The post arrived today and I received a letter from the 3rd parties insurance.
Confirmation that liability has been admitted. Apologies and they would like to help whilst keeping losses to a minimum.....Yeah right.
Also in this letter was a cheque for £2000 in respect of an estimated value of my bike.
They can keep me mobile and do the vehicle repairs at no cost to me.
If my vehicle is uneconomical to repair
then they would discuss and agree to
the market value & deduct a scrap value
off that if I wish to reclaim my bike.
They also pointed out that it is my responsibility to mitigate any losses to a minimum which is a legal principle apparently? If I choose to not accept their offer then they will only pay the lower amount.
OK, a few points to bear in mind
The third party whilst admitting liability (which is a good start) are also assuming that you will accept the offer they have made hence why they have sent you a cheque.
They will always offer trade value. You need to point out that unless you work in the trade, you do not have access to trade price vehicles so you require a retail valuation, or you need a settlement that allows you to retain the salvage plus a cash lump sum to you.
They do not yet own any salvage until you agree, and they cannot take possession without your consent, and until you cash the cheque they have not paid you anything. If you need to argue the point, hold onto the cheque and hold onto your bike.
You are potentially liable for any loan agreement if they provide you with a bike, and I have seen some people hit with hire bills for several thousands of pounds so just be careful
Repairs arranged by the third party insurers are usually sub standard because they are paying the sub contracted company peanuts and if you are dealing with a claims management company rather than the insurers direct or their solicitors, again be very careful because the claims firms will look at adding on every penny they can get away with to maximise their profit.
The one aspect that they are correct about is that you do have a duty to mitigate your losses, but not to a minimum (as they quote) but on a like for like basis.
So for example, if your kit is damaged, it can be claimed for on an old for new basis simply because it is safety equipment and is designed to be crashed once and then replaced. Some insurers/claims firms will say it is old and therefore a deduction for wear and tear should be made. If its 25 years old, that is a fair point, but if it is only a few years old, then they are talking out of their arse as bike kit is designed to last years, so old for new applies.
Crash helmets MUST be changed on the grounds of safety, but this is where the mitigate your losses comes in, in that you cannot claim for a £500 Arai if you were wearing a £50 polycarb AGV (as an example) You can't claim for a top of the range Dainese leathers if you were wearing a set of cheap Blackbush market off the peg £75 jacket/trouser combination (you get the drift?) it has to be like for like.
What they probably have not told you either is that you are entitled to claim all your out of pocket expenses. That may be public transport to get to work, the additional fuel you are having to use to use the car instead of the bike, any loss of earnings etc. In short any loss you have suffered as a result of the third parties negligence can be claimed for and you are still mitigating your losses.
The bottom lime is that as the claimant, it is the obligation of the third party insurers to return you to the position you were in prior to the crash. It is not for you to suffer any losses because had it not been for the third party you would not have been in that situation in the first place.
Do not let them screw you over, stand your ground.
