Originally Posted by
tabetha
The car belongs in LAW to whoever pays for the car insurance wise, very obvious.
No it does not. If YOUR insurance is paying, then, THEY get claim to the car if total-loss payment is made, and you then get to buy it back, a third party is not entitled to your car. They WILL take it if the car is made Cat-B or Cat-A as it is not meant to return to the road (yes, there are legal loopholes, but these are a whole different set of discussions) to aid you in removing of the scrap.
Because of that, most of what is written below is incorrect as well.
Originally Posted by tabetha
The point is at the moment it is YOUR property, you just settle on the basis that you retain "title"(ownership) the insurers will be only too happy, how the hell someone thinks it's a cat c is beyond me.
A write off simply means not worth repairing considering value after repair and the cost of repair, they may value it totally different to you.
A insurer is LEGALLY obliged to allow you title, so long as it is not cat a or b, do they won't be bothered about, it will save them money having it officially processed as scrap so they will be only too happy.
So just tell them to settle on the basis that you retain title, my gf's car has been written off TWICE by the same insurer, been rear ended twice, 1st time we got £600 odd 2nd time £425, and kept car each time, they didn't even charge for the salvage.
I deal with these people daily and have actually checked this information before writing this with a close friend of over 25 years who is a senior network manager for one of THE major car, home and personal insurance specialist underwriters in the country. He says you are wrong as well (he actually was not that polite, but you get the gist of it).