non-OEM wheels; a wiper delete, etc. And I bet if you ask the owner to define his claimed FSH, it doesn't translate as a service for every year. Also, the ad states: "...There is a dent underneath the door trim on the drivers [sic] side door."

Clearly, you're missing the point: my LCR had a genuine FSH; one former keeper; and was not modified - mechanically nor aesthetically. Nor did it have dents in any of the doors.

I agree with you mate. Not everyone knows the ins and outs of insurance, and if you don't, then your definition of 'market value' makes a lot more sense than theirs does.
The LCR is becoming rarer, and mint, unmolested examples are bordering on becoming classic cars. That being said, the insurance companies, the FOS, the courts, and the 'establishment' in general are all run by the same corrupt w****rs. Your chances of getting the small claims court to rule in your favour is very minimal IMO! It's wrong, but unfortunately that's the corrupt ****-hole we call the UK! I don't normally bring politics here, but it's TIME TO DRAIN THE UK SWAMP once and for all!

 

[bigT's lcr]

Set of money grabbing b#stards. Lad i used to work with went through similar thing with his wifes bmw. Ended up paying a few grand on top of pay out to buy another just like it. Can you take the driver to small claims court? End of the day it was his stupidity that has put you in this situation.

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi
If anyone needs insurance that offer the option of a fixed agreed value then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

 

[Legojon]

Think it must be a Hasting thing. I bought my 1.6 reference sport for £1900. It had an accident an the insurers first option was to offer me £2300 to write it off and let me buy it back for £100! Which I was quite surprised at. And that was their first offer. In the end, I had it repaired at a cost of £1700. I had to give them a kick up the at one point. But I can't argue about the offers.

 

[g60stu]

Hi
If anyone needs insurance that offer the option of a fixed agreed value then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

Dan, what is the criteria for getting an agreed value? Is it based on photos of the car, receipts for expenditure or something else?

 

[Alexis27]

Are you referring to the silver LCR on Autotrader for £2500? The car that's had 4 owners; has a non-OEM two-tone colour scheme of dubious taste; has been lowered; has had a remap plus other engine mods; has spacers and non-OEM wheels; a wiper delete, etc. And I bet if you ask the owner to define his claimed FSH, it doesn't translate as a service for every year. Also, the ad states: "...There is a dent underneath the door trim on the drivers [sic] side door."

Clearly, you're missing the point: my LCR had a genuine FSH; one former keeper; and was not modified - mechanically nor aesthetically. Nor did it have dents in any of the doors.

Which is why the insurer would probably pay out £1300 on that whereas they wanted to give you £1800. And you could probably have got £2000 if you'd done a deal, but because you went to Ombudsman for much more they knew they would win.

Your car is worth more than £1800 privately but it is not worth £4500-6000.

But how much it's worth privately isn't how insurers value cars.

 

[chriswales6]

Sadly that's the reality of driving a 14+ year old car. Most main stream insurance companies aren't going to pay out more than 2k for a MK1 Leon.

In fact any type of accident damage is likely to be a total write off in their eyes. Something to keep in mind if you spend lots of money buying or modifying one.

 

[AndrewJB]

Get an agreed valuation on them, think Adrian Flux offer this for about £15

 

[SlashProm]

I don't understand? Are you fully comp? He was drunk, hit your car and was prosecuted for it but your getting a payout from your insurance company? Surely your insurance should be claiming against his insurance and would be on your side to get you what you are owed? Including extras for your loss of earnings and so on.

 

[Fozzy84]

Everyone wants the most for their car should it be written off.
The reality, is the conclusion of this claim, i'm afraid to say!
I have an Agreed Value on my car, as i know its worth more than what i'd get if it was written off. And all my mods are declared should they try and get out of paying up.
The world we live in isn't a fair one i'm afraid, but having an agreed value is the best way in my opinion, it would certainly save being in the position of fighting to get what you feel you car's worth.

 

[Andrewwright]

AXA insurance paid me £700 for a car I paid 400 for after 6 months use.... result.

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