What you don’t know about cars that are written-off

When you hear about a car being ‘written-off,’ your first thought is likely that the whole car must look like a smooshed tin can and you’re hoping that the people involved are okay. That makes sense, because a lot of the time an incident that results in a car being classified as ‘written-off’ is usually damaged beyond repair… And it looks that way to the untrained eye.

But actually, do you know that there are a bunch of reasons why your car could be declared written-off? And do you know what to do if your car has been written-off? Or how much you could be paid out?

If you aren’t sure, then buckle up. We’ve got what you need to know right here.

The different car insurance write-off categories

You’d be surprised at how often a car is classed as being a write-off by an insurance company when the accident itself didn’t seem all that serious or the damage didn’t look that bad.

The thing is, car insurance companies tend to have their own protocols when it comes to calculating the repair costs, which they use to make their decision.

A few examples of why your car could be written-off:

It’s too damaged or old for repair and can’t even be used for parts.
It’s too damaged or old for repair, but some parts could be used or sold.
It could be fixed up, but the repairs would cost more than the insured value of the car.
It could be fixed up and the repairs would be less than your car’s insured value, but the other costs make it too expensive to deal with overall.

Here’s what the king does

First, we check in with you. We want to know if you’re okay. If you are, we’ll move on to what comes next. Basically, we’ll take it from there and handle everything for you, from getting your car towed (if necessary) and having the damages assessed, to helping you file the claim. While our royally-approved assessors help us weigh up the costs of repairing the car vs. the car’s insured value, you’ll have to provide any documents or details that we request.

Once we’ve made our decision, and your car’s been deemed a write-off, we’ll move on to the pay-out part of your claim.

Let’s talk money

Right, so we’ve given you the news. Your car is a write-off. Now comes the part where we give you a breakdown of your pay-out.

The amount you’ll get depends on a few factors, like the insured value of the car noted on your policy, your excess amount, if you still owe the bank anything for the car, how much your car has depreciated in value, and more.

There’s some fancy maths involved, but a great example is to think of your car being insured for a value of R500,000. Your insurer will then minus the excess (R2,500), the depreciation of your car’s value (R20,000), and what you still owe the bank (R45,000).

In this scenario, you’re looking at R500,000 – R65,500, which = R432,500 paid to you to do with whatever you want. That’s right, you could buy a new car, a second-hand car, or even stash it away to accumulate interest while you shop around.

What if you don’t have the king’s royal cover

Let’s say that you don’t have car insurance. What usually happens in this scenario is that an authorised vehicle inspector will need to assess your car to check if it meets safety regulations. They’ll confirm if the car is roadworthy or not, and if it’s not, you’ll have to consider your options.

If your car isn’t roadworthy, you might be able to scrap the car for parts or you may have to pay for the car to be disposed of. But if your car was roadworthy before the accident, you could pay out of pocket for the repairs. If the repairs are too expensive, then you might have to get a loan or ask family to help you out… Of course, if that’s not something you can or want to do, you could consider selling it for parts or selling it to someone else who can fix it and resell it on their own.

It’s better if the king has your back

Ultimately, it’s far better to have car insurance than not. At least with the right insurance in place, you won’t walk away with nothing. Or worse, walk away with debt and no car.

Let us help you get the insurance you need, whether it’s comprehensive, to help you through all the risks (including accidents that write-off your car) or even a mix-and-match of the important bits (like accident, fire, and theft insurance, or just third party).