Disputed Car Values Are Causing Complaints Against Insurers

One of the big sticking points in motor claims can be the valaution of the written off vehicle. Owners often believe that their car is worth the asking price online, as placed by traders trying to sell cars. That isn’t the same figure as the dealer PX value of course. So agreeing an accurate valuation often means settling for a figure in the middle of those two extremes. Then there’s the issue of service history, scratches, dents, wonky wipers and other faults that may devalue the car.

A recent report by the Financial Ombudsman ( how is that term still a thing on Woke Britain by the way) highlighted the number of valuation related complaints.

The data shows a 27% increase in complaints about car and motorcycle insurance during 2022-23. Of the 39,750 complaints about insurance some 31% were upheld, so the majority were not supported. But one growth area was the thorny issue of vehicle values. Since Covid19 many dealerships have been phoning customers and offering big sums for particular models in demand, partly due to supply chain shortages. In some cases, owners of 1-2 year old Mercdes and BMW cars have offered the NEW price, if they wish to sell.

That is part of the reason why insurer values on used cars are disputed. Insurers are not tracking the spikes in demand for particular cars, in a high spec. There is a world of difference between a fully loaded German car and a mid-range, mid-spec model. The other is the various aftermarket options and extras fitted to a car, which people feel should be taken into account when defining the value of the car.

Here’s an extract from the Ombudsman’s data;

“As we noted in our Q3 2022/23 data, in some of these cases consumers have complained their car was worth more than their insurer had given them, following a theft or an accident where the car was written off.

In some cases, we saw examples of insurers not considering all the available information, which tended to lead to offers that were less favourable. We also saw complaints from consumers who felt it was unfair that their claim for a vehicle theft by deception was rejected by their insurer.”

It’s also interesting to see that when people are duped by online buyers on well known auction sites, and then the auction site sides with the dodgy buyer claiming a refund – not the legitimate seller – people feel angry that their insurance claim is denied. IE expects more of these cases to arise as online selling of vehicles gradually replaces face to face vehicle sales. Much of the UK consumer law we currently have is designed to protect buyers, not sellers. So now that private individuals are becoming accidental car traders, we can expect more deals to go wrong and more howls of outrage via the talk show/grievance media.

INDUSTRY COMMENT

Shannon Smith-O’Connell, operations director of accident management company, Claimsline comments;