What Happens When Your Car Is Written Off

Posted by novusautoglass on October 2nd, 2019

Cars get involved in accidents all the time. If the accident is of a severe nature, the car will have tyre, complete body, windscreen or engine damaged beyond repair. A car is considered written off if the cost of the damage repair is higher than the cost of the car itself. In cases when a car has been written off, the car insurance company will decide who gets to claim the insurance money. It is going to look at the cause of the accident and also determine who was responsible for the accident. Moreover, the insurer is also going to see if the car had any outstanding payments remaining on your behalf.

Determining the Cause of the Accident

The first step in deciding an insurance claim over a written-off car is to determine the cause which led to the accident. For a car to be written off, it would have to be involved in a serious car crash. There can be various reasons for it. You might have been driving too fast and hit another vehicle or someone rammed you from behind. Sometimes natural disasters are also the reason for the car to get written off. For instance, an earthquake or tornado can cause irreparable damage to the car. It would be the insurer’s job to determine which of these reasons were responsible for the car to be written off. 

Finding out the Guilty Party

The insurance company would also try to find out who is to blame for the car damage. If the car got written off due to an accident that you caused then the insurer might reject your damage claim. In cases, where the accident is caused to another party, their insurance will be responsible for covering the damages. However, if the accident wasn’t caused due to negligence or careless or dangerous driving of any kind then your insurance company will have to cover the damages. You can also make a damage claim to the car insurer if the car got written off because of a natural disaster rather than an accident.

Negotiating the Damage Claim

The car insurer is going to try to minimise the amount of the damage claim. No one likes paying extra money. You would have to negotiate with them if you want to get the most out of your damage claim. If the car was leased and there are still payments to be made for the car then the car insurer will have to cover this cost. You will be asked to pay some amount of the pending payment as well. It will be a part of your deductible. However, if the car damage resulted because of an accident caused by another party then their insurance company would be responsible for paying the damages.

Novus Autoglass is an established name in the windscreen repair and replacement business serving South Queensland. If you need your damaged windscreen repaired or replaced then give us a call for a free quote.