"Insurance Claims Settlements"

[valuator]

A client of mine purchased One (1) Roll-on, Roll-off, - Nissan Almera (Luxary Edition)2002 Old Model for $75,000.00 in December 2006.

He got a valuation proving the worth of the vehicle being $75,000.00 and insured this vehicle for $65,000.00, with his excess being $4,500.00.

In January 2007 he wrote off the vehicle and the insurance company took the vehicle and paid him in cash.

[b]What do u think was the Insurance Company Final Settlement Figure.[/b]

[horsepwrjunki]

54k or less..

[valuator]

The clue to this question is that it has only been more than one month since the vehicle was purchased.

[seanf3000]

I'm guessing the last figure ~$54,000. With one year depriciation at 10% and less $4500 deductible?

[valuator]

This is how the claim was settled.

Even though the vehicle was worth $75,000.00 on the open market, with an independent valuation report proving such, remember this guy wanting to save on insurance premium, still went ahead and insured (under-insured) his vehicle for $65,000.00, now thats $10,000.00 less than what the vehicle was purchased for and actually worth.

The insurance claim was settled on a Total Loss Basis as in most cases when its costing too much to repair the vehicle. With some insurance companies they write off the vehicle when the total cost of repair the vehicle is 60% of the sum insured, e:g

60% of $65,000.00=$39,000.00

In this case the guy choose to give the insurance the wreck and take the money.

So we begin to settle his claim. Heres The Answer
$65,000.00 sum insured less $4,500.00 (excess)=$60,500.00 settlement in full

Remember it was only a month since the car was bought and not one whole year so it is unreasonable to apply wear and tear or depreciation.

Remember the insurance company is not going to pay more than the sum insured even if u actually paid more for your car or u have an independent valuation. You should always insure your car for what its worth.

To replace his car with another of the same make and model this guy has to now fork out $15,000.00 + $7,500.00 (premium) + $60,000.00 (insurance cheque)=$82,500.00 to replace his car.

In all this guy suffered a loss of $22,500.00 after one month, and thats a minimum estimate. His insurance premium could go up to nothing less than $7,500.00 which is 10% of the sum insured "if" he chooses to insure his car for the correct figure next time. The insurance company is going to (load) or increase his premium because of his claim. We have not even examined his loss on his no claim discount which he now has to wait another full year for it to begin its discount percentage.

Are we really prepared to loose this kind of money when an accident happens and we have already paid insurance?

The poll results were

2 people voted $54,000
5 people voted $60,500

Get the proof of what your car is worth

[valuator]

These are the definitions i got of a Sports Utility Vehicle.

A high-performance four-wheel drive car built on a truck chassis

A four-wheel-drive vehicle with a roomy body, designed for off-road travel.

What I have to confirm now is the question

The SUV'S we have in trinidad, are most or all of them built on a Chassis or Unitized Body?