Hire write-off value warning
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• Transport firms taking out lease or contracthire agreements should be aware that if their vehicle is written off, the gap between what the insurer offers and what the finance house demands can be huge.
This warning comes from London insurance broker Jensen Dickens, which says the difference between the finance house "total loss value" and the insurer's market value for the vehicle can average between £10,000 and £12,000.
A spokesman says one operator learnt that the sum quoted by the insurer for a badly damaged tractor's "total loss" value and the amount demanded by the finance house differed by 120,000.1n another example, a North of England operator's vehicle caught fire and burnt out. "If the operator hadn't had a policy in place it would have lost over 118,000," says the spokesman.
Trailer companies are also at risk from this gap, warns the spokesman, as they usually include pre-determined write-down values into their lease and hire agreements. Because these values are usually over tong periods of time—sometimes up to a decade—this can lead to "significant die crepancies between their value and an insuraino:. company's market value".
• Companies who do not have self-insured fleets can expect an average premium increase of £10 per driver per vehicle as a result of the proposed NHS recharge legislation. warns PHH Vehicle Management. Under a bill recently passed by the Lords, those causing road traffic accidents could be forced to pay for NHS hospital treatment and administration fees.