Will you deduct money from my write-off settlement?

When we make a payment for a vehicle that’s been written off, we may have to make deductions from the settlement amount. This can be for things like the excess you agreed to pay or any outstanding vehicle finance. If you want to know what these deductions are, you can find them in your policy documents, which you received when you set the policy up.
If we need to make any deductions to your settlement amount, we’ll let you know. To find out more about the deductions that could affect your settlement, please take a look at the explanations below. 

Excess

An excess is a pre-agreed amount of money that you need to pay when you make a claim. The amount was confirmed when you took out your policy and is written in the policy documents you received. 

This excess needs to be paid, even if you believe you weren't to blame for what happened. However, if we get agreement from the other driver’s insurer that you weren’t to blame, you will be entitled to a refund. If this happens, we will contact you to let you know.

Remaining monthly payments

To make a claim, your policy must have been paid in full. If you pay your insurance by monthly Direct Debit, we’ll deduct the total value of any remaining monthly payments from your settlement amount. 

Once we make a payment for your vehicle, your regular Direct Debit payments will stop so you won't pay twice. The exact amount deducted can vary due to daily interest charges, usually by a few pence.

Outstanding finance

If your vehicle was bought with vehicle finance, we’ll pay your finance company for any money you owe them. This is because they hold a financial stake in the vehicle until the loan is repaid. This money is then deducted from any settlement amount. 

We directly pay the finance company first (as outlined in our policy documents) because most finance companies specify that by signing the agreement, you are authorising the direct payment of this money from the insurer to your finance company if your vehicle is written off. 

Doing this speeds up the process and makes sure you keep to the terms of your finance agreement.

Differences with your policy

Your claim may not be settled in full if we find something wasn’t declared to us when you bought your policy. This could be something like a claim or a conviction. 

The price of your policy is worked out by the details you give us in your quote – and you are responsible for answering all our questions honestly, making sure everything you tell us is true and accurate. 

What this means 

If we find information that wasn’t declared to us that would have caused us to charge a higher premium, we may pay a proportion of your claim. This is based on the percentage of premium you have paid against what we would have charged you with the correct information.

If this happens we’ll confirm it to you in writing and tell you exactly how it will affect your settlement. 

Other deductions

We may make a deduction from your settlement, for things like payments we’ve made for storing your vehicle. 

If this happens we will contact you to discuss it and let you know exactly how it will affect your settlement.