Replacing the stolen van

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

As I've posted elsewhere we had our mini van stolen on Monday and we have not heard a dicky bird. I know we haven't got any insurance money yet but we need a replacement and are going to look at one tomorrow.

Am I being too hasty?

Insurers used to wait 31 days from the date of theft, however many now base it on the evidence to hand with regards to possible recovery. If you get the police to show it is unlikley to be recovered or its been discovered burnt out or abandoned with consistent theft damage you can speed up the claim (some pay within 14 days). If it was pre 1996 or a model with little or no security then again you could show how it could be taken without keys i.e hot wired and easy to break steering lock.

Ask how they value, is it glasses guide, is it valued the day of theft and what endorsments and deductions will be applied. Check Parkers on line, Auto Trader and find vehicles with similar mileage, age and condition, keep copies in case you want to dispute any future valuation. You can legally ask for a cheque without predujice, meaning you can accept an offer while still having the valuation challenged.

 

[drew]

It's the other parties insurance that arn't paying up, I had a third party fire and theft policy, and my claim is through the legal cover i had on my policy.

The other parties insurance, despite agreeing to pay out in July, and collecting my written off car, then claimed that the vehicle was stolen, and no one was ever caught - so my insurers were trying to get me to claim against the uninsured losses bureau

That is despite the owner of the vehicle being arrested, pleading guilty and being sentanced for his part in the crash, and his insurance were told this months ago. - they are now claiming that the person who crashed into my car was not their insured - but that is different to what i am being told by the Police, and also that the driver in the crash didn't get done for the theft of the car that hit me.

All I can say is i know now why so many claims are seen as uninsured losses, (insurance companies trying every trick to not pay out, and in this case, my insurers not disputing their claim despite proof that they are wrong)
And also the extra costs incurred while they drag out something that should have been settled within a month in my opinion, as it was straight forward what happened and who was at fault!!

If they have collected the written off vehicle then presumably they were storing this at a yard pending disposal. Any theft is therefore their problem and they should still pay out based on the written off value. If I was you I would turn up the heat on your uninsured loss legal team as they are paid by your policy to actively pursue this. Only problem is if you are insured with the NU then the dept dealing with this is normally based out in India which isn't much help.