Insurance claim advice

[Karun 23]

Hi guys, looking for some insurance advice. I recently got in an accident under classic car insurance with AA, not my fault. The damage to the car was certified as purely cosmetic but the availability of the e28 euro bumpers has made them say it's "uneconomical to repair" I believe I can get it repaired for the payout but wanted any advice on what the implications would be. 

Does keeping it registered get affected?
How does this affect insurance after the fact? 
Will this affect the cars value?
Should I fight this and keep trying to source parts for them myself? 

I'd really like to hear from anyone with advice on this, especially with older cars and limited parts availability. 

Thanks!

[Matth5 471]

Have you been able to find the part anywhere? Tried Ebay, overseas online stores ect? 

"Does keeping it registered get affected?
How does this affect insurance after the fact? "
I would think this is a question your insurance company can answer.

"Will this affect the cars value?"
It's a 30-something year old car, is it even worth much now? Unless it has some special classic status I can't see this being a concern?

[Karun 23]

I haven't looked internationally, found parts locally but the insurance company hasn't been working very hard to get them. Seem to want to rush into getting it closed. 

Ya I guess that's a fair point. Sure every car at this age has something. Just don't want it to bite me if the time comes to sell. If it had something tied to it's registration that I have to keep explaining or something. 

[Driftit 2078]

Seems odd they are putting no effort into helping you fix it.

No doubt they have not attempted to find the parts from the specialists.  One of the BMW specialist wreckers will have what you need.
Can you get quotes yourself and offer it to the insurance company?

[KwS 2425]

Lol good flipping luck. I'm in the middle of a nightmare of a simple contents claim with AA atm and they are diabolical in how sh*t they're handling it. I'm at the point of laying a complaint with the ombudsman. 

[leichtbau 525]

Partstrader claims another classic BMW.

Not sure how that was classed are purely cosmetic when you can see the unibody pushed in, however.

[Olaf 3317]

I think one of the defining points is whether the insurance company pays out the total loss - declaring the car a write-off and cancelling the policy - or pays out the repair cost for you to take care of the repairs yourself, and continues to insure you.

At this point you should know inside-out the wording of your policy.  I expect has to be offer and agreement here somewhere, and there must be more than one solution option.  Knowing your policy will help you to reach an acceptable outcome, rather than being quickly shuttled through the processes (more on that later).  

Can you get a copy of the assessment that the two panel beaters provided to AA?  Is there anything preventing you from getting a future booking with Airflowe while you hunt for a tail light?  

Steel bumpers can be repaired; the skills are rare now with plastic bumpers having been the norm for 30-plus years.  FWIW I thought my chrome bumper was toast on my early 80's Datsun, around 1992.  The panel beater owner (with more than thirty years experience under his belt) looked at it and said 'these are no longer available new, and hard to find used now... would you like me to have a go at it?  I can get this straight again'.  I was amazed at what he acheived with patience, skill, gentle tap-tap-tap with hammers, dollies, and (ISTR) a leather bag filled with lead shot.  It was almost as good as new.

As to whether the car is a classic, it's a 33 year old e28 that's had a great deal of work done to it and is very tidy.  If it's not a classic then what is?  e28s are increasing in popularity and decreasing in availability.

Is the car on an agreed-value policy?  If (say) it's insured for $5k, if repairs are coming to $4k5, they'll almost certainly want to limit their exposure and simply declare total loss, write the car off, pay out, de-register, and cancel your insurance.  

AA Insurance? I've had nothing but excellent service and satisfactory outcomes from them for more than two decades, including home and contents (plumbing failure/flood) and, automotive (from windscreens to tree fell on car, to total loss).  It's down to how you deal with them IME.

First place to start is ensuring their clock/calendar doesn't dictate closing this one with "proceed straight to write-off/total loss" option.   Your claims manager is probably measured on metrics such as time to resolve claims, margins, reducing exposuure position by reducing open claims cumulative value, and possibly customer satisfaction.  As this one has been open for some months, it might be drawing management heat "you've got ten claims over three months without resolution, what are you doing to resolve them?  We need to get these off of the monthly report, it's bringing down the team stats!".

