Short answer: if your car is written off, we pay you what it was worth just before the incident. That's the market value, not what you paid for it. We take off your excess, and any premium you still owe if you pay monthly.

When a car is written off

A car is a write-off (also called a total loss) if:

• the damage is too severe to repair safely, or
• repairing it would cost more than the car was worth before the accident, or
• it's been stolen and not recovered.
  

In these cases, you won't get the car back. Instead, we offer you a settlement.

How we work out the value

We work out your car's market value just before the accident. That's what it would cost to replace your car with one of the same age, make, model, mileage and condition, not what you originally paid. We check this against trade guides and adverts.

How your settlement is worked out

We take the car's value, then deduct:

• your policy excess (it's in your Motor Insurance Schedule), and
• any premium still to pay, if you pay monthly.
• If your vehicle is on finance, we will also deduct your outstanding finance amount from the payment.

Example 1.
Your car is valued at £10,000. Your excess is £750. You still owe £1,200 of premium.
£10,000 − £750 − £1,200 = £8,050

Example 2.
Your car is valued at £10,000. Your excess is £750. You still owe £1,200 of premium. You still owe £6000 of finance payments.
£10,000 − £750 − £1,200 - £6000 = £2,050

If the accident wasn't your fault and we get the money back from the other driver's insurer, we usually refund your excess.

What happens after we make you an offer

Once all the documents and information needed have been received, payment will be arranged. This will go to you, to your finance company, or to both if there’s money left over for you after your finance has been settled.

Payments are usually made within about a week of everything being received. In some cases, there may be no money left to pay you once your finance company has been repaid. If that applies to you, it will be discussed with you when your offer is made, so it won’t come as a surprise.

Finally, ownership of your car will need to be transferred. This is an important final step in settling your claim.

If you think the value is too low

If the value doesn't look right to you, send us 3 adverts for similar cars. An engineer will review them, and we'll talk you through the result and next steps.

What happens to your policy
This depends on what you want to do next:

• Replace your car. You have 30 days to update your policy with a replacement car.
• Cancel your policy. If you don't plan to replace your car, you can cancel your policy.

If you pay monthly, your payments continue until your claim is settled. We'll normally take what you still owe out of your settlement. When your claim is paid and your balance is clear, we'll close your monthly payments and email you.