Question: Is the insurer entitled to impose where I should be repairing my vehicle following an accident under a comprehensive policy? What if I am not to blame, can the third party insurer direct me to repair at a particular garage?
If you happen to have a comprehensive motor insurance policy, under the section which deals with cover for loss or damage to your vehicle or the section covering loss or damage you cause to third parties, you are likely to find the following condition (or similar wording):
“At our own option, we may repair, reinstate or replace your vehicle or any part of it or its accessories or spare parts or may pay the amount of loss or damage.”
In other words, the insurer reserves the final say as to how it will put you in the same position as before the loss. Therefore, in terms of this particular condition, there is nothing that precludes the insurer from instructing you to use the services of a particular garage which it appoints for repairs to be carried out. This in fact is a very common practice for claims under other policies such as travel insurance (in respect of luggage repairs or replacement) and home insurance (when replacing items such as glass and carpets).
If you are claiming under the policy of a third-party, that insurer may also direct you to repair at a particular garage as long as in doing so, that insurer is putting you back into the position you were before the collision.
In such instances, if you are unsatisfied with how the repair works have been carried out, there is recourse against the insurer (who directed you to repair at its appointed repairer). This is especially useful if the appointed repairer fails to come up with reasonable and acceptable solutions for any unsatisfactory work. When, on the other hand, you choose which garage will repair your vehicle, you would be solely responsible for any bad workmanship as the repairer would have been your choice (and not the insurer’s).
It is therefore important that your never sign the full and final settlement form unless you are completely satisfied with the work done on your vehicle. If the repairer offers a repair guarantee, ask for such a guarantee to be provided in writing.