As you've almost all the parts required, and want to keep the car, it appears your priorities would be:

• Know your policy, ensure the claim remains open while you work through the options to reach resolution.  "It's a classic car on a classic policy; surely you have some cases where gaining parts and completing repairs takes longer than a modern appliance on wheels?"   If all else fails, play the covid card.  
• Get repair estimates for *you* having the repair done.  Surely one option is going back to Airflowe and agreeing to have the Insurance-paid repair done when you've found a bumper?
• Identify a suitable repairer - may be out of Wellington.  Phil mentioned the guy near Rongotea (details to come), and the electro-plater out of Christchurch... possibly someone in the Wairarapa.
• Knowing the costs for repair, you can talk with the Insurers about managing the repairs yourself.  Can you keep the policy open - remaining insured with them - and take the repair coststo settle the claim?  Tell them you're seeking to avoid a) write-off and de-registered status, and b) cancelation of your policy.  What are your options? (this is where knowing your policy is essential).

At all costs, keep it up-beat and pleasant, courteous and outcome-focussed.  They're used to dealing with assholes and fraudsters, and have sophisticated systems, technology, processes, investigators, and a closet full of lawyers to protect themselves from loss.  Do avoid getting into those queues, as your experience will become less satisfactory and pleasant, and more tiresome and frustrating.

Also, you're seeking to extract parts from people with classic car hordes.  Think of Smaug in The Hobbit.    I'd recommend having a list and being specific.  You're not a threat to their entire parts stash after lowering their guard and granting you that bumper piece or tail-light only to find you wanting a dozen extra items; you just need x, y, and z, and you can move forward. Can they help?  Enlist the camaraderie of classic car folks, you're a worthy fellow-enthusiast wanting to save a classic.  

Hope that helps. 

[Mikan 173]

Have you tried Murray? 

He has been helpful in the past for me for 02 and e12/28 stuff. 

He knows what he has, but it's cheaper than Youshop ping something from the UK! 

Good luck. 

 

[KwS 2425]

AA arent even abiding by my policy documents when handling my claim, so dont expect too much from them. The ombudsman is there to help if you cant get the resolution you want.

[Olaf 3317]

13 hours ago, Mikan said:

Have you tried Murray? 

He has been helpful in the past for me for 02 and e12/28 stuff. 

He knows what he has, but it's cheaper than Youshop ping something from the UK! 

Good luck. 

 

he sure has!

[Karun 23]

Hey, everyone sorry for such a late reply with updates and thanks so much for all the advice. 

@Olaf you hit the nail on the head with the advice i needed, thanks so much for all that. I managed to talk it through with the insurance company and it has come to the agreement that i am handling all the repairs for a payout of $4400, which should hopefully cover it. They will not be deregistering the car which was a big relief and gave me a couple options for insurance. I will have to cancel the current policy and open a new third party one while working on the repairs, that can then be switched to full cover again when its done. No change in policy cost too which is nice. So all in all its good working with them. Although frustrating, i understand why they didn't put in the leg work for parts and just wanted to close things. I'd like to make sure its done properly anyway and so don't mind the extra time with it. 

Getting some more information on one of those older panel beaters would be great actually, especially since experience really tends to show with that and paint. Good to hear about the Datsun, what was it and is it still around? Any chance i'd be able to get in touch with Phil about the panel beater out in Rongotea? That sounded like an option worth exploring. 

Thanks Again!

[Olaf 3317]

thanks @Karun, you're most welcome.   I'm pleased it's working out for you.  Good to know I'm not talking sh!t either! ?  

The guy who worked on my Datsun in the early 90's is long-retired, he was in his late 50's back then, owned his own business.  They were called Ah Wong Panel and Paint, they were down where the BNZ Building is being demolished on the waterfront (or that general area), did a lot of govt work too.  I did wonder about them a while ago, looking into the company records (as one does) it appears the company passed on to family, and then closed down.  

I'll ask about the names of the panel beaters and get back to you in the next few days.

You might want to post your parts required list (include the part numbers even, and the diagrams from RealOEM) and indicate which bits you've secured, and which you still need.  Then folks here can help sort you out if they've got parts stashed that they'll spare you. (no pun intended)

I saw your car at school last week, it's looking pretty reasonable... be great to get it sorted, no doubt.

 

Edited September 13, 2020 by Olaf

[Karun 23]

Hey, ya she isn't so bad. Just something about driving around with it that's making me a little crazy though ? so really looking forward to getting it sorted.

Ah that's a shame about the panel beater, disappearing art. 

I haven't posted the parts list yet because a previous owner of the car actually reached out to me and has been really helpful. He owns a bmw restoration shop in Auckland and so says he might be able to sort me out on parts. So waiting to see what he digs up. 

[balancerider 757]

spotted her in Island Bay this arvo, glad you're pushing to keep her on the road...

[Karun 23]

Thanks! Ya she's great, tests your patience here and there but always worth it.