Interesting insurance claim question

Archer

Archer

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I've become aware of an interesting claim that is in the process, and I was wondering what the opinions are about it...

Driving along on gravel roads and somehow (whether driver error or poor roads) you get a hole in your crank housing and you lose some oil. Due to your location and time of day you feel unsafe abandoning the vehicle and proceed to drive slowly to a place where you are able to be towed the rest of the way to your destination (a small town). At no point do any any warning lights come on. You then proceed to do a field repair to close the leak (pratley steel), drain the oil and refill. You test it on a short drive and all sounds normal (and no oil leaks) but at some point the engine sounds change and you immediately stop (still no warning lights). Vehicle gets towed back to the small town and the dealership fetches it form there a few days later.

At the dealer they have a look and say a new engine is required... so should insurance pay for the engine or not?
 
Thinking on this more... perhaps warranty should cover the engine and insurance cover whatever other damage occurred (like cosmetic stuff)? Although the circumstances are rather unique.
 
Sounds like an unauthorized repair was done. What insurance are you talking about though?
 
Vehicle should have been driven ONLY to the nearest point where a tow truck could have retrieved it.
Any driving beyond that point is considered user damage.
 
LazyLion said:
Vehicle should have been driven ONLY to the nearest point where a tow truck could have retrieved it.
Any driving beyond that point is considered user damage.
Click to expand...

But with the vehicle not presenting any warnings, can the user be blamed for thinking it was ok to drive it (albeit very carefully/slowly).

Like if you have a flat on the highway at 1am, are you going to wait for a tow or will you drive on your rims? Will insurance pay for new rims in that case?
 
I had an incident a few years ago where I hit and punctured the sump. Called insurance and guy on the other hand said if the car moves I should drive it to a safe location. This unfortunately caused the engine to seize, so what should have been a R2K repair ended up being a R20K repair. Insurance paid for all of it. So, if I was you I'd claim and see.
 
Archer said:
But with the vehicle not presenting any warnings, can the user be blamed for thinking it was ok to drive it (albeit very carefully/slowly).

Like if you have a flat on the highway at 1am, are you going to wait for a tow or will you drive on your rims? Will insurance pay for new rims in that case?
Click to expand...

Not the issue, the issue is the bodge repair.

If they had driven it straight into town and then immediately called insurance they would probably pay. With the "fix" and continuing driving they're stuffed, no chance of warranty or insurance paying.
 
Archer said:
But with the vehicle not presenting any warnings, can the user be blamed for thinking it was ok to drive it (albeit very carefully/slowly).

Like if you have a flat on the highway at 1am, are you going to wait for a tow or will you drive on your rims? Will insurance pay for new rims in that case?
Click to expand...

Is user a qualified mechanic able to diagnose engines and faults?
Then, yes he can be blamed. User should not have driven vehicle.
When did you become aware of the fact that there was a hole?
When did you notice that there was a critical oil leak?

And as somebody else commented above, even if you can show that it was not your fault, insurance will most likely just repudiate the claim on some BS grounds. :(
Good luck though, I that whoever it is comes right.
 
Firstly check your policy wording and you'll find the following under exclusions and policies differ and some say damage to the vehicle, some say damage to the suspension Example as follows:-
NOT COVERED BY THIS SECTION
1. VEHICLE LOSS OR DAMAGE
None of the following are covered, unless shown otherwise on the Schedule:
1.1 mechanical, electric or electronic breakdown, failures or breakages, including any consequential loss of
or damage to any other mechanical, electrical or electronic component as a result of the mentioned
breakdown, failure or breakage;
1.3 gradual damage (such as wear, tear, rust, mildew, corrosion, decay);
1.4 damage to tyres by the application of brakes or by punctures, cuts or bursts caused by road hazards;
1.5 damage to the suspension system due to unevenness of the road or other surface or due to impact
with such unevenness;

So I suggest refer to your broker/insurer because there are slight or even major differences in Insurers Policy wordings and never take it for granted if one insurer does this the other will.
 
LazyLion said:
Is user a qualified mechanic able to diagnose engines and faults?
Then, yes he can be blamed. User should not have driven vehicle.
When did you become aware of the fact that there was a hole?
When did you notice that there was a critical oil leak?.
Click to expand...

No the driver is not a mechanic and as such was reliant on the vehicle to let him know of faults :p We all know that no oil is bad, but surely expecting the low oil warning to come on to tell you that you don't have enough is reasonable.

Anyway, at the gym I was wondering how could insurance prove that critical damage had not occurred in the initial accident. Or during the drive to somewhere where he could be towed (initial scene actually had no cell reception). I see no way that either party can prove when critical damage happened.
 
This is what happens when you give too much information. Insurers use all of that info to try and screw you. Just give the summary, the car doesn't start, please fix.
 
JackWhite said:
This is what happens when you give too much information. Insurers use all of that info to try and screw you. Just give the summary, the car doesn't start, please fix.
Click to expand...

Well in that case insurance simply wouldn't cover mechanical failure.

It needs to be related to an accident.
 
Hemi300c said:
1.4 damage to tyres by the application of brakes or by punctures, cuts or bursts caused by road hazards;
Click to expand...

Interesting and expected, but I know of a case where all four tyres were replaced by insurance due a criminal element slashing the tyres during the night.

Of course this being on all four the intention is different and more apparent than a simple random puncture.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
My car was literally out of oil, I had no warning light come on.
Click to expand...

So how did you find out it was out of oil?

If you are referring to the dip stick remember there is still oil in the system even if the dip stick reads empty.
 
SauRoNZA said:
So how did you find out it was out of oil?

If you are referring to the dip stick remember there is still oil in the system even if the dip stick reads empty.
Click to expand...
Well my mother drove the car and there was a oil leak....

Anyway it felt 'funny' so I got the mechanic to check it out.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
My car was literally out of oil, I had no warning light come on.
Click to expand...

Does the warning light not indicate low pressure and not quantity?
I'm sure that there can still be sufficient pressure not to trigger the warning light with minimal oil in the sump.
 
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