Accident - car a write-off - will insurance pay?

Hi
I'm lucky to be alive this morning but I'm still worried about what comes next. I was driving home around 8pm last night, not driving fast as the road is narrow with bad bends and I don't know it well. As I went into the bend the car the steering wheel suddenly went out of my hands and the car spun into the thin trees by the side of the road, spun right around and ended up back out on the road facing the opposite direction.

Several people stopped to help and stayed with me till the AA arrived, I hadnt a mark on me, just very shaken but the car..my God, its a complete write off. I didnt call the Gardai as luckily nobody else was involved.
The two back tyres were blown out but I can't remember if I heard a bang or not..
My worry is that the car insurance will say I lost control or was driving too fast and won't pay out any money to replace the car. I am in a very bad state financially due to being left with huge bills and debts after a recent separation..that will all be taken into account when we get to court but I have to manage them in the meantime, and it will be sometime next Spring.
I needed this like a hole in the head. I'm lucky to be still here but I've never been in an accident before so I have no idea what the insurance companies are like in instances like this. I have fully comp with Traveller.

Can anyone shed some light, please?
S

You won't be going to court for a car accident, so try not to worry. Your insurer will fully investigate the accident and settle accordingly.

Thanks ACA
Someone has just told me I'm legally obliged to report any accident to the Gardai - do you know is this true and will it affect the insurance company settling or not if I don't?

I've just reported it to my insurance company so they said they'll be in touch Monday morning. Hope they will will settle and not take weeks to investigate as I'll need a hire car and I cant afford to pay for one for weeks on end, yet I can't be without one.

Gardai should be informed, even if you just give them a call now. Its possible that there were other factors at work; diesel on the road for instance and so its always best to make them aware.

Some insurers provide a courtesy vehicle whilst yours is being repaired - but might not if the vehicle is a write-off - should have details in your policy booklet.

Do you have fully comp cover?

But is it a legal requirement to inform the Gardai? Sorry its not that I'm trying to hide anything, it's just the I had a lot of dealings with them - and they were great - before my husband left three months ago and it just brings it all back so if its not legally required I'd rather not.

The men who stopped to help inspected the road and said there was no oil, I could see that myself. If there had been I would definitely have called the Gardai as it would have been a hazard to others.

I cant find anything in the policy booklet that says about cover for a hire car in the interim, I suppose they dont wan't these things in black and white in case people take advantage.
Thanks so much for all your help - think i'm more shaken than I realised.

With comp cover, they will say for the book value of your car if it is a write off. There is usually some rental cover on comp policies, though usually for a short period. Ring the claims line now.

Complainer said:

With comp cover, they will say for the book value of your car if it is a write off...

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They will pay book-value (note: this is not necessarily the declared value on the policy) minus scrap-value minus policy excess.

Oh heavens, thats practically nothing then. Its an 02 Opel Astra and policy excess is 500 euro.
I've rung the claims line and they say they will be in touch with me on Monday when the office is open. I'll have to take out a loan the even to get a few thousand to buy an 01 Micra. Not good news, I cant afford repayments on a loan.

Anyone know anything about whether its a legal requirement to contact the Gardai?

You say that you are lucky to be alive, so you should keep reminding yourself about this and it will keep things in prospective.

As far as I know , I believe your full comp. covers situations where you are responsible for damage to your own car (unintentionally) ,assuming that you were not driving recklessly.

Anyway, you are alive and breathing and not in hospital, so things could be a lot worse

Just noticed that I inserted "prospective" instead of "perspective" .. Sign of old age

Believe me, I am trying to keep things in perspective and I am grateful to be alive, but I also have to deal with this situation I find myself in..no money and it appears the likelihood I'll get very little from the insurance company.

mathepac - when you say 'minus scrap value' do you mean the insurance company keeps the scrap value of the car? Surely its still my car so I should get the scrappage, however little that may be?
Thanks

The wrecked car is yours - they will place a value on it and deduct that from your settlement cheque.

Thanks mathepac, I just had a look at revenue.ie to check the open market value of the car and its 2951 euro...so the book value is probably something like 1000, take 500 from that and yep, I'm looking at a car loan for sure.
Oh well

Never mind revenue.ie. The insurance pays out what it would cost to replace your car with a similar model. Look in Autotrader, CBG etc.etc. and see what they're going for. That's the kind of value you should be looking for. If the car is written off, they will also pay you the scrappage value and take ownership of the car. All you should be out is the excess.

Glad you're OK tho'.

Be warned that if your tyres blew because they were bald, insurers may decline your claim on the basis the car wasnt road-worthy!

Pique318 said:

... Look in Autotrader, CBG etc.etc. and see what they're going for. That's the kind of value you should be looking for ....

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As posted in previous threads, these are aspirational numbers and bear little if any relationship to the actual selling prices or insurance valuations of cars. Revenue valuations for VRT are also unrealistic as these are supplied by the SIMI for imported vehicles.

Pique318 said:

... If the car is written off, they will also pay you the scrappage value and take ownership of the car. All you should be out is the excess ....

Click to expand...

That statement contradicts my own personal first-hand experience of insurance write-offs.

Well, at least I know for a fact the tyres weren't bald.

matthe pac, do you think what I've come up with is realistic then? That I'll maybe get about 1000 when all's said and done?

I like to know what I'm dealing with and may as well face facts now rather than get a nasty surprise when the cheque finally arrives.
Thanks
S