Salvage right.

[Forumadmin]

From Peter Villa:
Further to the correspondence about car insurance via Footman James, I
queried why the salvage retention clause no longer seemed to apply to my policy. I was
told that the insurer MAY allow salvage to be retained but only "if the law allows".
Footman James then said that if the damage was significant and classified as Category
A or B, the law will not allow retention.
I note that many other classic car insurers are offering the option to retain
salvage and I feel sure Footman James included that at one time, but I don't remember
when it was omitted from my policy.
Can anyone clarify the law in this regard or has anyone had recent experience
of claiming salvage?

[Forumadmin]

I am not sure what is meant by 'salvage' or the law on it. When a car is 'written off' all it really means is that the cost of repair is more than that which the car is insured for. I have had a car written off without the insurance company repairing it but they did give me the market value. I simply repaired the car. No special inspections required. That was 12 years ago so the 'law' or the underwriter's interpretation of it may have changed. I suspect it is a way of keeping dangerous vehicles off the road and making sure any vehicle in an accident that may have caused dangerous damage is crushed.

[george garside]

I have a feeling that in the case of a severe (?how measured set of damage the vehicle has to be dismantled recycled or whatever for spares but not repaired as an entity - the vehicle oafet the accident being refered to as'salvage which may or may not have a pecise legl meaning. Common sense says that in the caseof classic vehicles a simple chanage of word from salvage to something else is all that is required .Terms such as 'remains', ''surviving spare parts' or whatever could be returned to the owner for 'sentimental reasons'

george'

[robert lintott]

Having had 3 cars ( all moderns) in our family written off in the last five years I can confirm that insurers--at least the ones I use-- will negotiate on value but their office systems are poor. I still have one of two cheques I was sent by a prominent national company for the same write off ca £10,000 !

The rules are a combination of law and Insurers industry procedures . Category A cars are so badly damaged that repair is impossible and parts are not "roadworthy" and cannot be resold. .Category B is the same but parts can be salvaged. In both cases the shell has to be crushed and the car no longer exists and cannot be revived.

Categories C and D could be repaired but not economically under the ( gold plated?) cost structure of the Insurers and their repair agents. So the local garage may be able to do it but there are strict inspections before the car can be relicenced

Part of the reason for this regime is to prevent cars being made up from two damaged at say front and rear and it has been tightened up

There are lots of items on this on the internet just "Google" Car insurance write offs

For vintage / classics there must be some interpretation to cope with a damaged ? repairable chassis rather than a modern shell. Perhaps we should all ask our insurers and or the insurer sponsored by a club what procedure they would follow in the event.

[Keith Clements]

Thanks Robert. This also parallels the other thread I started on insurance which highlights the changing policy small print which we should all check. My worry is that the rules governing moderns may apply, or start to apply, to classics.

Perhaps Scott can comment on the issue in California of people doing their own car repairs, or Jaak in Belgium on the severe restrictions on use of Classics on the road at night or not on a designated journey to an event or members in Australia on the difference between classic and normal road tax. There was also the push by manufacturers to ban use of parts not manufactured by them on their cars in the EU.

[george garside]

A bit tenuous but as the club owns Jowett Cars Ltd it could be argued that any remanufactured parts made by or on behaalf of jCS are in effect made by the original manufacturer - perhaps such parts should have Jowett Cars Ltd cast into them.Jaguar are now owned by Tata and have gone through Ford hands but Jag bits will still be classed as Jag bits so the ownership of the company be it trading or dormant shouldnt make any difference!

george