Insurance claim for vandalism?

[VW Convert]

thanks guys... guess i wont be making a claim then since $1000 excess is a bit much for some dents. might get some claims to see how much it will cost or just wait 6 months when i'm 25.

You need to be a little careful with regards to waiting. The excess that will apply will be the excess that existed at the time the damage occurred. Even though you may not know exactly when the damage occurred, you may be asked by your insurer for an approximate date, if the damage is such that an assessor could identify that the damage was old you could run into trouble there. Also, does your policy require you to notify the insurer within a specified/reasonable time of any occurrence likely to give rise to a claim?

I would caution against supplying any false or misleading information on a claim, the consequences of getting caught will far outweigh the saving of a few hundred dollars.

Cheers

George

[dylan8]

If you were not driving the car at the time of the incident why would you have to pay the under 25yo excess?

[nightphotographer]

You could get a dent guy to get all the damage out for you for less than that as long as they haven't taken any paint out. I'm training to be a part time dent tech at the moment and once I've built my tool kit up in the next couple of weeks I could take a look at it all for you.

[Grant]

there's no paint damage apart from some surface scratches which are only visible up close (would most likely polish up)... i'll snap some pics for you to have a guess at a rough cost.

---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 PM ----------

this is the biggest dent.. hard to see in a pic but its about the diameter of a soccer ball. the panel is pushed in, no paint damage.... theres about 3 on the drivers side but they are tennis ball sized and are located near the rear wheel arch.

[Smead]

I can sorta see it.

Why are you hiding your wheels?

[nightphotographer]

I'll PM you later dude - but it looks easy, and very cheap so don't claim just yet.

[JustCruisn]

Call your insurance now. The longer you wait the less likely they are to pay out. Your policy will state that you must inform the insurance company as soon as you become aware of an event. If you wait 6 months they may call BS and not pay at all.

There is no harm in reporting the damage now, then getting some quotes before making a claim.
If you want to know what excesses will be payable, just call the insurance company and ask.
You could even ask how much more you premium will be after making the claim so you can work out the real total cost.

Remember the insurance company works for you ! You are the customer, you remain in control at all times.

[dylan8]

Why are you hiding your wheels?

dont know if you noticed, but someone stole your wheels while they were vandalising your car!

[Grant]

I can sorta see it.

Why are you hiding your wheels?

LOL.. just thought it might help keep my car's identity a secret (they aren't stock) if there are any insurance company spies lurking on these boards. Stupid I realise now considering my user name, location, and car damage is now visible...

anyway from what I've been told here doesn't look like i'll be going through insurance.

[dado]

make sure if you go ahead with claim (you should) you tell your insurance company that all damages happened (you have notice) at the same time.
this will save you some problems if any.