If you would like to discuss a 'no win no fee' case with us please either call us on 0151 363 3977 or email us at craig.welsby@acsl.org.uk and we'll have a chat with you to see how we can help.

What is an engineer report?

Your vehicle will have been damaged in the accident. An engineer report will be needed to see how bad the damage is. 

How does it all work?

An engineer will arrange to inspect your vehicle. He will then go away and produce a report setting out:

1.    where the damage is and how bad it is

2.    how much it will cost to repair it

3.    what the value of your car was before the accident, and

4.    whether the car should be written off as a ‘total loss’

Then what happens?

The report will be sent to you to check if you agree with it. We often send a cover letter explaining what the report is saying. You should check that you are happy with the report, for example, if it says that your vehicle should be written off as a total loss, you should make sure you are happy with how much the engineer says your car was worth before the accident. A simple way of doing this is to look for similar cars on Autotrader.

Total loss - what category?

There are 4 categories for total loss decisions:

1.         Category A: scrap only. For cars so badly damaged they should be crushed and never re-appear on the road. Even salvageable parts must be destroyed.

2.         Category B: body shell should be crushed. Signifies extensive damage, although some parts are salvageable. Should never re-appear on road, although reclaimed parts can be used in other road-going vehicles.

3.         Category C: the vehicle is repairable but the costs exceed the vehicle’s value. Can re-appear on road.

4.         Category D: the vehicle is repairable but repair costs are significant compared to the vehicle value – including time delays to source parts. Can re-appear on road.

Categories C and D are the two most commonly seen in road traffic accident cases.

I agree the report, what happens next?

Once you tell us that you agree the engineer report, we send it to the other insurer and ask them to issue a cheque, made out to you, for the amount stated in the report.

Next…

Now that we have explained what an engineer report is, we will explain what a pre-medical offer is, and why it is important that you be careful when accepting one.

If you would like to discuss a 'no win no fee' case with us please either call us on 0151 363 3977 or email us at craig.welsby@acsl.org.uk and we'll have a chat with you to see how we can help.