A few days ago, a hailstorm opened the eyes of many owners of totally damaged cars. The money from the insurance company is far from covering the cost of repairs. If they decide to write the car off completely, they stand a chance of getting double the insurance claim. Insurance companies will allow them to sell the wreck at auction.
We’ll know if you’ve been caught in a hail storm, for example. In this case, according to insurance companies, it could leave about two billion dollars in damages in the form of damaged property and cars. Most owners of injured cars with accident insurance believed that the insurance company would cover the damage. So JunkCarsUS, the company that calculates the scrap value of a car, will show in this article that in many cases this is not the case.
Scrap value of a car
You can have your car partially damaged and totally destroyed with the scrap value of a car service via JunkCarsUS.
The estimated cost of repair exceeds the normal value of the vehicle at the time of the damage, or the damage is to a vehicle that can no longer be repaired technically. The repair is no longer profitable.
The amount of compensation is determined by the difference between the normal price of the car and the value of the usable remains, i.e., the wrecked car.
In the case of damage to a vehicle, insurers distinguish between total or partial damage and calculate the amount of the claim accordingly. The type of damage is decided by the claims’ adjuster, who assesses the total extent of the damage. Based on his decision, the insurance company will either pay the money needed to repair the car or determine the total amount for total damage. In either case, the claim will always be reduced by the client’s deductible.
Based on authentic insurance claims, the JunkCarsUS team prepared two model examples for both types of damage and asked insurers to estimate the amount of the claim for hail damage to cars. The purpose was not to compare the amount of the insurance claim and to determine which insurance company would “give more”, but to approximate the methodology of dealing with the damage or claim.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to actually quantify the insurance claim accurately, because for this you need to see the car, ‘scan’ it in detail and only then make a calculation. Even during the repair process, the final price may deviate slightly because, for example, it is found that some damage cannot be repaired using the planned method.
The car’s a write-off, with $4.5k in repair costs
Hail completely damaged the hood and roof of a 12-year-old Nissan Micra, the driver’s rearview mirror, and the right rear light. “The exterminator estimated the cost of repair at $4.5k and stated that it was total damage,” said the car owner.
Example 1 – total loss
- Vehicle: Nissan Micra
- Year of manufacture: 1998
- Engine capacity: 0.998
- The car has never been wrecked or damaged. It has an automatic transmission.
- The vehicle currently has 84,850 kilometers on the clock.
- The owner of the car took out a full collision insurance policy in 2007 including the elements for $3k with a deductible of five thousand.
Repair cost: $1.3k to $2.2
John, 30, has complete hail damage to his hood and roof. “The hail made thirty holes in my roof, another fifteen on the hood, then two doors have one hole each, and the black backplate over the fifth door has five holes,” John described the damage to his car.
Example 2 – partial damage to the car
- Vehicle: five-door Renault Clio Storia
- Year of manufacture: 2006
- Engine capacity: 1,2
- Purchase price: $12k
- The vehicle currently has 49k miles on it.
- The car owner has taken out full breakdown insurance including elements with a deductible of two thousand crowns.
Two options for dealing with damage
If it is not a total loss, the client has the option to choose the method of determining the insurance benefit, either on the basis of submitting an invoice for repairs or by a so-called repair cost budget calculated by the claim’s adjuster. The method of settlement is always included in the insurance contract.
If the client agrees with the insurer to settle the claim by means of a budget, the client will receive from the insurer the amount that was calculated by the budget. From the insurance company’s point of view, this is the settlement of the claim.
In the case of invoiced repairs, the insurance company will check the extent of the invoiced repairs against the extent of the damage to the vehicle and the contractual agreement in the insurance policy. If the invoice is in line with the insurance contract and expert price lists for the cost of labor and spare parts, the insurance claim will be paid according to the invoice with the deductible deducted.
A collision between a car and wildlife can be expensive. What to watch out for so you don’t lose
A car collision with an animal is a fairly common car accident at this time of year. When you shake off the fact that you’ve harmed a living creature, you begin to deal with the damage to your car. Insurance companies will help in the case of collision policies, but often with compulsory liability policies as well. Or not.
Owners of supercars, which use special cameras to detect deer and wild boar near the road, can be relatively calm about not colliding with an animal. Audi, Volvo, Ford, and Mercedes, for example, can do this. The rest of us can fit ultrasonic scarecrows into our cars. It’s a plastic “gadget” that costs a few euros (50 to 200 depending on the dealer) and doesn’t need electricity – it is set in motion by a stream of air when driving over 50 km/h. Whether such a toy works, however, is a matter of debate – on the internet you will find their absolute supporters, even those who claim that a deer jumped into their path with a scarecrow.